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