Make an Ice Menorah! KERACHANUKIYAH!
idea and execution by Heidi Creamer; diagram and copy by David Seidenberg. For more Chanukah resources, go to neohasid.org/zman/chanukah.
How to make an ice menorah:
*Download a handy PDF with these directions*
First, what's cool about an ice menorah: reflections in the ice; it floats!! - water is amazing and awesome; renewable resource - and if it's cold enough where you are, just freeze it outside; meditate on climate change, and resolve to do something about it!
You'll notice while the menorah is burning that the melted ice warms up and creates its own channels (see pic above), sometimes making holes through the ice. Among other things, that's a great moment to talk about melting glaciers. Let us know what you do and how it goes!
For a with these directions with illustrations and more, click here!
(Thanks to Rabbi Riqi Kosovske for the pdf!)
- 1) Set candles in cardboard brace.
- 2) Fill loaf pan part way and set brace over the pan -- see diagram below. Candles should be immersed half inch or more in water.
- 3) Shamash (not pictured) -- fill dixie cup or any small cup or jar with a few inches of water and set shamash candle in that.
- 4) Freeze it all.
- 5) Remove ice with the shamash embedded in it (you can warm it a bit to get it out) and put it on top of ice in loaf pan. Add another half inch or more of water to freeze the shamash to the rest of the menorah.
- 6) You can carve a little channel for melted water to flow away from the shamash
- 7) You can light your menorah in the pan or remove it and float it in a bowl of water. It will come out easily when it warms up just a bit.
