Of Dads and Candles

I'm not a very organized person. So, when we brought home our photos of our dearly departed dads from Yom Kippur services, they kind of never got put away.  So every Friday night when we light the Shabbat candles, there they are, hangin' out on the sideboard!  We've gotten used to having them there, and they've come to belong there.

A few days ago, we brought out the Hanukkah menorahs and candles, found space for them on the sideboard, and positioned the Dad photos to be part of the festivities. By this time, we don't even consider putting the pictures away. They're too precious!

Why do we have two menorot? The brass one on the right is what we bought when we got married. It was the best we could afford.  The green one on the left is the one I grew up with in my father's house. Many years after he passed away, when my mom finally sold the house, it was the one thing I chose to take. I cannot even express how strongly it brings back childhood memories, and how much it reminds me of my dad.

 As a child, I loved gazing at that green menorah from Israel, nearly as long as the candles burned.  The shape of it seems beautifully graceful to me, and iconic of 1950's Israel. The bottom is weighted to avoid tipping over.  The candle holders each have a lovely rounded bronze edge on the their tops, which for some reason pleases me enormously.









I'm not sure what will be my children's favorite memories of Hanukkah... maybe the cheap brass menorah? Or that crazy blue dreidel that spins endlessly.  But for me, it's the green menorah from Israel, my father, and as an adult, my father-in-law. Our dads have passed on, but they're still always with us.