Page 70 - HANUKIYA

Discovery in
Brody

This stand for lighting
Shabbat candles came into my
possession as a Torah scroll
plate, which was for sale.
My sense of antiquities told
me that this was no ordinary
plate. Layers of burned oil had
built up along the edges, which
means preaching.
After long and thorough
research with Rabi Sharon
Mintz of Sotheby’s, we
concluded that this was
not a plate, but stand for
lighting Shabbat candles in
the synagogue. The riddle
remained, what synagogue it
belonged to, and with God’s
help, we solved that too.
The ornamentation in the
center of the stand is an
example of the ornamentation
that decorated the synagogue
of the holy of holies Brody,
which leads to the conclusion
that this was a stand for lighting
candles in Brody.
Skinners Auctioneers sold
a hannukiah by the same
craftsman who made this stand.

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