Collection: Menorah Collection

What Menorahs Are Actually Made From

Material decides three things: what the menorah costs, how it looks lit, and how much upkeep it asks of you. What is on this page, roughly heaviest to lightest:

• Sterling silver — the traditional choice and the one that lasts. It tarnishes, polishes back, and holds its value. The classic hexagon-base, harp-shaped and swirl designs sit at the top of this collection, and one is convertible into a Shabbat candle holder. More in sterling silver Judaica.
• Nickelplate and gold-tone metal — how most designer work is made, including Michael Aram’s palm, twist, molten and pomegranate menorahs. Sculptural, substantial, and no polishing routine to keep up with.
• Crystal and glass — these throw light differently from metal, which is the whole point of them: the flames catch inside the body of the piece. There is a clear crystal design, a large crystal with blue accents, a handblown glass sculpture menorah, and a glass Chanukah menorah made with a broken wedding glass in mind.
• Anodised aluminium and coloured metal — bright, light and effectively unbreakable, which is why these end up being the family menorahs. The multicolour standing-squares design and the dreidel-cutout menorahs live here, with simpler enamelled pieces starting around $60.
• Chrome-plated with electric bulbs — for a window that cannot take an open flame, whether that is a building rule, a small child or a ledge with a curtain too close to it. The polished chrome design uses flickering bulbs instead of candles.

What to expect from each finish: silver and crystal read formal and want a clear surface to themselves. Coloured aluminium reads cheerful and survives being knocked over. Designer metal sits between the two and is the safest choice when you do not know the room it is going into. If you want the menorah to match Shabbat candlesticks or a kiddush cup already in the house, match the metal rather than the shape.

Temple Menorah or Chanukah Menorah — Which One Do You Need?

Two different objects share one English word, and buying the wrong one is an easy mistake to make.

The seven-branch menorah is the Temple menorah: the golden candelabrum described in Exodus, lit daily in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple in Jerusalem. Today it is the emblem on the coat of arms of the State of Israel, and a familiar decorative and symbolic piece in synagogues and homes. Jewish tradition, following the Talmud, treats a working replica of the seven-branch Temple menorah as something not made for use outside the Temple — so seven-branch pieces are displayed rather than lit for a holiday.

The nine-branch menorah — properly a hanukkiah — is what Chanukah is lit on: eight lights for the eight nights, plus the shamash that lights the others. The requirements in Jewish law are modest, which is exactly why the designs vary so wildly. The eight lights should sit in a straight line at the same height, the piece should be somewhere it can be seen, and each night’s lights should burn for at least thirty minutes.

Every menorah in this collection is a nine-branch hanukkiah, made for Chanukah. Candles and pre-filled olive oil vials are in Chanukah accessories and gifts, and if you are looking for a seven-branch piece as decor rather than for lighting, call the shop on (516) 437-5466 and we will tell you what we can do.

Buying a Menorah on Long Island

If you would rather see a menorah before you buy it, the shop is at 390 Willis Avenue, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577, just off the Long Island Expressway and the Northern State Parkway in Nassau County. Call (516) 437-5466 first to check opening times and that the piece you want is out on display. Everything on this page — and everything in the wider catalogue — is the same stock as the shop floor.

Seeing one in person matters more with menorahs than with most Judaica, for two reasons photographs hide. Scale: a menorah has to physically fit a windowsill or a sideboard, and the gap between a 12-inch and an 18-inch piece is the gap between it working in a room and not. And weight: sterling silver and cast metal feel completely different in the hand, and that feeling is most of what separates the price tiers.

Roslyn Heights is a short drive from Roslyn, Greenvale, Albertson, East Hills, Old Westbury, Manhasset, Port Washington, Great Neck, Westbury, Mineola and Garden City, and reachable from Queens and Manhattan. Further away, orders ship free over $99 — see the shipping policy. In the weeks before Chanukah it is worth calling ahead, because the popular designs move and the silver especially. Directions and full contact details are here.