If Monet lit the first flame…”

Picture this: it’s the first night of Hanukkah. The room is hushed in anticipation — one slender candle in the menorah, its golden flame flickering gently. In comes Claude Monet. Soft pastel light bathes the scene. He dips his brush into the palette of night-shadows and candle-golds, paints the flame dancing on the window-pane, and in doing so, lights the candle. The wax glows, the painter smiles, and in that moment, the candle isn’t just a candle — it’s a shimmering impression of light, of hope, of coming home.

That’s the kind of magic Nana Nechama invites us into. A playful, reverent, and downright artistic spin on the ritual of lighting the candles: What if Famous Artist Lit the Hanukkah Candles? by Nana Nechama. Here each of brings their vision of light and miracle into each night of Hanukkah.