ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512180037
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JENNIFER WEINER KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
If you grew up celebrating Hanukkah, you probably have fond memories of the potato pancakes, the toy dreidels, the gifts, the togetherness.
But you might not remember much about your menorah, the ceremonial candelabra. It probably was made of metal, and, most likely, was functional more than fanciful. It probably spent more of its time in the closet than on display.
Times have changed. And menorahs have changed right along with them.
Today, the menorah at the center of the Hanukkah celebration might be brass - or wood, or clay, or ceramic, or Formica, or tree branches molded into candelabra form, bearing birds and flowers, clouds and stars. It might be shaped like a pink-nosed, smiling triceratops, with candles poking out of each of the spikes on its back; or it might be in the shape of a baseball diamond that plays ``Take Me Out to the Ball Game.''
It might feature dancing ceramic couples - beaming rabbis and zaftig women whirling in a polka-dotted village square - or an animal orchestra, with musical elephants and lions. It might be as traditional as the one Grandma lit each winter, or as whimsical and flamboyant as any piece of modern art you've ever admired in a gallery.
And, instead of coming from a factory, your menorah might be a one-of-a-kind work of art, meant to be displayed year-round.
``It really is the result of Hanukkah's popularity over the last few decades,'' said Sanford Hahn, the interim executive director of the Philadelphia Board of Rabbis. ``Jewish artifacts in general have become much more popular, and people have committed their artistry to making menorahs.''
To be kosher for Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, a menorah must meet only a few requirements. It has to have eight candleholders - one for each night of the festival that commemorates the miracle of sacred oil that burned for eight days and nights, when it was only supposed to last for one. And there must be a space for the shammash, or helper candle, which should be elevated above the candles it lights.
Other than that, it's anything goes. A menorah can be made of any material, can take any shape, can be as large or small, as ornate or simple, as costly or inexpensive as taste and budget permit.
Elaine Silverman, the proprietor of the gift shop at the National Museum of American Jewish History, near Independence Mall in Philadelphia, shows off the 250 menorahs that line her shop's walls. She points out a $500 miniature sterling-silver menorah in a glass display case - ``work like that's a lost art'' - and a Chagall-like creation from a Russian artist that depicts Adam, Eve and the serpent.
``What I try to do is bring a new interpretation of an old tradition,'' she said.
Menorahs in the gift shop cost from $10 to a $3,500 show-stopper made of hand-cast bronze. The artists are from all over the country, and all over the world.
At American Pie on South Street, the back room is crammed with Judaica - menorahs, mezuzahs (prayer scrolls to be affixed to a doorway), dreidels, plates for Passover. Co-owner Kristen Kreider-Ebert said the store has carried menorahs for eight years - since she fell in love with the work of artist Sue Treuman. ``We just loved what she was doing,'' she said of Treuman's menorah, in which clay female figures support the candleholders. ``The fact that they were menorahs was secondary. We loved the figures themselves, and they were functional.''
So she and her husband ordered 23 pieces of Treuman's work, and kept their eyes open for other artists working in menorahs. ``We knew we had a strong Jewish clientele, and we thought it would be nice, not to make every Jewish person feel left out, with all the Christmas decorations and Christmas gifts.''
The rest is history. Kreider-Ebert said Treuman's work was the store's second-biggest seller. She estimated that 90 percent of the menorahs, which cost $38 to $900, were displayed in homes year-round.
And - perhaps a tribute to the sheer artistry of these menorahs - some are bought by non-Jews.
``They'll buy it, and not even know what it's for,'' Kreider-Ebert says. ``When we tell them, they just say, `Oh, really? That's great,' and have us wrap it up.''
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: KRT Today the menorah (above and below) might be aby CNBone-of-a-kind work of art, meant to be displayed year-round. color
(2 photos)