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CANDLELIGHTING

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THE JEWISH VIEW

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HOLIDAYS

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JUDAISM 101

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{weblog_name} - Relic Or Relevant?
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On a December visit to Ethiopia, I toured a 16th-century Christian monastery. These beautiful buildings overlooked the massive lake leading into the beginning of the Blue Nile. They also brought history alive with artifacts that you can literally touch — don’t try that at the Baltimore Museum of Art! To reach one monastery, you hike 15 minutes up a mountain. Inside, you witness Ethiopia’s proud history. There, my eyes brightened as among the relics-like communion cups was a seven-branched menorah. After two hours of surveying Christian history, I was holding an ancient Jewish symbol. (Prior to the chanukiah, the eight-branched Chanukah menorah, the seven-branched version was in Israel during the Second Temple period, symbolizing the days of the week.) Through an interpreter, the guide said this piece of Jewish history proved that Ethiopia was once the only country outside… read more