Q. Dear Morenu Horav. If someone has an option to use a very beautiful and large silver plated menorah or just a small oldish and kind of ugly but real silver very expensive menorah. Which is the preferable one?

A. There are different opinions in similar situations as to what is better and accepted to choose and follow for complying with a mitzva. Nominally, is it the most valuable and money precious object, or the most beautiful one to the eye.

Yerushalmi (Yuma 6/1) mentions that regarding the he verses tell us (16:7-10) “And he (Aharon, the Cohen Gadol) shall take the two goats…and shall cast upon the two goats lots: one for Hashem, and the other lot for Azazel. And Aharon shall present the goat upon which the lot for Hashem fell, and make it into a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be set alive before Hashem, to make atonement over him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness.”

Our Sages say: (Baba Basra 4a); One who has not seen Herod’s building has never seen a beautiful building in his life. The Gemara asks: With what did he build it? Rabba said: With stones of white and green marble [umarmara]tones sent out an edge a bit and drew in an edge a bit, so that they would better receive and hold the plaster.

He considered covering it with gold, but the Rabbis said to him: Leave it, and do not cover it, since it is more beautiful this way, as it looks like the waves of the sea.

Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit’a