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Photos: 770 Menorah Outside Netanyahu’s Home?

Shturem

Photographer Shmulik Sofer spotted a very curious object outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s residence in Jerusalem: what appears to be a replica of the Rebbe’s 770 Menorah. Although the Rebbe’s Menorah was intended to be a replica of the one in the Beis Hamikdosh, the same cannot be said about this one because the official position of the Israeli government is that the Beis Hamikdosh’s Menorah was round. Can anyone explain this?

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4 Comments

  • Oy Chanukah!

    1) Obviously, one of Netanyahu’s many Chabad contacts gave it to him.

    2) I don’t think the government has an official position; they just use what they use on the seal and would never bar a high official from displaying a menorah of his own choosing. This is especially the case as the official seal menorah is not a Chanukah menorah – see below.

    3) The Chabad Chanukah menorah has 9 branches and is based on the Rambam’s sketch of the 7 branch menorah that was regularly lit in the Beis haMikdash. The seal of the state of Israel uses another rendering of the everyday menorah.

  • source?

    “because the official position of the Israeli government is that the Beis Hamikdosh’s Menorah was round”
    do you have a source for the statement?

  • Shoiteh am haaretz

    “the official position of the Israeli government is that the Beis Hamikdosh’s Menorah was round”

    The Israeli Government does not have an official position on the shape of the Beis Hamikdosh’s Menorah.