The symbol of Hanukkah is not what you might think it is.
For many, the Jewish festival of lights is most identified with a menorah — a branch of flames atop candles or cups of oil.
But what the uninitiated might mistake for a menorah is really a hanukkiah.
A menorah is Hebrew for lamp. It is generally a candelabra for seven lights.
A hanukkiah is a specific menorah used for Hanukkah. It holds nine lights. That is one for each of the eight nights of the holiday and one for shamash, or helper candle — the candle used to light all of the others.
So any hanukkiah is a menorah but not every menorah is a hanukkiah.
Does that matter? Yes.
It matters because it is important to understand distinctions. The little differences in things that come from the way they are used or the way they were created or the things they symbolize are not something we can just shrug off. Acknowledging the details acknowledges people.
In America and around the world, antisemitism has been increasing. The Anti-Defamation League in October reported more than 10,000 incidents in the previous 12 months, up from 3,325 before the 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.
Are there legitimate concerns with how Israel is pressing forward with the war? Yes. That does not justify vandalism, harassment and physical attacks on people and institutions.
Details are important. Just as every menorah does not have the nine candles that make it the center of Hanukkah celebrations, every Jewish person is not responsible for the actions of the government in a country half a world away.
But Hanukkah is a celebration of miracles — of things no one believed could happen until they did.
If one jar of oil could burn throughout eight nights as the Maccabees reclaimed their desecrated temple, there is hope for peace in Israel. There is hope for peace in the hearts of people around the corner and around the world when it comes to their Jewish brothers and sisters.
And where there is hope, there is light. A menorah — specifically a hanukkiah — can share that light.
