Happy Hanukkah – December 16th – December 24th

Fused Glass Star of David Mantel Sconce
Star of David Mantel Sconce
Fused glass Star of David Mantel Sconce
Star of David Mantel Sconce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Hanukkah, to all my Jewish friends. December 16th – December 24th

I am not Jewish but I have several friends that are so I didn’t want to leave them out of my Holiday blogs. Just like with other religions I have fused glass specifically for the Jewish faith, in other blogs I have discussed my fused glass jewelry but today it’s my Star of David Mantel Sconce. It’s beautiful and really will show off the light of the candle behind it.

Hanukkah begins in the evening of Tuesday, December 16, 2014, and ends in the evening of Wednesday, December 24, 2014. The following information regarding Hanukkah is according to Wikipedia. BTW if you’ve never been to Israel it’s a really special country with friendly people.

Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Greeks of the 2nd century BC. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical Menorah consists of eight branches with an additional raised branch. The extra light is called a shamash (Hebrew: שמש‎, “attendant”) and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The purpose of the shamash is to have a light available for practical use, as using the Hanukkah lights themselves for purposes other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah is forbidden.
Judea was part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt until 200 BCE when King Antiochus III the Great of Syria defeated King Ptolemy V Epiphanes of Egypt at the Battle of Panium. Judea became at that moment part of the Seleucid Empire of Syria. King Antiochus III the Great wanting to conciliate his new Jewish subjects guaranteed their right to “live according to their ancestral customs” and to continue to practice their religion in the Temple of Jerusalem. However in 175 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus III invaded Judea, ostensibly at the request of the sons of Tobias.] The Tobiads, who led the Hellenizing Jewish faction in Jerusalem, were expelled to Syria around 170 BCE when the high priest Onias and his pro-Egyptian faction wrested control from them. The exiled Tobiads lobbied Antiochus IV Epiphanes to recapture Jerusalem. As the ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus tells us “The king being thereto disposed beforehand, complied with them, and came upon the Jews with a great army, and took their city by force, and slew a great multitude of those that favored Ptolemy, and sent out his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation for three years and six months.”

Keeping my Kiln warm,

Karen

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