Curators Candles
Everything is illuminated!
Candelabra
Unknown
Jake's maternal grandmother
This candelabra has been in our family for at least four generations. My great- grandfather and grandmother inherited it and when she passed away about fifteen years ago my grandmother inherited it.
My great-grandmother lit them every Friday night for Shabbat.
Chanukiah
Israel
Gabby K
My Chanukah Menorah was passed down from my great-grandmother Fannie, who was born in Brooklyn in 1885, to my grandmother, then to my mother and now to me. It is very important to me to keep passing it down.
Our family uses it to celebrate Chanukah
every year and it reminds me of my ancestors whenever I look at it.
Editor’s note: A Judaic object made in Israel of a contemporary design with an oxidized copper patina, is emblematic of Israel’s fusion of the ancient with the contemporary.
Chanukiah
Italy
Sheila S.
My Chanukah Menorah was brought from Austria by my great-great- grandmother. The shamash fell off at some point. This oil burning menorah truly symbolizes the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days after the Jews cleaned out the temple and relit the eternal light.
It has been passed through many generations and is one of our last links to our family roots in Austria.
Candlesticks
Russia
Gail Katz
The candlesticks were brought here from Russia some generations ago, too many for us to have certain knowledge of its history, but they have been in our family for generations.
My grandma Gail Katz’s grandmother would use these candlestick holders on every Shabbat and for holidays. The candlesticks will be in my family for many generations to come.
Candlesticks
Poland
Judy G
My great-great grandmother Rose Sumholz Redlus brought the candle-sticks over from Poland when she emigrated to the US at the age of 18 in 1904. These candlesticks had belonged to her mother.
These brass candlesticks were used by four generations of the same family. Grandma Judy says that she used to watch her grandmother use them on Shabbat.
Candlesticks and Certificate of Citizenship
Poland
Naomi Safian
There were only a few things that my great-grandma Ruth Friedman nee Stollman could bring with her to the United States. The candlesticks are one of these heirlooms. On her way to the USA my great-grandma Ruth had to stop in Canada and live with people whom she didn't know at all and who treated her very poorly. In 1930 she moved to the USA and in 1936 she became a citizen.
It symbolizes what life was like for my great-grandma Ruth in Poland. These candlesticks were made for people who weren't as wealthy as others. My great-grandma Ruth didn't have that much money and so she got these candlesticks. They must have been important to her as she saw fit to bring them with her. Now we have a part of her history in our family belongings.
Candlesticks
Russia
Monroe W
The candlesticks were brought here from Russia on a boat by my great-great-grandmother Bine in 1908. They were handed down to my great-grandmother Sadie who gave them to my grandmother Beatrice and then my father Monroe.
They were lit every Friday night by my family beginning in the town of Medzhybizh. The area where they were made was the center of Jewish culture in the Ukraine. My great-grandmother would visit the grave of the Baal Shem Tov and my great-great-grandfather would pray in the shul, the original shul of the Baal Shem Tov in Medzhybizh. They have been in our family for over 150 years.
Candlesticks
Poland
Robert and Eva W
My candlesticks were brought here by my great-grandparents, the only thing that they could bring over when they were expelled and had to leave for World War II.
This candle holder means a lot to my family because it has survived. Families would invest in silver candlesticks and go without good food in order to afford them. It represents Shabbat and continuity in my family because it has been in my family for so long.