the Significance of Olive Oil in Judaism Shemen zayis, olive oil, is the most important oil in Judaism. As the default oil of the Torah, it has special significance and is essential in the performance of many different mitzvos.
CHANUKAH CENTER
Menorah Olive oil was used in the daily kindling of the Menorah in the Mishkan and in the Bais Hamikdash. This oil was required to be of the utmost purity. The Torah specifies that the oil be” shemen zayis zach kasis l’maor,” pure olive oil beaten for the light. The Talmud (Minachos 86) explains this to mean that the olives were to be placed in a mortar and beaten with a pestle, not ground in a mill. This would ensure that the oil be of the finest quality and free of sediments. After the first drop was extracted, the olives could no longer be used to provide oil for the Menorah.
74 / The Center Spirit / November 2021
Oil used for the Menorah had to be produced and stored in the strictest conditions in order to prevent its contamination with tumah (ritual impurity). In the well-known miracle of Chanukah, when the Maccabees overthrew the Seleucid Greeks and rededicated the Bais Hamikdash, only one container of oil was found with the seal of the Kohein Gadol still intact. Despite it only being sufficient to light the Menorah for one day, a miracle occurred and the oil burned for eight days which was enough time for new oil to be prepared.
