Meaning of Shamash | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The sun god and god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu.
2. The candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah.
   Judaism
3. A sexton in a synagogue.

Equivalents

Examples

“The candelabras lit on Hanukkah are technically called hanukkiahs. They have⟳ eight candles plus one more, a shamash, that is used for lighting the others.”

“Until 1890, when the local Chevra Kadisha (a traditional Jewish funerary society) was set⟳ up, funeral services were performed by the shamashim, the beadles of the synagogues.”

CEFR level