Eight wicked branches

December 17, 2008 - 9:56 PM by Harry · 1 Comment
Filed under: General, Holidays, Religion, Technology

Chanukkit It’s been a while since there was a bona fide technological development in the world of the chanukia. I’m not sure if the all-ice ritual candelabra of 2004, displayed proudly in Russia, counts – that’s more of one-off stunt than a development that helps the layman.

For a few years now, a product called Ner Light has been making oil wick setup easier. Lighting olive oil candles is considered to be more a beautiful and authentic practice than lighting standard wax candles, so Ner Light’s approach, which takes messy pouring and the frustratingly time-consuming wick floating process out of the picture, is a major enabler – even if it’s less fun than getting your fingers all greasy.

Now, with Chanukkit, a Pardes Chana-based independent product designer/inventor named Jonathan Bar-Or has done for wax users what Ner Light did for oil lovers. No more melting your candles to their clumsy metal cups for eight nights. Now the chanukia is the candles, so there’s nothing to set up.

With nearly 20 years of experience under his belt, Bar-Or specializes in biotech, agricultural, cosmetic and consumer innovations. His previous product design projects have included devices for treating orthosis, for DVT prevention, mouth guards for epileptics, a telemedicine sensor glove, a spine traction neck brace, a produce labeler, a facial skin treatment patch, an oral imaging system and a tooth-mounted electro-saliva stimulation device.

The world of kitschy religious ritual items seems to be new to him, but when Bar-On was hired to develop the Chanukkit as a corporate gift, he saw great potential for mass-market appeal.

With four nights remaining until the start of Chanuka, it might not be too late to order a set via the ArtLook catalog and other niche retailers.

Share with others