During an arrest operation in the Kasbah, an ancient village dating back 2,000 years, soldiers discovered an engraving of a diagonal menorah as drawn by the Rambam and promoted by the Rebbe.
By Anash.org reporter
The old city, the Kasbah, of Chevron, was a Jewish village 2,000 years ago in the times of the Gemara. In a new discovery, soldiers found an engraving of a menorah with slanted Rambam-styled branches on the stone archway of a home.
“During an arrest operation in the village of Sa’ir near Chevron, we reached the old city, which was a Jewish village 2000 years ago during the Talmudic period. On the archway of the house was a drawing of a menorah,” recounts Lt. Col. Maoz Schwartz, commander of Battalion 7007.
The discovery was made thanks to Zabo Ehrlich, a historian who was accompanying them at the time. Zabo has been accompanying their battalion for ten years, working in intelligence and historical findings.
“In a house in the heart of the old city in the village of Se’ir we found two menorahs from 2,000 years ago, during Talmudic times,” elaborated Zabo. “The menorahs had a plant decoration and a half a circle and star- we recognize those designs from other items found during that era.”
Its not “the rambams menorah” rather the menorah of the bhm”k that the Rambam mentions in his sefer
It just means that this is (the first archeological find of) the Menorah as depicted by the Rambam (with straight branches).
Nothing to do with Menorah from Beis Hamikdash (which is what Rambam and Rishonim are referring to when discussing it). There are four branches on at least one side of this Menorah engraving (on each of the engravings respectively- obviously not a mistake etc). The Beis Hamikdash had only three branches on each side. And if this engraving is depicting a Chanukah Menorah, (which was only instituted as a Mitzvah M’Drabanon after around year 3623), then this would not show anything either way about the shape of the Menorah in the Beis Hamikdash.
Sure it isn’t the actual Menora of the temple, but it’s a significant find that proves that Menorahs of that time period weren’t only round.
This is not an engraving from the Temple time period by any means!
It is alleged from the Talmudic era, but it mY be much more recent. We would have to hear the opinion of an actual archaeologist regarding actual dating.
So far this is barely reported.
These have 8-9 branches, NOT 7 branches as the Temple Menorah was meant to have.
There are several others as well
From what I gather this is breakthrough. If you know of other such finds we’d all wan’t to hear
https://col.org.il/news/93816
Sure. But the shape of Chanukah Menorahs of that period, or any period, has no implications whatsoever on the shape of the Beis Hamikdash Menorah, which is what the Rishonim are discussing.
Chanukah Menorahs, from the time of it’s institution as a Mitzvah M’Drabonon had no specification on the shape of the Menorah; as a matter-of-fact it never had to be lit in Menorah at all, it could have been separate lights… Therefore, the personal preference of one’s Menorah shape at any period, would not show anything at all as to what the shape of the Menorah in Beis Hamikdash was…