Israeli Judaica

Israeli Judaica

The center of Jewish life is the synagogue, also known as a Schule in Yiddish and a Beit HaKnesset in Hebrew. The synagogue is where communal prayer services are held and in many communities special events and lifestyle milestones, such as weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, are held in the synagogue. Since the synagogue is also considered to be the equivalent of a small temple, many of them are decorated with fancy depictions of things from Judaism or the Torah on stained glass. In addition, the synagogue is filled with Judaica such as Siddurim - prayer books, Torah scrolls and a large menorah, to name a few.

Initially, synagogues were considered to be only a communal house of prayer and not the center of Jewish life in different communities. Consequently, there were very little Judaica in them. Often there was little more present than a Torah Scroll as the congregants often either owned their own Siddurim or knew the prayers by heart and also owned their own sets of Tefillin, the phylacteries worn during morning services. Regardless, the Torah scroll itself was almost decorated with type of Judaica. The most common Judaica adorning scrolls were items such as Torah pointers and various silver ornaments such as Rimmonim, breastplates and crowns. However, once the Catholic Church started building fancy, ornate cathedrals, the Jews followed suit and did the same to their synagogues.

Since Jews tended to adopt certain elements of the pervading culture to be used for their purposes relating to Judaism, synagogues were no exception. There are synagogues in all of the major types of architecture that were popular in Europe, from Greek and Romanesque to Neoclassical to the modern buildings seen today. Regardless, all synagogues have much of the same Judaica, both in the form of decorations and objects which can be used.

The most essential Judaica present in synagogues are Siddurim and a Torah Scroll, as these are the bare essentials of what is necessary for services. The Torah is always housed in an area called an Aron Kodesh in Hebrew, which is often decorated with Judaica such as lions or the first words of each of the Ten Commandments. In addition to this, there are usually other Judaica such as different books on the Torah such as the Talmud and Mishna, as well as books on Jewish law and Jewish philosophy, amongst many other topics related to Judaism. Very often, synagogues will have at least one large Menorah for use on Hanukkah.

Regarding decorations, many decorations relate to Judaism and often are recognizable Judaica. Some of these decorations include lions and the seven species as well items used in the performance of commandments, also known as Mitzvot. However, there are also other decorations such as the symbols of the 12 tribes of Israel. Once again, these decorations of various Judaica are because Jews tend to decorate anything and everything that is to be used in the performance of Mitzvot. In addition, their presence in the synagogue is a great reminder to people as to why they are in the synagogue in the first place - to speak to G-d.

Shalom Goldfarb is the editor of Judaica Worldwide, a portal of educational material on Judaism, Judaica, and Jewish holidays. There's also some Jewish humor on the blogroll, so check it out!

What kind of gift should I get my Hebrew Professor?

The last day of class is coming up for Summer Quarter and I really enjoyed our professor and our class. We were like a little family. I wanted to get her something but I have no idea what I could get her. I was thinking of buying her something from the Judaica Shop (Israeli Store, with allthings from Israel like jewelry, books, decorative pieces etc..) but because she is from isreal I dont think me buying her something from there would be all that cool to her. So if anyone has any ideas, maybe you have bought something for your professor that you thought was a good gift. Also I dont want to seem like Im trying to hard to impress her so it doesn't have to be super nice like IM trying to influence her to get a good grade or something. She was just a great teacher and I wanted to let her know that. Thanks, any ideas would be cool.

How about something very American that she might enjoy--even a T-Shirt from somewhere she may have eaten (near a university?) might be a nice momento for her. I agree, A Judaica item might be not be as memorable although I'm sure she'd like anything you gave her. Be sure to include a nice card and some personal notes.