3,844. Making the Menorah of Gold vs. Other Metals

Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 3:3

We see that the Menorah had a total of twenty-two cups, nine flowers and eleven knobs. Every single one of them was indispensable; if any one of these forty-two adornments was missing, the others wouldn’t compensate for its absence.

Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 3:4

The preceding halacha only applies when the Menorah is made of gold. If the Menorah is made of other metals (in a case of financial necessity, when gold is unavailable), it doesn’t have cups, knobs and flowers. Similarly, when the Menorah is made out of gold, its total weight – including the lamps – must be one talent, and it must be hammered out of a single mass of gold. However, when the Menorah is made of other metals, it need not weigh a talent and it may be hollow.