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Shabbat candles

The paired candlestick (for at least two candles) was used as a Shabbat candlestick. Shabbat is one of the most important holidays in Judaism, lasting from Friday to Saturday sunset. The Sabbath day was set aside by God to rest after the creation of the world during the previous six days. During the Sabbath, Jews should refrain from all work. The celebration of Shabbat is accompanied by a solemn atmosphere; when darkness falls, a woman lights two Shabbat candles to illuminate the day for Shabbat.

In reference to this tradition in sacred iconography, Sabbath candles are usually dedicated to women. The motif of a candlestick on a male tombstone is associated with the study of books - the light of the candles illuminates the sacred books studied late into the night. A broken or extinguished candle signifies death, a broken life.

You can read more about Shabbat on the Virtual Shtetl website: https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/slownik/szabat-szabas-szabes.

Shabbat candles can be of many different sizes, the only requirement being that they burn for the entire evening of Shabbat. They must be extinguished by themselves, as it is forbidden to put them out. There are many family anecdotes connected with the Sabbath holiday. The custom of burning Shabbat candles and sitting down to a festive dinner was also celebrated in many secular homes. As Szalom Asz wrote in "Warsaw". (Warsaw 1931, p. 91):

- It seems to be very festive at your place today.

- Yes, don't you know? After all, it is Friday evening. Although anything else could be said about us, apart from that we are pious, every Friday evening we light candles. (...)

Mindla Wróblewska's testimony in H. Marcinkowska's book "Wieczni tułacze. Postwar emigration of Polish Jews" (Warsaw 2019, p. 135):

"I had two silver Shabbat candlesticks, kept by my school friend Janka. When I returned from Russia in 1946, I went straight to her. She had tears in her eyes, went into the other room and brought me those candlesticks. (...) These candlesticks still belonged to my grandmother Bajla, every Friday she would light them, then my mother would light them, and then me. It was something from my old life, the memory of my murdered family (...)."

Natalia Różańska

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