shammash
/ˈʃɑːməʃ/
noun
- A candle used to light the other candles on a Hanukkah menorah.
- The shammash is lit first and then used to kindle the other lights.
- The shammash is often placed in the center or at a different height.
- In our family, the youngest child gets to hold the shammash.
- A sexton or caretaker of a synagogue.
- The shammash prepared the Torah scrolls for the service.
- He served as shammash for the congregation for over thirty years.
- The shammash unlocked the synagogue doors every morning.