Tag Archives: menorah

Manischewitz Tiki Torch Menorah

Posted on 12/05/2015 | 2 comments

Manischewitz Tiki Torch oil Menorah

A new lamp for the concord of our souls at the festival of lights: the Manischewitz Tiki Torch Menorah.

Happy Hanukkah, friends. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged menorah, olive oil, tiki torch, upcycle

Menorah Free-Build (Duplo, candles, PVC), Temple Free-Build

Posted on 12/04/2015 | Comments Off

Builders at work

Once you’ve covered the basic rules of kosher menorah structure, practiced the sequences of adding candles and lighting them, and have worked on the blessings, it’s time for free build. The setup can’t be easier, but the rewards are big. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged menorah, Temple

DIY Menorahs from Repurposed or Otherwise Interesting Materials

Posted on 11/29/2015 | Comments Off

building the PVC menorah at a carnival

All my DIY Hanukkah menorahs are made with repurposed materials, scrap or otherwise compelling components. Meatloaf? Easter eggs? Car parts? Marmite jars? Swim noodles? Plumbing supplies? LEGO, too, of course. And more. Irresistible materials attract builders. To build any menorah is a far deeper learning experience than to simply color one on a sheet of paper. Our builders need to build because they are building themselves. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged menorah, upcycle

Bottle Lid Menorah (flame or LED)

Posted on 11/27/2015 | 8 comments

upcycled scrap hanukkiyah

Scraptastic or simply crap?
Here’s why I vote for the former:
Orange juice lids are the exactly perfect right size for tealight candles. I dare you to not enjoy slipping a candle into the inner ring of an upturned Tropicana lid. Irresistible. Kids love it. (Teach them the word “frisson” while you’re at it.) Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged menorah, recycle, scrap art, tealight, upcycle

Menorah vs. Hanukkiyah (easy show ‘n’ tell)

Posted on 11/22/2015 | 2 comments

menorot

A Menorah is a lamp. A lamp is a menorah.

A Hanukkah menorah is a hanukkiyah.

This little set up (above) is so easy to assemble, and its a great way to start a class about menorah structure, rules, and vocab. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged chanukah, Hanukkah, menorah

LEGO menorah: Star Wars (flameless)

Posted on 12/23/2014 | Comments Off

LEGO Return of the Jedi minifig menorah

Hanukkah and Star Wars. Both stories involve Rebels vs. an Imperial Army. Both stories incite argument about what is in the “canon” and what isn’t.* Continue reading →

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Posted in Crafts, Hanukkah, Kitsch

Tagged Lego, menorah, Star Wars

Burning Questions about DIY Candleholders

Posted on 12/19/2014 | 4 comments

Motivated by news that a friend’s child-crafted Model Magic menorah caught fire last night, I offer some tips. Not in the superior tone of the irksome “You’re Doing It Wrong” trend, but as a fellow parent of children who come home from Sunday School clutching hand-made Judaica meant to contain naked flame. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah, Shabbat

Tagged fire safety, menorah

Happy Hanukkah (with Nanoblock Menorahs)

Posted on 12/16/2014 | Comments Off

Nanoblock menorahs (w LEGO minifig for scale)

Happy first night of Hanukkah! I hope that by now, you have found a just-right menorah to light your holiday. Continue reading →

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Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged Lego, menorah, Nanoblock

Star Wars PEZ Menorah with Candy Flame

Posted on 12/15/2014 | 1 comment

PEZ candles, PEZ flames

PEZ Hanukkah menorahs have been a thing for awhile, which means I wasn’t interested in making one, but when my Mom came for a visit bearing a Star Wars Limited Edition PEZ Collector’s Set With 9 Star Wars PEZ Dispensers, what else could I do? Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah, Kitsch

Tagged Hanukkah, menorah, PEZ

Menorahs and other lessons through (literally) Jewish lenses

Posted on 12/14/2014 | 9 comments

Stars are crisper in person, I promise. I held the glasses over my camera lens.

Stars are far crisper in person. I held the glasses over my camera lens.

I don’t often tout a store-bought product, but I recently discovered that Jewish Star spectacles are back in production. The holographic lenses convert every focused light source into a Jewish star. Peep at a candle, a ceiling fixture, a lamp, and it becomes a Mogen David. Small light = small star, big light = big star. Imagine looking at a Hanukkah menorah on the 8th night.

Continue reading →

9 Comments

Posted in Activity, Hanukkah, Jewish Toys, Shabbat

Tagged candles, Havdalah, menorah, star of david

Paper Chain Menorah, made by kids

Posted on 12/12/2014 | 2 comments

Paper Chain Menorah at school entrance

I needed an oversize Hanukkah decoration for our school’s program on Sunday, big enough to be seen across a drab Social Hall. Yesterday, a random Pinterest pic reminded me of an oldie but goodie: a big, paper-chain hanukkiyah. If mounted low enough, it can do double duty as teaching tool: kids can “light” it and practice proper order and blessings. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged Hanukkah, menorah

Socket Menorah, instant DIY for the Jewish Garage

Posted on 12/11/2014 | 3 comments

garage hanukkiyah in natural habitat

Sockets are instant candleholders. And a socket holder is an instant Hanukkah menorah base. Thus, the Socket Menorah: instant ritual object for the handyperson or car nut. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Crafts, Hanukkah, Kitsch

Tagged hardware, menorah

Oil Menorahs, DIY or Buy

Posted on 12/03/2014 | Comments Off

Oil menorah, cheap but visible

When I first started doing Jewish holidays I remember being baffled by the Hanukkah candles. Wasn’t the Hanukkah story all about oil? Most every kid’s book highlights the miraculous oil, we fry our latkes and sufganiyot in oil, but every year we (and all the Jews I knew) pull out boxes of multicolored candles to light in honor of the oil. Shouldn’t we light oil to honor oil? Continue reading →

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Posted in Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged menorah, olive oil

Mini mint menorah (2.25″ wide): The Smalls

Posted on 11/27/2014 | 2 comments

Smalls are less than half the size of Altoids tins

Last year I made a “curiously tiny” menorah from an Altoids tin. I also made the claim that as menorahs go, you can’t get much smaller. I was wrong. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged menorah, recycle, scrap art

Elephant Warrior Oil Menorah (with bonus martyr)

Posted on 11/23/2014 | 2 comments

Elephant Menorah with Martyr and Matches

Today’s menorah features Eleazar Maccabee (Judah’s little brother) and the elephant that was his downfall (because it fell down on him).

What else would I make with a ziploc bag of spent rifle casings?
With me, anything longer than it is wide is not automatically “Freudian,” it is a menorah component. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged menorah, oil, recycle, scrap art, trash art

Hands-on Menorah Quiz (for School, Carnival)

Posted on 12/04/2013 | 2 comments

Gelt just for playing, Prize Draw for big winner later

The word “quiz” is instant Carnival buzzkill, right? Hardly the sort of catchy title to entice kids to a Chanukah Carnival station. But really, it is a quiz, my activity, not a game. And if it’s facilitated in the right spirit, it will be fun. And educational. And memorable. I promise. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Hanukkah

Tagged carnival, game, kosher, menorah, quiz

“Oil Crush” synagogue program: Make Oil like a Maccabee

Posted on 11/27/2013 | 12 comments

Olive Crushing Installation

This year, instead of a Chanukah carnival, I envisioned something new, or rather, something very, very old. Our synagogue Religious School held a Chanukah “Oil Crush” program. In a nutshell, we made olive oil—shemen zayit—just like the Maccabees, with a commissioned replica of a Hellenistic-era olive crushing installation: crushing wheel, pivot pole (power shaft) and crushing basin. Students from Pre-K to 7^th grade took turns pushing the pole to rotate the crushing wheel over fresh olives straight from the tree (ordered from California). Continue reading →

12 Comments

Posted in Activity, Crafts, Edible Craft, Hanukkah

Tagged lesson plan, menorah, olive oil

The Final Menurkey (stick a fork in me, I’m done)

Posted on 11/15/2013 | 5 comments

and flesh-colored candles on a bed of gelt.

I just can’t get worked up about the Hanukkah / Thanksgiving thing. I can’t even bring myself to call the holiday mashup by one of its cute, mashed up names. However, I did feel duty-bound to create a cheap Menurkey DIY, and then another even cheaper Menurkey.

But what I really, truly wanted to do was roast a huge Empire Kosher Turkey, shove white turkey frills on the ends of the drumsticks and jab nine Hanukkah candles into the crispy, brown skin on top. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Crafts, Hanukkah, Kitsch

Tagged menorah, Menurkey

Dollar Store Menurkey hack (and Talmudic quandary)

Posted on 11/14/2013 | 13 comments

Some folks are still looking for a cheap turkey to repurpose as a Hanukkah menorah, so here’s one for a buck. If your once-in-a-lifetime Hanukkah/Thanksgiving needs will be satisfied with a cheap plastic Menurkey, get thee to a Dollar Tree before all the $1 solar-powered turkeys are gone. Then, pimp that bird with a jumbo craft stick and super-glued birthday candleholders. I added glow-in-the-dark bday candles and Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in Activity, Hanukkah, Kitsch

Tagged menorah

Altoids tin Menorah

Posted on 11/12/2013 | 14 comments

Mint-orah

Nine hexnuts glued inside an empty Altoids tin = Travel Menorah. Or, a Curiously Tiny Menorah. You can’t get much easier. Or smaller for that matter. (EDIT: see smaller one here.) Mine is the classic Altoids size, and it holds—just barely—a row of birthday candles with the Shammash nearby.

I might have to name this a Mint-orah, although my gag reflex is already on the alert. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve made a Menorah-saur Continue reading →