Menorah

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Dr. Goodword
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Menorah

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Dec 20, 2008 6:12 pm

• menorah •

Pronunciation: mê-nor-ê • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. A seven-branched candelabrum symbolizing the seven days of creation. 2. A nine-branched candelabrum used in the celebration of Hanukkah, also called the Hanukiah.

Notes: Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is an eight-day holy season celebrating the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian (Seleucid) kings, who succeeded the short-lived empire of Alexander the Great. The Syrians forbad upholding Jewish law and prohibited Jewish services until defeated by Judas Maccabeus and his followers. When the second Temple of Jerusalem was rededicated about 165 BCE, there was only a one-day supply of oil for the Temple lamps. However, that one-day supply miraculously burned for eight full days.

In Play: Our Jewish friends will light one candle for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah in remembrance of this miracle. The ninth candle, called the Shamash and seated in the middle holder, is used to light the other eight. alphaDictionary wishes the worldwide Jewish community the happiest of Hanukkah seasons.

Word History: Today's Good Word comes from the Semitic root nwr "to shine "be(come) bright". Semitic languages, like Hebrew and Arabic, use vowels the way English uses prefixes and suffixes. Changing the vowels between the consonants changes the meaning of words the way prefixes and suffixes do in English. That doesn't mean Semitic languages do not use prefixes and suffixes; they use them, too. So with the prefix me- and the vowels O and A, we get today's Good Word: menorah "lamp, lampstand", related to ner "lamp". With the prefix ma- and the vowel A, we get Arabic manara "lamp, lighthouse", the origin of our minaret, akin to nur "light".
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Slava
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Re: MENORAH

Postby Slava » Fri Dec 05, 2014 7:27 am

Hanukkah 2014 is coming up in a week and a half, so I hope it's not too early to wish everyone out there a good and holy celebration of the festival. Shalom.
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LukeJavan8
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Re: MENORAH

Postby LukeJavan8 » Wed Dec 10, 2014 12:54 pm

A week from today. I can't be too early to add my wishes as well.
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Perry Lassiter
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Re: MENORAH

Postby Perry Lassiter » Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:27 pm

Never too early. I wish people Merry Christmas all year long. And this time of year I beging wishing a Happy Easter, but above all remember it's less than two months to Ground Hog Day!
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