Page 34 - HANUKIYA

Mach a
Brachah!

There is a beautiful Chanukah menorah from Leipzig, early 1700s, in
the collection of the Israel Museum. It has something unusual: Instead
of lions flanking the seven branched menorah, on the right side are
the brachos said before kindling the Chanukah lights, and on the left
is the prayer “Haneiros halalu.” The designer probably thought he had
come up with a great idea: No more searching for your siddur at the last
minute or forgetting the words halfway through saying the blessing. But
even though design motifs were often copied and travelled freely from
country to country, and there are a few more menorahs with the blessings
inscribed on the backplate in the museum’s collection, apparently this
was one design idea that didn’t take off — perhaps because the words are
difficult to read due to the average menorah’s relatively small size. In Mr.
Hoffman’s collection is something similar and even rarer: a small silver
stand holding a tiny “siddur” opened to the page with the brachos, which
could be placed next to the menorah. “I’ve never seen anything else like
it,” says Mr. Hoffman, who comments that because of the object’s small
size, it was probably used in the home and not in shul.

He believes it’s from Germany, probably from the 19th century. But
with nothing to serve as a point of reference — and at a time when
fake “antique” Judaica is flooding the market — how does he know it’s
authentic? Mr. Hoffman acknowledges that determining the authenticity
of a piece of Judaica can be a problem.

He relates that once when he was in Budapest, there was a menorah that
caught his eye. “It was a very nice one,” he says. “The shop owner told
me, ‘If you like it, I have more in the back.’ It was a fake.”

So how does he separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff?

For one thing, he says, reputable auction houses such as Sotheby’s will
have thoroughly researched an item before they agree to include it in
one of their auctions. But like most collectors, he also relies on instinct.

“I can feel it,” he says.

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