Silver Hanukkah Lamp
Caspar Birckenholtz
1661–1690
This Hanukkah lamp from Frankfurt am Main, like the earliest known silver Hanukkah lamps made in Germany, is shaped like a chest and resembles inkwells of the period. This one is relatively unornamented, perhaps reflecting a style popular at the time. It has spouts for the wicks in the shape of fish heads, for reasons unknown. (One theory is that it was commissioned by a fish seller.)
Credits
Hanukkah Lamp. Gift of Mrs. Albert A. List / The Jewish Museum, New York.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
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According to the Torah
According to the Torah, a man can acquire a woman in one of three ways:
Through a document, through silver, or through intercourse. God is the one that gives a prudent wife.
In truth, one must begin…
Every day, I ask
Every day, I ask all those that pass by the shepherd’s tents,
What is all this, why is all this?
Has my beloved had a change of heart, and abandoned his flock forever,
And rejected them, and…
Face to face
Face to face, the Lord spoke with your whole community, who fear his name.
Indeed, you saw his greatness at Sinai; indeed, you heard the voice of his speech.
He revealed to me the secret of the law…
My heart desires to praise the Lord
My heart desires to praise the Lord though I do not see Him.
Yet I praise him every day for all His kindnesses to me,
My soul gives thanks to Him for it belongs to Him and comes from Him.
My heart…
My heart is seeking out the Lord
My heart is seeking out the Lord, and to Almighty God I pray
That He come back unto the altar, shelter me beneath His shade,
And that He settle Israel’s throngs in a tranquil dwelling place.
In…
Come, faithful community, let us sing
Come, faithful community, To Him who dwells on high, Come, let us sing.O garden dweller, Young and old, Come, let us sing.We will exalt His name, We are His people, Come, let us sing. …
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Creator Bio
Caspar Birckenholtz
17th Century
Caspar Birckenholtz was a silversmith in Frankfurt am Main in the seventeenth century.
Related Guide
Early Modern Jewish Languages (1500–1750)
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Related Guide
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According to the Torah
According to the Torah, a man can acquire a woman in one of three ways:
Through a document, through silver, or through intercourse. God is the one that gives a prudent wife.
In truth, one must begin…
Every day, I ask
Every day, I ask all those that pass by the shepherd’s tents,
What is all this, why is all this?
Has my beloved had a change of heart, and abandoned his flock forever,
And rejected them, and…
Face to face
Face to face, the Lord spoke with your whole community, who fear his name.
Indeed, you saw his greatness at Sinai; indeed, you heard the voice of his speech.
He revealed to me the secret of the law…
My heart desires to praise the Lord
My heart desires to praise the Lord though I do not see Him.
Yet I praise him every day for all His kindnesses to me,
My soul gives thanks to Him for it belongs to Him and comes from Him.
My heart…
My heart is seeking out the Lord
My heart is seeking out the Lord, and to Almighty God I pray
That He come back unto the altar, shelter me beneath His shade,
And that He settle Israel’s throngs in a tranquil dwelling place.
In…
Come, faithful community, let us sing
Come, faithful community, To Him who dwells on high, Come, let us sing.O garden dweller, Young and old, Come, let us sing.We will exalt His name, We are His people, Come, let us sing. …