This silver Hanukkah lamp, so striking in its highly polished backplate, applied filigree work, and coloured stones, is marked in Hebrew and English ‘Sterling; Yemini, Bezalel Jerusalem’. Yehye Yemini (1896–1983), a gifted Yemenite silversmith, was 12 years old when he joined the silver department of the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem.
The relief on his lamp shows the purification of the Jerusalem Temple, with the high priest standing tall in the centre, and crouched figures busily tidying the overturned vessels. This event is also referred to in the Hebrew text directly below it: ‘And they purified the courtyard and all that was in it and they renewed all the holy vessels’ (1 Maccabees 4:48–49). The Festival of Hanukkah, in Hebrew ‘dedication’, celebrates this moment: the re-inauguration of the Temple that took place immediately following the defeat of the Seleucid army by Judas Maccabeus.
Chapter 2 foreshadows these events: in it, Mattathias abandons the holy city precisely because the Temple had been desecrated. It is his initial refusal to offer impure sacrifices, or to ‘steer right and left from God’s covenant’ (2:20–22), that comes to its eventual fruition in this lamp’s scene.
By citing Maccabees, artists of the Bezalel School challenged an old tradition: before the twentieth century, Hanukkah lamps typically featured ancient symbols (for example, the seven branched candelabra, the Tablets of the Law, and the lion of the tribe of Judah), but almost never showed narrative scenes and inscriptions from Maccabees. This omission is hardly surprising if one remembers that the books of Maccabees never entered the canon of the Hebrew Bible. But for the Bezalel School, their message of Jewish heroism inspired a sense of national pride and merited a place in the ‘visual canon’ of Hanukkah’s iconography.
2 In those days Mattathiʹas the son of John, son of Simʹeon, a priest of the sons of Joʹarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Moʹde-in. 2He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi, 3Simon called Thassi, 4Judas called Maccabeʹus, 5Eleaʹzar called Avʹaran, and Jonathan called Apphus. 6He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem, 7and said,
“Alas! Why was I born to see this,
the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city,
and to dwell there when it was given over to the enemy,
the sanctuary given over to aliens?
8Her temple has become like a man without honor;
9her glorious vessels have been carried into captivity.
Her babes have been killed in her streets,
her youths by the sword of the foe.
10What nation has not inherited her palaces
and has not seized her spoils?
11All her adornment has been taken away;
no longer free, she has become a slave.
12And behold, our holy place, our beauty,
and our glory have been laid waste;
the Gentiles have profaned it.
13Why should we live any longer?”
14 And Mattathiʹas and his sons rent their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly.
15 Then the king’s officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Moʹde-in to make them offer sacrifice. 16Many from Israel came to them; and Mattathiʹas and his sons were assembled. 17Then the king’s officers spoke to Mattathiʹas as follows: “You are a leader, honored and great in this city, and supported by sons and brothers. 18Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts.”
19 But Mattathiʹas answered and said in a loud voice: “Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing each one from the religion of his fathers, 20yet I and my sons and my brothers will live by the covenant of our fathers. 21Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances. 22We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left.”
23 When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice upon the altar in Moʹde-in, according to the king’s command. 24When Mattathiʹas saw it, be burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him upon the altar. 25At the same time he killed the king’s officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. 26Thus he burned with zeal for the law, as Phinʹehas did against Zimri the son of Salu.
27 Then Mattathiʹas cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: “Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!” 28And he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the city.
29 Then many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to dwell there, 30they, their sons, their wives, and their cattle, because evils pressed heavily upon them. 31And it was reported to the king’s officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that men who had rejected the king’s command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness. 32Many pursued them, and overtook them; they encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the sabbath day. 33And they said to them, “Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live.” 34But they said, “We will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands and so profane the sabbath day.” 35Then the enemy hastened to attack them. 36But they did not answer them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places, 37for they said, “Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly.” 38So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died, with their wives and children and cattle, to the number of a thousand persons.
39 When Mattathiʹas and his friends learned of it, they mourned for them deeply. 40And each said to his neighbor: “If we all do as our brethren have done and refuse to fight with the Gentiles for our lives and our ordinances, they will quickly destroy us from the earth.” 41So they made this decision that day: “Let us fight against every man who comes to attack us on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our brethren died in their hiding places.”
42 Then there united with them a company of Hasideʹans, mighty warriors of Israel, every one who offered himself willingly for the law. 43And all who became fugitives to escape their troubles joined them and reinforced them. 44They organized an army, and struck down sinners in their anger and lawless men in their wrath; the survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety. 45And Mattathiʹas and his friends went about and tore down the altars; 46they forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised boys that they found within the borders of Israel. 47They hunted down the arrogant men, and the work prospered in their hands. 48They rescued the law out of the hands of the Gentiles and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the upper hand.
49 Now the days drew near for Mattathiʹas to die, and he said to his sons: “Arrogance and reproach have now become strong; it is a time of ruin and furious anger. 50Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of our fathers.
51 “Remember the deeds of the fathers, which they did in their generations; and receive great honor and an everlasting name. 52Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness? 53Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and became lord of Egypt. 54Phinʹehas our father, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of everlasting priesthood. 55Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel. 56Caleb, because he testified in the assembly, received an inheritance in the land. 57David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom for ever. 58Eliʹjah because of great zeal for the law was taken up into heaven. 59Hananiʹah, Azariʹah, and Mishʹa-el believed and were saved from the flame. 60Daniel because of his innocence was delivered from the mouth of the lions.
61 “And so observe, from generation to generation, that none who put their trust in him will lack strength. 62Do not fear the words of a sinner, for his splendor will turn into dung and worms. 63Today he will be exalted, but tomorrow he will not be found, because he has returned to the dust, and his plans will perish. 64My children, be courageous and grow strong in the law, for by it you will gain honor.
65 “Now behold, I know that Simʹeon your brother is wise in counsel; always listen to him; he shall be your father. 66Judas Maccabeʹus has been a mighty warrior from his youth; he shall command the army for you and fight the battle against the peoples. 67You shall rally about you all who observe the law, and avenge the wrong done to your people. 68Pay back the Gentiles in full, and heed what the law commands.”
69 Then he blessed them, and was gathered to his fathers. 70He died in the one hundred and forty-sixth year and was buried in the tomb of his fathers at Moʹde-in. And all Israel mourned for him with great lamentation.
Yihye [Yehia] Yemini
Hanukkah lamp, 1920s, Silver, 12.5 x 10.6 x 4 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2013.940, Photo © 2020 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Breaking with Tradition
This silver Hanukkah lamp, so striking in its highly polished backplate, applied filigree work, and coloured stones, is marked in Hebrew and English ‘Sterling; Yemini, Bezalel Jerusalem’. Yehye Yemini (1896–1983), a gifted Yemenite silversmith, was 12 years old when he joined the silver department of the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem.
The relief on his lamp shows the purification of the Jerusalem Temple, with the high priest standing tall in the centre, and crouched figures busily tidying the overturned vessels. This event is also referred to in the Hebrew text directly below it: ‘And they purified the courtyard and all that was in it and they renewed all the holy vessels’ (1 Maccabees 4:48–49). The Festival of Hanukkah, in Hebrew ‘dedication’, celebrates this moment: the re-inauguration of the Temple that took place immediately following the defeat of the Seleucid army by Judas Maccabeus.
Chapter 2 foreshadows these events: in it, Mattathias abandons the holy city precisely because the Temple had been desecrated. It is his initial refusal to offer impure sacrifices, or to ‘steer right and left from God’s covenant’ (2:20–22), that comes to its eventual fruition in this lamp’s scene.
By citing Maccabees, artists of the Bezalel School challenged an old tradition: before the twentieth century, Hanukkah lamps typically featured ancient symbols (for example, the seven branched candelabra, the Tablets of the Law, and the lion of the tribe of Judah), but almost never showed narrative scenes and inscriptions from Maccabees. This omission is hardly surprising if one remembers that the books of Maccabees never entered the canon of the Hebrew Bible. But for the Bezalel School, their message of Jewish heroism inspired a sense of national pride and merited a place in the ‘visual canon’ of Hanukkah’s iconography.
1 Maccabees 2
Revised Standard Version
2 In those days Mattathiʹas the son of John, son of Simʹeon, a priest of the sons of Joʹarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Moʹde-in. 2He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi, 3Simon called Thassi, 4Judas called Maccabeʹus, 5Eleaʹzar called Avʹaran, and Jonathan called Apphus. 6He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem, 7and said,
“Alas! Why was I born to see this,
the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city,
and to dwell there when it was given over to the enemy,
the sanctuary given over to aliens?
8Her temple has become like a man without honor;
9her glorious vessels have been carried into captivity.
Her babes have been killed in her streets,
her youths by the sword of the foe.
10What nation has not inherited her palaces
and has not seized her spoils?
11All her adornment has been taken away;
no longer free, she has become a slave.
12And behold, our holy place, our beauty,
and our glory have been laid waste;
the Gentiles have profaned it.
13Why should we live any longer?”
14 And Mattathiʹas and his sons rent their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly.
15 Then the king’s officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Moʹde-in to make them offer sacrifice. 16Many from Israel came to them; and Mattathiʹas and his sons were assembled. 17Then the king’s officers spoke to Mattathiʹas as follows: “You are a leader, honored and great in this city, and supported by sons and brothers. 18Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts.”
19 But Mattathiʹas answered and said in a loud voice: “Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing each one from the religion of his fathers, 20yet I and my sons and my brothers will live by the covenant of our fathers. 21Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances. 22We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left.”
23 When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice upon the altar in Moʹde-in, according to the king’s command. 24When Mattathiʹas saw it, be burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him upon the altar. 25At the same time he killed the king’s officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. 26Thus he burned with zeal for the law, as Phinʹehas did against Zimri the son of Salu.
27 Then Mattathiʹas cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: “Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!” 28And he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the city.
29 Then many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to dwell there, 30they, their sons, their wives, and their cattle, because evils pressed heavily upon them. 31And it was reported to the king’s officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that men who had rejected the king’s command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness. 32Many pursued them, and overtook them; they encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the sabbath day. 33And they said to them, “Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live.” 34But they said, “We will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands and so profane the sabbath day.” 35Then the enemy hastened to attack them. 36But they did not answer them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places, 37for they said, “Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly.” 38So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died, with their wives and children and cattle, to the number of a thousand persons.
39 When Mattathiʹas and his friends learned of it, they mourned for them deeply. 40And each said to his neighbor: “If we all do as our brethren have done and refuse to fight with the Gentiles for our lives and our ordinances, they will quickly destroy us from the earth.” 41So they made this decision that day: “Let us fight against every man who comes to attack us on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our brethren died in their hiding places.”
42 Then there united with them a company of Hasideʹans, mighty warriors of Israel, every one who offered himself willingly for the law. 43And all who became fugitives to escape their troubles joined them and reinforced them. 44They organized an army, and struck down sinners in their anger and lawless men in their wrath; the survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety. 45And Mattathiʹas and his friends went about and tore down the altars; 46they forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised boys that they found within the borders of Israel. 47They hunted down the arrogant men, and the work prospered in their hands. 48They rescued the law out of the hands of the Gentiles and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the upper hand.
49 Now the days drew near for Mattathiʹas to die, and he said to his sons: “Arrogance and reproach have now become strong; it is a time of ruin and furious anger. 50Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of our fathers.
51 “Remember the deeds of the fathers, which they did in their generations; and receive great honor and an everlasting name. 52Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness? 53Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and became lord of Egypt. 54Phinʹehas our father, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of everlasting priesthood. 55Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel. 56Caleb, because he testified in the assembly, received an inheritance in the land. 57David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom for ever. 58Eliʹjah because of great zeal for the law was taken up into heaven. 59Hananiʹah, Azariʹah, and Mishʹa-el believed and were saved from the flame. 60Daniel because of his innocence was delivered from the mouth of the lions.
61 “And so observe, from generation to generation, that none who put their trust in him will lack strength. 62Do not fear the words of a sinner, for his splendor will turn into dung and worms. 63Today he will be exalted, but tomorrow he will not be found, because he has returned to the dust, and his plans will perish. 64My children, be courageous and grow strong in the law, for by it you will gain honor.
65 “Now behold, I know that Simʹeon your brother is wise in counsel; always listen to him; he shall be your father. 66Judas Maccabeʹus has been a mighty warrior from his youth; he shall command the army for you and fight the battle against the peoples. 67You shall rally about you all who observe the law, and avenge the wrong done to your people. 68Pay back the Gentiles in full, and heed what the law commands.”
69 Then he blessed them, and was gathered to his fathers. 70He died in the one hundred and forty-sixth year and was buried in the tomb of his fathers at Moʹde-in. And all Israel mourned for him with great lamentation.
More Exhibitions
Seek and You Shall Find
Song of Solomon 5:2–6:3
Imaging the Trinity
John 10:22–42
Striking the Rock
Exodus 17:1–7; Numbers 20:1–13