The Secret History of Judaism’s Oldest Symbol

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Jonathan Schwab and Yael Steiner follow the menorah from its molten birth in a single ingot of gold to its afterlife as national emblem, tracing how one luminous object migrated from desert tabernacle to Roman triumph, from medieval imagination to modern identity.

From Exodus’ intricate blueprint to the Arch of Titus’ triumphant bas-relief, from Hanukkah’s reinvented candelabrum to the State of Israel’s contested seal, they illuminate how this ancient lampstand became a traveling symbol of exile, endurance, creativity, and longing—casting its sevenfold glow across centuries of Jewish ritual, memory, and myth.

Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media.

Click here (docs.google.com/document/d/1l-19fhQgzGCs1bPdwa…) for a summary and sources referenced in the episode.

Click here (herzlinstitute.org/en/theodor-herzl/the-menorah) to read The Menorah by Theodor Herzl.

Click here (britannica.com/topic/menorah) for images of the menorah.

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⁠Unpacking Israeli History⁠ (unpacked.media/podcast-series/unpacking-israel…)

⁠Wondering Jews (jewishunpacked.com/podcast-series/wondering-jews)