Celebrate Hanukkah with the Jewish Museum

New York, NY, November 12, 2018 – The Jewish Museum offers many ways to mark the holiday of Hanukkah, which begins at sundown on Sunday, December 2.  Highlights include a display of the Museum’s renowned collection of Hanukkah lamps; special family programs, including the annual Hanukkah Family Day; and unique menorahs, dreidels, and gift items available for sale in the Jewish Museum Shop.

Hanukkah commemorates the miraculous events and heroic deeds that occurred in ancient Israel during a desperate war for Jewish religious and political freedom. The eight-day festival is observed this year beginning at sundown on Sunday, December 2, concluding at sundown on Monday, December 10.

Hanukkah Lamps on View at the Jewish Museum

The Jewish Museum is presenting Accumulations: Hanukkah Lamps, featuring over 80 Hanukkah lamps representing four continents and six centuries of artistic production.  One of seven sections that make up the Jewish Museum’s third floor collection exhibition, Scenes from the Collection, “Accumulations” spotlights an aspect of museum collecting: the accumulation of multiple examples of a given work or similar works. The Jewish Museum’s collection of Hanukkah lamps is the largest in the world at nearly 1,050 pieces, and was amassed over the 114 years of the Museum’s existence. 

The selection of lamps on view, originating in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, range in date from the Renaissance to the present. The Hanukkah lamps reflect a wide variety of stylistic influences and decorative techniques. Differences in their materials and styles reveal rich details of the lives of Jews throughout the world over the course of six hundred years.

Hanukkah at the Jewish Museum Shop

The Jewish Museum Shop is the ultimate destination for Hanukkah, with a range of menorahs, dreidels, gifts, and more to help celebrate the holiday. As the preeminent retailer of quality ceremonial objects and gifts relating to Jewish life, the Jewish Museum Shop has one of the largest selections of Hanukkah lamps in New York City. 
Available for the special price of $89.00 is the Jewish Museum’s Hagenauer menorah, an adaptation of a Hanukkah lamp in the Jewish Museum’s collection. Made in Vienna, 1919-1928, the original lamp is on view in the Museum’s third floor collection exhibition. 
The Jewish Museum Shop also has a limited number of hand selected vintage Hanukkah menorahs, mainly produced in Israel between 1950 and 1970. Several were created by David Palombo (1920-1966), an Israeli architect and sculptor, and Wainberg Judaica, a popular mid-century Israeli Judaica manufacturer no longer in business.  Priced between $68 and $2,400, the lamps are available in store only, while supplies last.

The Jewish Museum Shop also features whimsical menorahs to help celebrate the holiday, such as the Menurtle Menorah by Lisa Pierce ($100) and the White Knesset Electric Menorah ($45). New this year, dreidel themed pajamas for children in sizes 12-months to 14 years designed by the Jewish Museum and produced by Sara's Prints are available for $36. Visit the Jewish Museum Shop online for these and more products: http://shop.thejewishmuseum.org.

Public Program

Tuesday, December 4
This Is How We Do It: Accumulations
2 pm
Senior Curator and Hanukkah lamps expert Susan L. Braunstein speaks about the process of organizing the newest selection of Hanukkah lamps on view in Accumulations: Hanukkah Lamps. 
Included with Museum Admission; RSVP Recommended  

Family Programs

Sunday, December 2
Hanukkah Family Day
11 am - 4 pm
Age 3 and up
A festive afternoon to celebrate Hanukkah with pop-rock tunes from Josh & The Jamtones; an art workshop where kids can build a sculptural Hanukkah lamp with funky found objects and collaborate on a giant collage; a Hanukkah story drawing performance by educator Jeff Hopkins; and an opportunity to make sketches of Hanukkah lamps from around the globe while on a gallery tour. 
Free with Museum admission

Sunday, December 9
Concert: Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
11:30 am
Ages 3-8
Kindie rockers Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights celebrate the last day of Hanukkah with playful twists on holiday favorites as well as original tunes for the day and songs from her albums Brooklyn Baby, Good Egg, and Meshugana. Their unique style draws from pop rock, country music, and gospel.
Tickets: $18 general public, $14 Jewish Museum family members