Olive-wood Hanukkah menorah

The blank for this menorah came from an olive tree on a kibbutz near Beit Shean — a tree that came down in a 2024 winter storm. The owner saved a section of the trunk and asked us to turn a hanukkiah from it for his daughter's wedding.

Olive wood at this size moves a lot during drying. We let the rough blank stabilise in the workshop for four months in a humidity-controlled corner before any cutting started — moving too early would have meant cracks down the centre of the finished piece.

The eight branches are turned individually on the lathe and then morticed into the central trunk with a slight tilt so the oil cups read as a coordinated arc rather than a flat row. The shamash is taller than the eight by about 10 mm, set forward of the line. Brass oil cups are sourced from a workshop in Jaffa we have collaborated with for years.

Finish is two coats of food-safe walnut oil rubbed in by hand. The piece is signed and dated on the underside of the base.