The Shape of the Menorah

The exact shape of the menorah that was used in the Temple is, to a degree, a matter of debate. In particular, the shape of the branches of the menorah was a matter about which the rishonim disagreed. R. Avraham Ibn Ezra, in his long commentary to Shemos 25:32, writes that the branches were half circles. Rashi, ad loc., writes that the branches were diagonal, but that statement is, in my opinion, inconclusive because he could have been implying a diagonal curve rather than a straight line. However, R. Avraham Ben HaRambam writes in his commentary to that verse that the branches were straight and not curved.

The archaeological evidence has strongly supported the Ibn Ezra's position, as Prof. Daniel Sperber of Bar Ilan has demonstrated in volume 5 of his Minhagei Yisrael. See also some of the images at the bottom of this article. A good discussion of the archaeological issues by R. Dr. Seth Mandel can be found here.


The Rambam's position has been somewhat controversial. In the 19th century a drawing that he personally made of the menorah was discovered in manuscripts of his Commentary to the Mishnah and that drawing, which has since been published in the Qafih edition of Rambam's commentary, portrays a menorah with straight branches. However, this is inconclusive because the drawing is clearly just a rough example of how the various pieces of the menorah - the bulbs, cups and flowers - are supposed to placed, i.e. how many on the branches, how many on the central stem, etc. The lines and circles are so exact that they were certainly drawn with a ruler and compass. So it is no surprise that the Rambam drew the branches straight for the sake of his illustration because that served his purposes. However, it seems to me that the Rambam's son's testimony is sufficient proof - and the only proof - that the Rambam's position was that the branches of the menorah were straight.

Who really cares?

In more recent times, the Lubavitcher Rebbe z"l emphatically stated (correctly, in my opinion) that, according to the Rambam, the branches of the menorah were straight. He said this on a number of occasions and it was printed in Likkutei Sichos, vol. 21 pp. 168, 169, 170 & 171. In English, see this article. The Lubavitcher Rebbe further directed his followers to try to change the image of the menorah as visualized by the public. Given the Lubavitch mindset, this not only concludes the debate but creates an imperative to shove this view down the throat of anyone who is willing to listen and many who are not. Which is what made the following find both interesting and frustrating. Keep in mind that I agree that the Rambam's view is that the branches of the menorah were straight.

Regarding the shape of the branches of the menorah in the Temple, the Rambam writes in Hilkhos Beis Ha-Behirah 3:2:

U-sheloshah kaftorim aheiros hayu be-kaneh ha-menorah, she-meihen yotz'in sheisheis ha-kanim.

In his translation of the entire Mishneh Torah, R. Eliyahu Touger, a Lubavitcher hassid, renders this passage as follows:

Six [diagonal] branches extended from three other bulbs in the [central] shaft of the Menorah

Diagonal? Where does the Rambam mention diagonal? But wait, R. Touger adds the following in his comments:

The Rambam implies that the branches of the Menorah extended diagonally from its central shaft.

No, the Rambam implies nothing of the sort. This is nothing more than inserting Lubavitch propaganda into the words of the Rambam where it does not belong.