I Will Dwell Among Them: Lampstand · In the holy place, on the south side of the tent of meeting, stood the lampstand, opposite the Table of the Presence. The lampstand (menorah) was made of approximately thirty-five kilos (75 pounds, a talent) of pure gold of one piece. The text does not give dimensions, leaving the design to the artisans. The talmudic tradition says that it was just over four feet tall (Plaut, The Torah, p. 613). It was similar in shape to a sage plant that still grows in the Middle East (salvia moriah) but was decorated as an almond tree. It had a central shaft from which Six branches extended, three on each side, opposite each other. The seventh lamp was in the center on top of the shaft.

Decorative instructions included Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds a…