shamash

plural shamashim · plural shamashes · alternative shames · alternative shamos · alternative shammes · alternative shammos

1. JudaismThe candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah.

   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.

   2023 December 7, Jacey Fortin, “For Some, the Symbols of Hanukkah Bring Extra Concern This Year”, in The New York Times

2. A sexton in a synagogue.

   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.

   1997, Michael Stivelman, The Death March

alternative Šamaš

1. The sun god and god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu.