If you visit the Bukharan Quarter of Yerushalayim, you will pass by a store with a standard tin sign indicating that it is a hardware store. You would never guess that on the second floor there is a fascinating miniature museum, hosting a rare collection decades in the making, painstakingly amassed by Professor Yosef Shabtai. IIt is the biggest collection of Chanukah menorahs that exists anywhere in the world.
Professor Shabtai owns over 5,000 menorahs, many of them acquired with great effort and sometimes at great cost. His collection includes menorahs from 75 countries around the world, each one with its own story and journey.
“I Paid More than People Asked”
Menorahs radiate light and Jewish warmth, and it’s no coincidence that Professor Shabtai is drawn to them, because he is known as a kind and charitable person who shares whatever he has with others. He established a soup kitchen in his neighborhood, and every evening people come to consult him about alternative medicine—free of charge.
Professor Shabtai enjoys a relationship with a number of rebbes and rabbanim, including the Toldos Aharon Rebbe and the Toldos Avraham Yitzchak Rebbe. People from all over the country come to see his menorahs, and he welcomes them into his little museum for free. All he asks is that visitors schedule their visit in advance. Many tourists visiting Yerushalayim make it a point not to miss his impressive collection. However, the professor doesn’t let just anyone in. Only those who display a genuine appreciation for the sacred mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles get to enter this unique place.
An Inherited Passion
Professor Shabtai talks about his menorahs with obvious affection. “I’ve been collecting menorahs ever since I was a young child. My father was a collector, and I continued his hobby. Starting shortly after my bar mitzvah, I used to help farmers in the fields and orchards near Ashdod, where we lived at the time. With the money I earned, I would buy menorahs. Slowly but surely I acquired more knowledge, deepening my understanding of each menorah’s value based on its age, origin and rarity.
“One of the ways I found menorahs was by purchasing them from estate sales. For example, I once met a Jewish man of Indian descent whose father had left him a carved wooden menorah. When I asked why it was made out of wood, he explained that they were desperately poor and wood was the only material they could afford. The oil cups were placed on top of the wooden base.
“In those days, I used to travel a lot to Jaffa to explore its many treasures. The rarer a certain kind of menorah is, the higher its value. I never spared any expense. When I knew that a rare menorah was up for sale, I did everything I could to acquire it. People knew that I was honest and truthful. They would sometimes name a price, and I would tell them that their menorah was actually worth much more. For instance, someone might say, ‘We want 300 shekels for this one,’ and I would reply, ‘It’s worth 15,000 shekels, but I can give you 10,000. Will you agree?’ I would never take advantage of someone who didn’t know the value of an item he owned.
“Word of my passion spread, and pretty soon owners of antique shops all over Israel knew who I was and started contacting me. Many times, I would arrive at a home where I was told a menorah was for sale. I would look at it and tell the owners, ‘I feel holiness in this menorah. It carries the light of the mitzvah, of lighting Chanukah candles with deep kavanah over many years.’ I was privileged to buy menorahs from righteous and G-d-fearing Jews who had used them for decades, infusing them with their souls.”
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