Shabbat Candlesticks

Shabbat candlesticks are commonly passed down in the family, generation to generation, along with other ritual objects. One of the first pieces of Judaica I made was a pair of shabbat candlesticks as a way to “inherit” them from myself since my family did not have any Jewish ritual objects to pass onto me. Since that first pair, I’ve been experimenting with different styles, shapes and glazes — no two pieces are exactly alike.

Clay is a medium I have been working with since 2003 when I took a ceramics class at a community college while still in high school. Since then I have always enjoyed using earth to make household utensils and functional tools. Most of the time I work with the clay in an organic way to find a shape and form that I can connect to, letting the design emerge. I am currently producing my ceramic pieces at Freehold Art Exchange in Freehold, NY. I also make candlesticks from gray birch branches I harvest from a friends property nearby (an old overgrown tree nursery).

The bottoms of my candlesticks are carved with the words “שמור / shamor” and “זכור / zachor”, which can be translated to mean “keep, protect, observe” and “remember” in the context of shabbat.

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