מְנוֹרָה

Menorah (מְנוֹרָה) comes from the Hebrew root n-w-r (נור), meaning 'fire, light.' A menorah is a lamp — specifically the seven-branched golden lampstand described in Exodus.

The original menorah stood in the Temple in Jerusalem, its seven branches burning olive oil continuously. When the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 CE, the menorah was carried off to Rome — depicted on the Arch of Titus.

The nine-branched Hanukkah menorah (hanukkiah) commemorates the miracle of oil: when the Temple was rededicated, one day's oil burned for eight days. The ninth branch (shamash) lights the others.

Israel adopted the menorah as its state emblem in 1949 — the oldest symbol of the Jewish people, older than the Star of David, connecting the modern state to the ancient Temple.