I found this last week - at friend told me it was a eternal flame/light that would hang over a Torah? I did a image search & saw several similar but none of mine - can anyone tell how old it is? Was it electrified later ? Finally, what do all the images mean? Thank you!
Synagogues today restore the altar’s flame with the ner tamid, the eternal light hanging over the Ark that houses the Torah scroll.
I've only seen one hanging over the Ark, but never knew the proper name. Oddly, I think the Rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof left one hanging in the synagogue as they pulled out. That struck me as an odd thing to do.
The Ark is the cabinet that holds the Torah scrolls. The place where the scrolls are read is called the Bima or Bema.