Lighting the Way: Judaism and Light through the Ages

media release: Tobias Lecture with Gregg Gardner. Memorial Union, Old Madison Room.

Light is a key theme in the Jewish tradition. It is the first of God’s creations in the Book of Genesis. The golden menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum, was a central object in the Tabernacle and First and Second Jerusalem Temples. Lighting candles for the Sabbath is one of the most widely practiced Jewish rituals today. This lecture will draw on Jewish texts (in English translation), ancient art, and archaeological finds to explore the roles that light has played in Judaism through the ages.