7-branched menorah
The conventional chanukiyyah shape mimics the 7-branched menorah in the Temple. More than the Magen David, the menorah is the historic emblem of Judaism.
Found on ancient Jewish tombstones, central to coinage, seals and amulets, depicted in synagogue mosaics, incorporated into the coat of arms of modern Israel, nothing rivals it as a symbol of Judaism.
The Torah gives detailed instructions as to its manufacture. Tradition says God Himself designed it. It is a sign of Jewish identity.
It represents countless principles and values of Jewish thought: light as a symbol of God and His Torah, courage as seen in the proudly upstanding central stem, coherence suggested by the outer branches leaning towards the central shaft, solidarity because both sides of the menorah (emblematic of all sectors of the Jewish people) are essential to the balance of the menorah, personal involvement because the lights will not burn unless we light them…
What a fruitful source of Jewish thinking!
