How to Make an Emergency Menorah
Original image by Element5 Digital on Unsplash.
If Hanukkah arrives and you are without a menorah, you will have to make your own.
BAKED MENORAH
You will need 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup water, 9 nuts or washers (at least ½ inch in diameter), a large mixing bowl, and at least three hours.
1. Preheat the oven to 200° F.
2. Mix the flour and salt together in the large bowl.
3. Add water.
Slowly pour water into the mixture and stir until it becomes the consistency of dough. If it is too dry, add more water; if it is too wet, add more flour.
4. Roll the dough into a strip about 12 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide, and 2 inches thick.
5. Cut a 1-inch piece off one end and press it into the center of the strip.
The center area will be raised slightly: It will hold the Shamos candle, which is used to light the other candles.
6. Add the nuts to the dough.
Press the nuts into the dough, four spaced evenly on each side of the Shamos holder. Place the ninth nut in the raised center portion. The nuts should be pushed in so that part of the nut sticks up above the top of the dough. The nuts are the“candle holders.
7. Bake.
Place the menorah on a baking sheet, and place in the oven. Bake for about two hours. The menorah is ready when the dough becomes hard. (You can air dry the menorah instead of baking it; allow two to three days for hardening.)
8. Let cool.
The menorah should be completely cool before use.
BOWL AND DIRT MENORAH
You will need a baking dish or bowl and sand, dirt, rice, or gravel.
Fill a 2-inch-deep (or deeper) bowl with sand, dirt, rice, gravel, or other nonflammable material.
Stick the appropriate number of candles in the dish each night (placing the Shamos on a slightly elevated mound) to create a makeshift menorah.
Be Aware
Do not make a menorah out of wood. Hanukkah candles must be allowed to burn down completely, and wood presents the risk of fire.