They therefore decided to place each of the sacred vessels in hiding. ![]() If that is the case, then what happened to the Sanctuary Menorah and why didn't the Romans take it to Rome? There are passages in the Talmud which testify that, as the Roman siege of Jerusalem sealed the fate of the city, the people of Jerusalem understood that destruction of the Holy Temple would inevitably follow. Therefore, it is the opinion of many Torah sages that the Menorah taken to Rome and depicted on the Arch of Titus was one of the spare Menorahs kept in the Temple warehouse and not the active duty Menorah which would have been standing in the Sanctuary. While we only know of one Menorah which stood in the Sanctuary of the second Holy Temple, we know for a certainty that there were a number of spare Menorahs on stand-by in case the Sanctuary Menorah became impure or needed repair. We are told in the book of Kings that King Solomon had eleven Menorahs made which stood in the Sanctuary. In other words, it wasn't the Menorah that was standing in the Kodesh Sanctuary at the time of its destruction, but a spare Menorah. There is great evidence in Jewish sources, however, dating back to the aftermath of the destruction of the Holy Temple, which suggests that while the menorah seen on the Arch of Titus may have been A Menorah taken from the Holy Temple, it wasn't THE Menorah. ![]() No doubt the artist who designed the arch based his depiction on the Menorah that was standing in the Palace of Peace. We know that the Menorah depicted on the Arch of Titus, after it was brought to Rome was placed in the Palace of Peace near where the arch was to be built. A group of kohanim are seen carrying the Menorah to its hiding place, while other kohanim are rolling back a massive stone which will seal off the chamber and protect the sacred vessel for future generations.įrom the time of the destruction of the second Holy Temple there have been among the sages of Israel those who were convinced that the Menorah depicted on the Arch of Titus in Rome was not THE Menorah from the Holy Temple. Above picture: The painting depicts the two subterranean chambers beneath the surface of the Temple Mount, where the Ark of the Covenant and the Menorah are hidden.
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