Category: Jewish History

The Knesset Menorah

By FFOZ Staff, January, 2000

Seven Branches of Jewish History

One may see this imposing, five meter high, (over 15 foot) bronze Menorah opposite the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) building in Jerusalem. The fine workmanship depicts scenes from Jewish history—spanning the centuries from Biblical times until the miraculous restoration of the State of Israel in our own times. It was created by Benno Elkan, a British sculptor, and was donated to Israel in 1956 by Britain as a token of friendship between the two peoples. In the inscription on the menorah we read: "The idea of presenting the menorah was conceived by Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland in appreciation of the establishment of a democratic parliamentary government in the State of Israel."

The project received support from the leading banks of the UK and large industrial concerns. However, it was funded mainly by small donations received from the people of Britain.

Each of the seven branches carries a number of specific scenes, carved in relief. They are as follows:

BRANCH 1

1. Isaiah’s vision of the End of Days when "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks…and they shall not learn war any more," and "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb…" (Isaiah 2:4, 11:6).

2. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai. At the height of the civil war in Jerusalem, realizing the city was facing destruction, he took a brave stand and received permission from the Roman authorities to establish a center in Yavneh for the study of Torah.

3. Spanish Jewry enjoyed its golden age under Muslim rule during the 10^th and 11^th centuries. Jews served in prominent positions in the court; art, poetry and learning flourished, and many yeshivot were established—chief of which was the great yeshiva at Cordoba. In the late 15^th century the community suffered cruel expulsion and apostasy under Christian rule.

4. The Babylonian Exile. As prophets of the destruction foretold, the first exile of the Jewish people lasted around 70 years, (587–516 BCE). Here, by the river of Babylon, exiles lament the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple.

BRANCH 2

5. Ezra the Scribe. After the return to Zion from Babylon, Ezra, as governor, called an assembly of the returnees and read the Torah aloud to them, with the help of the Levites. This caused a spiritual awakening in the people who repented deeply and signed a covenant to keep Torah, which was then established by Ezra as the Law of Judah.

6. Job, receiving the counsel of his three friends, illustrates the eternal question of the suffering of the righteous, and the prosperity of the wicked.

7. The Talmud. Traditionally, the original Oral Law was passed down from Moshe to Joshua…to the Elders…to the Prophets and down through the ages. The vast anthology of Jewish law and thought, and discussions and commentaries on the Torah, was set down in writing in the 5^th and 6^th centuries as the authoritative source book of Judaism.

8. The Aggadah. This relief illustrates an Aggadic legend that describes Solomon’s understanding of the birds in the wild as being one of the seventy languages that he knew.

BRANCH 3

9. David and Goliath. This scene symbolizes the triumph of faith in the One true God over physical force.

10. Illegal Immigration. Jews could not legally immigrate to the Land of Israel during the period of the British Mandate [1922–1946], without obtaining permits from the Mandatory Government, who set strict and limited quotas. Thus, from May 1939 until the Declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, when Jews were escaping the horrors of Nazi Germany, most were forced to enter illegally. Those caught were imprisoned or forcibly returned to ships and driven out to sea—sometimes without food, water or fuel. Many hundreds died on these ships, which either sank, as in the case of the Struma from Roumania, or were prevented from coming to shore.

11. Abraham the Patriarch. Abraham the father of Israel, exemplified unquestioning obedience motivated by perfect faith in the one true God, Creator of heaven and earth. He purchased the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite which symbolized his right, and that of his descendants through Jacob, his son of promise, to the Promised Land.

BRANCH 4 — CENTRAL

12. Moses, Joshua and Hur. During the war with Amalek, the cruelest enemy of the Jewish people, Joshua and Hur strengthened the arms of Moses, which brought victory to the Israelites. During their wandering in the wilderness, the weakest members of the tribes who lagged behind were mercilessly attacked and killed by the Amalekites. According to the Aggadah, Haman— who attempted "to destroy, to slay, and to annihilate all the Jews" in the 5th century BCE (Esther 3:1)—was a descendent of Amalek.

13. The Tablets of the Covenant. The stone tablets with the Ten Words or Commandments given by God to Moses were stored in the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. They represent the Torah, which contains the essence of the relationship between God and His people.

14. Rachel the Matriarch, the beloved wife of Jacob, is described by the prophet Jeremiah as bitterly weeping for her children who were exiled in Babylon. He consoled her by saying, "…keep your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded…and they shall come back from the land of their enemy" (Jeremiah 31:14–15). Ruth, who chose to leave Moab and return to Israel with Naomi, said: "…your people will be my people, and your God my God," (Ruth 1:16). She married Boaz, and was the great–grandmother of King David.

15. Ezekiel’s Vision. With the Spirit of the Lord, Ezekiel raised dry bones that filled an entire valley to life. This symbolizes the Jewish people in exile, suffering the gruesome death of the Holocaust, and their miraculous restoration to life and to the Land of Israel.

16. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. A reminder of the resistance against the Nazi enemy by the young Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto under the leadership of Mordechai Anilewicz. The uprising spread to the other ghettoes, and their efforts saved many precious lives from horrors of the camps and the gas chambers. The Nazis were swift to react, and Anilewicz was amongst those killed when they invaded the Warsaw ghetto and burned it to the ground.

17. "Shema Israel!" "Hear O Israel!" The declaration of Deuteronomy 6:4–9 that is recited three times a day in Jewish prayers. It is also prayed last thing at night before falling asleep, as well as in the last moments of life.
18. The Jewish Settlement in the Land of Israel; the struggle and the founding of a Jewish State—ISRAEL!

BRANCH 5

19. Bar Kochba. Shimon Bar Kochba ("Simon Prince of Israel") lead a revolt in 132–135 C.E. against the Roman legions stationed in the Land in protest against the oppressive rule of Rome. Bar Kochba was apparently a descendant of King David, and Rabbi Akiva—one of the greatest sages of the time—in his distress at the destruction being wrought and Bar Kochba’s valiant exploits against it, hailed him as the Messiah and deliverer of Israel. However, although dealing the Romans a heavy blow, the consequences suffered by the Jewish people in the wake of the revolt were catastrophic. They suffered 600,000 casualties, and the remnant of the Jewish inhabitants was subjected to frequent persecutions.

20. The Messianic Hope. Faith in the Messiah is one of the basic tenets of Judaism. Prayers, from the Siddur (Jewish Daily Prayer Book) are lifted up at least three times a day expressing the belief in and the hope for the soon appearance of Messiah. For example, "May our eyes be strengthened by Your return to Zion in mercy," and "May You speedily cause the branch of Your servant David to spring forth." Amen!

21. Jacob Wrestling with the Angel. On Jacob’s return to the Land promised him and his descendants by God, he wrestled all night with a being, commonly referred to as an ‘angel,’ at the river Jabbok. As dawn approached the ‘angel’ blessed him and said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel" (Genesis 32:28).

BRANCH 6

22. Hillel the Elder. Hillel was a native from ­Baby­l­onia who lived shortly before the time of Yeshua. He was a great rabbi and leader of a renowned school of Torah learning in Jerusalem. He formulated the seven principles by which to expound the Torah, and was famous for his gentle and ‘lenient’ approach in legal matters of Torah. His well–known contemporary, Shammai, also head of a great school, held far stricter views. Many of their discussions and disagreements are recorded in the Talmud.

23. Rabbi Hanina ben Teradion. In spite of the Roman ban on the study of the Torah, Rabbi Hanina continued to teach it. As punishment, he was wrapped in a Torah scroll and burnt alive. His wife was also executed, and his elder daughter was forced into prostitution. His second daughter survived to become famous for her knowledge of Torah.

24. The Kabbalah. The Hebrew word kabbalah literally means "reception." It is a term used for the study of Jewish mysticism—the search for the "inner spiritual meaning" of Torah, including subjects such as the Creation of the world, man’s relationship with his Creator, devotion to God, and perfecting one’s daily walk. It was made popular through the teachings of the Chassidim of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, although not advised for those under the age of forty. Many are extremely wary of these writings, but many others are convinced that it contains slow, steady revelation and is a preparation for the coming of Messiah.

25. Halacha. Religious Jewish Law which is applied to everyday life. Halacha is translated "the way." It is a vast body of laws and regulations, covering everything from prayer to child custody. It is based on the commandments of the Torah and rulings laid down by the subsequent generations of rabbis.

BRANCH 7

26. Lamentation of the Prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah, of all the prophets, expressed his mourning of the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, the laying waste of the entire nation, and the exile of the people in 587 BCE. On the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av, Jews mourn with fasting and prayer and read the book of Lamentations in remembrance of this desolation and the loss of all that was dearest and most exalted to them as a people.

27. The Maccabees Battle the Greeks. Under the leadership of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Hellenized Syrians had conquered the land of Israel and had attempted to destroy the religion and culture of the Jews. In the 2^nd century BCE, Judah the Maccabee and his brothers lead a revolt and succeeded in miraculously routing the Seleucid forces. They then cleansed and rededicated the Temple, and founded a dynasty of princes and kings which maintained Israel’s independence for over a century.

28. Hassidism. The religious movement of Hassidism began in Eastern Europe in the 18^th century. It laid emphasis on integrity of man and his closeness to God, prayer uttered with kavanah (special concentration and devotion), and keeping the commandments of Torah. Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov founded the modern Hassidic movement, also in Eastern Europe, after the wave of pogroms (persecution and raids against Jews) in 1648—1649. His famous motto was, "All are equal before God, the scholar and the unlearned." Theological study alone is not the main thing; righteous interaction with one’s fellow man is as important. Also the need to constantly rejoice in the LORD and to express that joy in song and in dance.

29. Nehemiah. In the 5^th century BCE, when Israel was still in exile, Nehemiah served King Artaxerxes of Persia in a high–ranking position. He left to restore and strengthen those who had returned to Zion from Babylon with Zerubavel and Joshua the High Priest. In the face of much opposition, he was instrumental in organizing the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and helping to settle many Jews there. He restored order to the community, and, with Ezra as governor, restored the use of Hebrew and the observance of the Torah among the people.

© 2006 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. This material may not be republished, rewritten or redistributed. From Bikurei Tziyon #62 | January, 2000. For more information about this publication, click here.

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