Chanuka at the Israel Museum

I couldn't have picked a better time to visit the "new" Israel Museum than on Chanukah. In addition to the other exhibitions (my favorite was Jewish life...), there's a gorgeous exhibition of Chanukah Menorahs from all over the world in the Mandel Wing for Jewish Art & Life.

Silver, copper, brass, intricate, simple, timeless. The chanukiyot (menorahs) came from German, Poland, Syria, Iraq, Russia, Netherlands, Tunisia, Austria, Afghanistan and more.

There was no photography allowed in the museum, but this page (pictured above) right off the museum's website, http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/htmls/home.aspx, will give you an idea of how gorgeous the menorah room is. It's a corner of the musem where you'll want to linger, so that you can examine each of the different menorahs. If your mind wanders to those Jewish families in Afghanistan or Germany or Iraq that lit the menorah inside their homes, while danger lurked outside, you understand the significance and the feeling behind the exhibition.

Go see it.