Menorah or Chanukiyah? – Ask the Rabbi
Q. Menorah or chanukiyah – which is the right word?
A. Popular usage has changed. Everyone used to speak of the menorah, but strictly speaking that was the 7-branched lightstand in the Temple.
The Chanukah lamp originally avoided the tree-with-branches shape and of course it had 9 lights and not 7.
In recent times the word chanukiyah has become common in order to denote the difference.
