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Gov. Scott Walker probably meant "mazel tov."

That's what big-time Milwaukee lawyer Franklyn Gimbel is guessing. But Walker, then the Milwaukee county executive, actually ended an undated letter to Gimbel with "thank you again and Molotov."

Oy vey!

"He kinda missed the boat there," Gimbel said Wednesday. "'Molotov' is a far cry from 'mazel tov.'"

As big a difference, as Mark Twain once said, as that between "lightning and a lightning bug."

Walker, however, downplayed the mistake on Wednesday. He said that the letter probably dated back a decade and said he couldn’t remember if it went out in that form.

“My guess is it was a typo,” Walker said. “I figured nationally my thumb has healed up and my bald spot is boring now, so they’re going to talk about things like that.”

The governor made his remarks while giving children from the Boys and Girls Club a tour of the governor’s mansion, pointing out the menorah that will be lit as part of the holiday celebrations there. He later mentioned it was the same one displayed in the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

The Capital Times first reported on the letter, which was discovered by the liberal nonprofit One Wisconsin Now in the August release of documents as part of the first John Doe investigation. That probe focused on Walker's aides and associates during his time as county exec. A judge ordered the release of the docs at the request of the Journal Sentinel.

In the letter, Walker responded to a request from Gimbel, a leader in Milwaukee's Jewish community, to set up a menorah at the County Courthouse to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

"Yes we would be happy to display the Menorah celebrating 'The Eight Days of Chanukah' here at the Courthouse," Walker wrote. He then thanked Gimbel for a display table with information explaining the holiday.

Walker concluded the note: "Thank you again, and Molotov. Sincerely, Scott Walker."

Vyacheslav Molotov was a hardline Soviet official after whom the handheld explosive device -- often a whiskey bottle with a flaming rag -- known as a Molotov cocktail was named. Mazel tov is a common Hebrew and Yiddish phrase used to express congratulations.

Walker's mistake could have been the result of Auto Correct, the program that offers sometimes not-so-helpful edits to misspelled words, even though the note to Gimbel appears to be a formal letter.

Microsoft Word doesn't have an automatic correction function. But if you type mozoltov -- a phonetic spelling of mazel tov -- Microsoft will suggest "molotov" as an alternative spelling.

"A little a technology karma for the guy best known for 'dropping the bomb,'" said Scot Ross, head of One Wisconsin Now, referring to Walker's description of Act 10, his signature legislation to curb collectiving baragaining for public employees.

On Wednesday, Gimbel said he doesn't remember reading Walker's entire letter. He said he probably saw that Walker had accepted his menorah suggestion and stopped there. Had he seen the use of the phrase "molotov," Gimbel said he almost certainly would have called to point out the mistake.

"That's pretty basic," Gimbel said.

Especially for someone trying to play on the national stage.

Walker is to travel to Las Vegas this week to attend a dinner hosted by Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino owner and conservative political activist.

Earlier this year, the first-term Republican governor was one of several likely GOP presidential candidates who spoke in March to the Republican Jewish Coalition during a meeting held at The Venetian, which is owned by Adelson. In his talk, Walker spoke about naming his son Matthew, which means "gift of God" in Hebrew, and displaying a menorah and Christmas tree at his home during the holidays.

Gimbel said Walker might want to think about hiring another Jewish staffer or two, especially if he does run for president. (Walker's budget director, Michael Heifetz, is Jewish.)

"His staff is white Christian," said the Milwaukee attorney.

Walker may want, in other words, to add a little kosher to his deli.