shamash
See also: Shamash
English edit
Etymology edit
From Hebrew שַׁמָּשׁ (shamásh, “waiter, sexton”). Doublet of shammes, via Yiddish.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
shamash (plural shamashim)
- (Judaism) The candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah.
- 2023 December 7, Jacey Fortin, “For Some, the Symbols of Hanukkah Bring Extra Concern This Year”, in The New York Times[1]:
- The candelabras lit on Hanukkah are technically called hanukkiahs. They have eight candles plus one more, a shamash, that is used for lighting the others.
- A sexton in a synagogue.
- 1997, Michael Stivelman, The Death March:
- Until 1890, when the local Chevra Kadisha (a traditional Jewish funerary society) was set up, funeral services were performed by the shamashim, the beadles of the synagogues.
Alternative forms edit
Translations edit
sexton in a synagogue
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