AFTER the severe and constantly-expanding test of nearly a decade, the
founders of the first Menorah Society may be permitted to felicitate
themselves on their choice of the name. For it was far truer of the
Menorah than it is of most organizations that the choice of a name was
of vital moment, and the founders were impressed by a number of
considerations which we can all fully appreciate even today. They were
bent upon choosing a name which would not deter any Jewish student
from enrolling under it with avidity; which would not excite
opposition from any source; which would command respect and reverence,
increasing respect and reverence, both from the University public and
the general public; which would be voluntarily adopted by similar
societies in other Universities in preference to any other that might
be suggested; and finally, a name with enough charm and euphony and
significant symbolism to stand constant repetition, to bear living
with day by day, and all the while grow in our imaginations and yield
new beauteous meaning through the years.
From a descriptive standpoint, it would be difficult to find a more
appropriate name for a University society devoted to Hebraic culture
than the name Menorah. For there is hardly another available word in
the entire range of Hebraic history and learning which is so freighted
with sentiment and so symbolic of all that Israel stands for.
_The Most Expressive of All Hebraic Symbols_
TAKEN in a general sense, it is evident that the Menorah or
seven-branched candelabrum, being the distinctive lamp or light of the
ancient Hebrews, serves more distinctively than would the classic
torch or the conventional oil lamp to represent Hebrew enlightenment.
Our aim being to spread the light of Hebraic culture, it is clearly
fitting that we should employ the Hebraic lamp. It should be more
effective, too, inasmuch as its light is sevenfold, and our efforts
are illuminated with a sevenfold splendor.
The word Menorah, it is worth noting, is among exclusively Hebrew
words the only one which would be readily understood by any
considerable number of people aside from students or readers of
Hebrew. It has been made familiar to all by the representation of the
captured Menorah on the Arch of Titus (see _Frontispiece_).
According to the Bible, the original Menorah was of divine pattern. It
was ordained by God in his instructions to Moses for the sacred
paraphernalia of the Holy Tabernacle (_Exodus_ XXV, 31 _et seq._). The
Menorah was thus among the first instruments or tokens of the Hebrew
religion, and the only one which in any sense is in our possession
today--the only one which can be perpetuated. The divine pattern is
still with us and we are repeatedly modeling new copies from it. The
Menorah is today, therefore, the most expressive of all concrete
symbols of the Hebrew race and religion.
_A Favorite Object of Metaphor and Poetic Sentiment_
A HALO of symbolism--almost kaleidoscopic in its manifold
beauty--surrounds the Menorah in Hebraic literature and tradition.
Both the single light or candle, and the distinctive combination of
seven, are the favorite objects of metaphor, interpretation, and
poetic sentiment. In the Bible the word "ner" (נר)--candle or
light, embodied, of course, in the word Menorah (מנורה)--is
used metaphorically in many significant senses. God is a
light--enlightening, comforting and honoring his people. The rational
understanding and conscience are lights which search, inform, direct
and judge us. A profession of faith is called a lamp, which renders
men shining and useful and instructors of others. The last two
interpretations certainly cast an appropriate reflection on our choice
of Menorah.
For the number 7, as we all know, the ancient Hebrews had a singular
fondness, attributing to it a magic potency. This may have arisen from
the traditional story of the seven days of Creation, and the
institution of the Sabbath--without a doubt the most important of
Hebrew institutions. This certainly enhanced the reverence for the
number 7, which soon became the most sacred Hebrew number, bearing
nearly always the connotation of holiness and sanctity or mystic
perfection. The acts of atonement and purification were accompanied by
a sevenfold sprinkling. There were seven trumpets, seven priests that
sounded them seven days around Jericho, seven lamps, seven seals, etc.
The seventh day was the Sabbath, the seventh year was the Sabbatical
(still observed to the well-earned emolument of our professors in the
Universities), and seven times seven years brought on the Jubilee. The
seventh month was the holiest month of the year (which we appreciate
now by regarding September as an auspicious month in which to return
to college studies). The number seven soon came to be used also
conventionally as an indefinite or round number, indicating
abundance, completeness, perfection.[1] Cicero calls seven the knot
and cement of all things, as being that by which the natural and
spiritual world are comprehended in one idea.
_The Manifold Symbolism of the Seven Lamps_
BE that as it may, our ancestral learned men seem to have found no end
of significant meanings in the seven lamps of the Menorah. Generally
it was held to represent the creation of the universe in seven days,
the center light symbolizing the Sabbath. Again, the seven branches
are the seven continents of the earth and the seven heavens, guided by
the light of God. According to Philo and others, the seven lights
represent the seven planets which, regarded as the eyes of God, behold
everything.[2] The light in the center, which is especially
distinguished, would signify the sun, as the chief of the planets.
With this was combined the mystic conception of a celestial tree, with
leaves reaching to the sky and fruit typifying the planets.
There would be little difficulty, of course, in extending this
symbolistic catalogue ad infinitum. We could easily and perhaps
profitably select Seven Wonders of Hebraic history or achievement,
seven great epochs in the development of Hebraic culture, seven great
leaders of the race, etc. We might also say that the seven lights
represent the seven chief studies which make up a liberal
education--the Trivium and Quadrivium of the Middle Ages,
substantially the foundation of the university curriculum of today[3].
The words יהי אור, "Let there be light," just above the Menorah on our
seal, are not only reminiscent of the first great word of God,
pregnant in meaning for humanity, but stand also for the purpose of
this Society--the relighting of the Menorah in order that it may shed
its ancient lustre and once again illumine the minds of men with the
glory and uplift of Hebraic ideals.
[Illustration: REPRODUCTION (ONE-FOURTH THE SIZE OF THE ORIGINAL) OF
THE MEMBERSHIP SHINGLE OF THE HARVARD MENORAH SOCIETY, ADOPTED IN ITS
FIRST YEAR
(1906-07)]
_The Symbolism of Palm and Olive Branch_
THE seal as originally drawn for the Harvard Menorah Society (see
accompanying illustration of membership shingle) bears two or three
other symbols which deserve a word of interpretation. Below the
Menorah appears the so-called Star of David--lately revived by the
Zionist movement as the only exclusively Jewish figure or geometric
symbol of any national meaning. Entwined below the seal proper are an
olive branch and a date palm, both of which are intimately associated
with the history of the race in Palestine. They are the two most
characteristic trees of the promised land, and provided the chief
staple foods of the Hebrews during their occupation of the country.
The olive, moreover, gave the oil with which the Menorah was lit.
There is also much fascinating symbolism in the olive tree and the
palm. Both are evergreens--standing for the persistency of the Hebrew
race. The date palm, we are told, has a slender and very yielding
stem, so that in a storm it sways back and forth but does not break;
and throughout its length it bears scars showing where leaves have
fallen off. Could anything be more beautifully expressive of the
career of the Jewish nation? Finally, the olive branch has always
stood for peace--one of the most cherished and distinctive
Hebraic ideals; and the palm has always stood for intellectual
achievement--and who would deny the palm to the race that
gave the world its Bible and all that it stands for?
[Illustration: Signature: Hyman Askowith]