A money-making menorah

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of May 15, 2009 / 21 Iyar 5769

A used menorah from the 1960s may not seem like much to bargain for, unless it once belonged to Sammy Davis Jr., that is.

Though Davis, a famous entertainer and famously, a convert to Judaism, died in 1990, some of his personal effects are still on the market, including a menorah which was given to him in 1965 by the women's division of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. Now Jonathan Greenstein of Woodmere, who will auction it off on June 8, together with 20 other objects of Jewish art.

“The starting bid will be at $10,000 and the menorah will probably sell for about 20 grand,” estimates Greenstein, the owner of J. Greenstein and Co, Inc, an auction house.

Though Greenstein also own a medical supply business, “the auction house is my primary love,” he says. His company holds two large auctions each year, and has been doing so since 2004. The one in June, a public auction open to all, will be held on June 8 at the Radisson Martinique Hotel in New York City.

Advertised as a collection of “rare antique and artisan Judaica,” it will also be open for viewing the day before, on June 7.

The infamous menorah will be auctioned off alongside other religious artifacts, including “an 18th century French havdala compendium, some 18th century Torah shields, some 18th and 19th century besamim boxes and some kiddush cups from 1760 and on,” says Greenstein, who has hired a live auctioneer for the occasion.

The menorah was recently consigned to Greenstein by a collector in Staten Island, who owned it since 2004; prior to that, from 1991 until 2004, it was owned privately by different collectors.

In addition to the menorah, Greenstein has had other noteworthy artifacts in his collection in the past. At one point, he possessed a check for charity that had been signed by Myer Lansky, a Jewish gangster with well-known ties to the Italian mafia. Greenstein also sold a Torah pointer which belonged to Rabbi Alexander Schindler, a leader of Reform Jewry who passed away several years ago.