OUR NER TAMID

Our Ner Tamid, or eternal light, was designed by artist Amalia Flaisher. In keeping with our theme of Tikkun Olam, the illumination for the stained glass, the ark and the Ner Tamid are all solar powered. The solar panels are in the garden outside the sanctuary. The sanctuary design has ten windows. The theme of tens occurs many times in Jewish life from the 10 plagues to the 10 commandments. The Ner Tamid is required to be lit 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The design of the solar system must include a battery backup system capable of maintaining power for 8 days of no sunlight.

Etz Hayim’s collective magic moment was when our Ner Tamid was lit. When you enter any synagogue, its Ner Tamid is on. On a rainy but glorious Sunday, March 29, 2009, we dedicated and moved into our new synagogue. We carried our Torahs from our old home the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration to our newly constructed home 1 ½ Hood Road. The Ner Tamid was not yet lit until that magic moment (see video below).

~Jill Pelunis, Etz Hayim historian