The Maimonidean Menorah and Contemporary Habad Messianism: A Reconsideration

Abstract

The menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum first described in Exodus 25:31–40, was a central part of the Tabernacle in the desert and later in the Temple of Jerusalem. This seven-branched menorah has served as the most widely used iconographic symbol of Judaism for more than two thousand years. Common to all these depictions are the central stem and the three arms extending in a U shape from the central stem. The one exception to the commonly accepted iconography of the menorah as having U-shaped arms is found in Moses Maimonides’ halachic code, Mishne Torah. In his description of the furnishings of the Temple, Maimonides describes the design of the menorah, based on his understanding of the Biblical text. His version of the menorah has a number of differences from the ‘‘normative’’ iconography. The most distinctive difference is that Maimonides describes the arms as being straight, in a V shape, rather than the curved U shape. The only visual representation of this menorah is found in the Kaufmann Codex, the oldest known manuscript of the Mishne Torah. Until 1982, this interpretation of the menorah had no impact or influence on Jewish life or religious practice. Shortly before Hanukkah of 1982, Rabbi Menahem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, decreed that the Maimonidean menorah should become the new standard design for all menorahs employed or displayed by Habad followers and institutions. There is no history of Lubavitch-Habad having a distinctive menorah before 1982. However, as this was also the period during which the intensification of Habad messianic activity occurred, the question must be asked if there is any correlation between the introduction of this new menorah and Habad messianic activity. The past decade has seen an exponential growth in the scholarly discussion and analysis of the overt messianism that has defined the Habad hasidic movement since the early 1980s. Two recent scholars have addressed the meaning of the Maimonidean menorah and its