This is a colourful Chanukah poster published by the Society and Youth Department of the Ministry of Education. The main image on the poster is a large nine-branched chanukiya which is lit on the festival of Chanukah. All nine candles of the chanukiya are lit, and the shamash candle in the centre is sitting atop a hamsa (palm shaped amulet) which is decorated with illustrations of Jerusalem. The blessing that is said when lighting the Chanukah candles is written in the shape of an arch, with the last word of the blessing, “Chanukah,” written in the base of the chanukiya. The beginning lines of the prayer Hanerot Hallalu are written below the chanukiya. The text is surrounded by illustrations of birds, flowers, grapes, dreidels, doves, harps, small chanukiyot, and a Magen David. Two figures with bird faces are looking up at the large chanukiya, their arms upraised as if presenting it. The figures are reminiscent of the figures in the Birds’ Head Haggadah created in Germany in the early fourteenth century. The Hebrew word “Chanukah” is printed at the top of the page between the two emblems of the Ministry of Education and the Society and Youth Department.
The Moroccan-born artist Michael Elkayam designed the illustrations for the poster. Elkayam moved to Israel as a young child, but his art is influenced by his Moroccan background and reflects his interest in religious objects, amulets, and biblical themes.
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Chanuka - Chanuka celebrates the rededication of the Temple by Judah the Maccabee and his army after their victory over the Greeks in 165 BCE. One of the well-known miracles of the Chanukah story is the small portion of oil that was able to light the Menorah in the Temple and burn for eight nights. Chanukah begins on 25 Kislev and is celebrated by lighting a Chanukiya for eight nights. It is also traditional to eat fried foods (to symbolise the oil) and play with spinning tops known as dreidles.
Chanukiya - A chanukiya is the special menorah (candelabra) that is lit on the holiday of Chanukah. Candles are lit to commemorate the miracle of the oil, which despite being enough to last for only one day, miraculously lasted for eight days. The chanukiyah is lit every night of the eight-day festival with an additional candle being added each day, so that by the last night, all eight are lit. Chanukiyot are traditionally placed in the window or by the door of the house in order to publically proclaim the Chanukah miracle. Ideally it is lit with oil, preferably olive oil, but candles are also permissible and are more common nowadays. The chanukiyah is often wrongly called a menora, which was the seven-branched candelabra lit as part of the daily worship in the temple. The chanukiya, however, has nine branches, one for each of the days of Chanukah and one for the shamash, the candle which is used to light the others.
Michael Elkayam - Michael Elkayam was born in Morocco in 1954 and immigrated to Israel as a young child, where he grew up in the southern development town of Netivot. Elkayam studied at the Beersheva Academy of Fine Arts and the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem and specialized in graphic techniques. Elkayam’s work uses Jewish themes and symbols and often incorporates biblical verses.
