Hanukka Lamp, Mazagan Morocco Stamp

The Hanukka Lamp from Mazagan, Morocco, featured on this colourful stamp issued in November 1994, is not only of great artistic value, but testifies to the ingenuity of its artisan, being made from recycled materials such as sardine tins, pieces of cloth and glass slivers. The Judaistic concept of reutilization of materials for accessories of religious observance is based upon Scripture, such as the fact that the brazen laver in the tabernacle was made from the mirrors of the women and the golden calf was cast from molten jewellery from Egypt. The Hanukka Festival of Lights, also called the Feast of Dedication, (Heb. “Hanukka”) is celebrated on the 25th Kislev which corresponds to the 25th December. It commemorates the rededication of the temple and the altar in BC165 which had been profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes. To celebrate this occasion, the Jewish rebel, Judas Maccabaeus kept a feast for eight days with sacrifices, the liberty of worship coming suddenly ‘like a light’ to the Jews. Thus Hanukka symbolizes the victory of the few over the many as a basis of their modern rebirth as a nation. The lights illuminated at the time of the feast represent the continuing flame of light injected into the nation by its history and teachings. The stamp with an information sheet are enclosed in a plastic protection sheet