Q. Is it better to buy an old menorah that is not very elegant but was used already many years for the mitzvah of Chanuka, or is it better to spend one’s money on a new and very beautiful Menorah? What is the greater Hiddur?
A. Chashukei Chemed (Chanuka 58) has a similar question and he maintains that it depends on the person involved. For some an aged Menorah means a lot and are willing to pay a large sum for it since they greatly appreciate the mitzvos already done on it. Others however, don't see any beauty or appreciation on an historical object and would rather acquire something new and beautiful.
Chashukei Chemed points out to a Gemara in Gittin (35a) that a woman received some old objects as her Kesuva payment including an antique Sefer Tehilim, Iyov and Mishlei, and they were appraised as worth five manah. That sum, he adds, corresponds to the cost of living for two and a half years, more than double of the payment due to her of two manah
or the monetary needs for one year, that she could have collected for her Kesuva.
However, Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit'a opinion is that for most it is usually more important and beautiful a new object.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as advised by Horav Shlomo Miller and Horav Aharon Miller Shlit'a
Important Numbers
