Shamash

Origin

From Hebrew שַׁמָּשׁ (shamásh, "waiter, sexton").

Full definition of shamash

Noun

1. (Judaism) The candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah.
2. A sexton in a synagogue.
• 1997, Michael Stivelman, The Death MarchUntil 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.

Related terms

• shammes