Soccer Dad

My 4 menoras

The Ignoble Experiment has a noble meme:

Here's the deal:

1) Take or find a picture of the menorah you're using this year OR any special menorah in your life.

* If you really can't upload pictures, you can try to find one that looks just like yours.

2) Tell a little story about how you got it, what it means to you, or whatever else you find appropriate.

3) Tag 8 people.

4) Forward me the link to your post. I'll get all the stories together and put them up Friday afternoon. My e-mail is sicat222 at gmail dot com.

Four steps. Sounds easy. But how about if I tell you about 4 special menoras?

1) When I was in about 5th grade my parents let me choose my own Menora. (I had used a family one before then.) I chose one that looked like an old lamp with the candle holes arranged like a horseshoe. I liked it because it was different.
Because the candles were placed in such a compact order, at the end of Channuka the concentrated heat caused them all to melt just a little bit quicker.

2) A few years later for my Bar Mitzvah the Rabbi's mother-in-law gave me an oil menora. It had a base with 8 cups and a middle piece that went over it. It had an ornate back that attached to the base.
I used to enjoy tearing up cotton balls and twisting the fibers into wicks. The trick was to make wicks that weren't too thick so that they'd absorb (and burn) too much oil and not too thin so that they'd produce a good flame.
I believe that the longest I got a light to last was about 3 hours and averaged about an hour and a half.

3) The year we got engaged, it was right before Channuka. So when she came down to Baltimore for the first time, Anne brought me a beautiful modern oil Menora. The stems came together in a spaghetti like pattern in the bottom.
I would have to say that this was my favorite for it was the first gift she gave me.

4) However Menora #3 didn't exactly flourish in its later years. The cups came loose from the stems. So two years ago she got me a new Menora. It has a more traditional shape and is a good deal taller.
It is quite beautiful and here's a picture:

So now who will I tag? The list is below...

Tagged: Mom in Israel, Elie's Expositions, Oy Vay Blog, It's Almost Supernatural, Sweet Rose, Ocean Guy, West Bank Mama, and Israel Matzav.

Thanks to Mom in Israel and Elie's Expo for responding at this late date!

Blogdigger tags: Menora Meme, Channuka.