This sheet on Leviticus 13 was written by Marc Gitler for 929 and can also be found here
Some two thousand years ago, during the era of the Hasmoneans, the menorah, became a prominent symbol of the eternity Jewish people and its connection to the land of Israel. The staying power of the symbol is evidenced by the menorah outside the Knesset, with its detailed bronze reliefs depicting important Jewish events and personalities ranging from the Biblical period through the founding of the state of Israel.
The menorah’s description in the Torah is also detailed, but surprisingly in its botanical design. All six of the outer branches were designed with “three cups shaped like almond-blossoms, each with knobs and petals.” The middle branch contained four almond-blossoms also with the knobs and petals.
Commentaries throughout the ages have attempted to draw descriptions of the Menorah, were the branches curved, straight or bent in the middle? Where exactly were the calyxes? The only clue, perhaps, the relief on the arch of Titus in Rome depicting the Romans carrying the menorah in the period following the destruction of the Second Temple.
In the early 20th century botanists Ephraim and Hannah Hareuveni emigrated from Russia to Israel. They believed that the plants in the Torah could be found growing in Israel, and they began collecting and classifying Biblical plants. In their searches they noticed a resemblance between the Torah’s description of the Menorah (branches, calyxes, petals, and cups) and an oily plant that grows in Israel called the salvia palaestina.
Their son Nogah Hareuveni writes that when the salvia is pressed it looks just like the Menorah, with three branches emerging from the central branch, and the knobs growing directly from the stem and branches.
Following the description of the menorah Moses is told “note well and follow the patterns that you see on the mountain.” The Talmud in tractate Menachot writes that Moses didn’t understand the design of the Menorah, so God showed him a picture of it in fire. If the menorah’s design reflects a plant that is endemic to Israel, then Moses would have never seen one, and found its design incomprehensible.
After reading of Reuveni’s discovery I am also no longer perplexed by the Menorah’s design, but I am searching for a pressed salvia palaestina to display as my “Chanukah bush” right next to my menorah.
The menorah’s description in the Torah is also detailed, but surprisingly in its botanical design. All six of the outer branches were designed with “three cups shaped like almond-blossoms, each with knobs and petals.” The middle branch contained four almond-blossoms also with the knobs and petals.
Commentaries throughout the ages have attempted to draw descriptions of the Menorah, were the branches curved, straight or bent in the middle? Where exactly were the calyxes? The only clue, perhaps, the relief on the arch of Titus in Rome depicting the Romans carrying the menorah in the period following the destruction of the Second Temple.
In the early 20th century botanists Ephraim and Hannah Hareuveni emigrated from Russia to Israel. They believed that the plants in the Torah could be found growing in Israel, and they began collecting and classifying Biblical plants. In their searches they noticed a resemblance between the Torah’s description of the Menorah (branches, calyxes, petals, and cups) and an oily plant that grows in Israel called the salvia palaestina.
Their son Nogah Hareuveni writes that when the salvia is pressed it looks just like the Menorah, with three branches emerging from the central branch, and the knobs growing directly from the stem and branches.
Following the description of the menorah Moses is told “note well and follow the patterns that you see on the mountain.” The Talmud in tractate Menachot writes that Moses didn’t understand the design of the Menorah, so God showed him a picture of it in fire. If the menorah’s design reflects a plant that is endemic to Israel, then Moses would have never seen one, and found its design incomprehensible.
After reading of Reuveni’s discovery I am also no longer perplexed by the Menorah’s design, but I am searching for a pressed salvia palaestina to display as my “Chanukah bush” right next to my menorah.
Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson is the Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles.
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