- Jewish Gifts and Judaica Arts Attract Interest By:JoySchonberg
JudaismaspracticedandexpressedthroughJudaicaartsandgiftitemsisattractingthe
interestofmoreandmorepeople.ThoseofJewishancestrywhohavestrayedintoother
culturesandreligionsintheirpreviouslivesareturningbacktotheirrootsbyacquiring
JewishinspiredartsandgiftstorenewtheirdevotiontoJudaism.EvennonJewishpeople
areshowingtheirfascinationwithJudaicaartsandgiftsasevidencedbythebrisksaleof
theseitemsinstoreslocatedinlargelynonJewishneighborhoods.Thisphenomenon
couldbeattributedtothereligiousrenaissancethatallthelawlessnessandinequitiesin
theworldhavegivenriseto.
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WeseepeoplefromallsocialclassesandculturestryingtolearnmoreaboutJewishlife
andgetconnectedtotheirforgottenheritageinamoreintimateway.Weevenhearof
someHollywoodcelebritiesjoiningJewishconvertsandreturnesstogodeepintothestudy
ofKabbalah.KabbalahisanancientJewishwisdomthatrevealshowtheuniverseandlife
work.Mostofusatsomepointfeelthatfulfillmentiselusiveandtheressomethingmissing
inourlives.ThroughthestudyofKabbalah,welearnhowtoachievefulfillmentandserenity.
Eachoneofusdesiresfulfillmentandjoywhichcouldexplaintheinterestmanyarenow
givingtoJudaismanditspromiseofspiritualrichnessanddeliverance.Apartfromthe
studyofKabbalah,worshipintheoldestofallknownreligionsispracticedwiththeaidof
synagogueitems,JudaicaartsandJewishgifts.
TheworldofJudaicaencompassesvirtuallyallpossibleobjectspertinenttoJudaism.It
comprisesmainlybutnotexclusivelyofarticlesthatareinseparablepartsofthereligion,
suchastheJudaicaTallit.ThisistheprayershawlthatJewishmenwearwhentheypray
accordingtotheircustom.MostAshkenaziJewsweartheTalliteverydayoncetheyget
married,whileSephardicJewswearitdailylongbeforetheytietheknow,usuallyoncethey
turn13yearsoldattheirBarMitzvahs.
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AnotherJudaicaobjectthatisnotonlyanintrinsicpartofJudaismbutalsoimmensely
popularinJudaicastoresistheMezuzah.Thisisascrollenclosedinanelaborately
designedcaseonwhichiswrittenreligiouspassagesfromaJewishholyman.Hence,the
Mezuzahismostlyattachedtodoorpostsofhousestosignifythehomeownersreligiosity
andalsotowardoffevil.SomeMezuzahcancostaprettypennydependingondesignand
make.
DecorativeMezuzahsarenottheonlyexampleoffundamentalreligiousitemsthatJudaica
offersinanarrayofcolorsandstyles.ThereisalsothefamousKippah,knownbyits
YiddishtermYamaka.ThisisthesmallskullcapJewishmenwearontheirheadsatall
timessymbolicoftheirsubjugationtoGod.JudaicastoresofferKippahsinmanydifferent
colors,sizes,shapesandmaterials.
JudaicaoffersanythingfromvitalritualitemstoantiquejewelryofJewishmotif,Jewishart
andJudaicagifts.Jewishgiftsareinexhaustible,withnewitemsinundatingtheJudaica
marketconstantly.
Giftgivingisawonderfulwaytoincreasethesenseofclosenessbetweenfamilyand
friends.GiftsaregivenoncountlessoccasionsinJudaismfoodpackagesonPurim,gifts
onHannukah,milestonegiftsforgirlsandboysreachingBatandBarMitzvah,giftsfor
newlymarriedcoupleswhoaresettinguptheirhome,andsomanymore.
Apartfromthepleasureofgivingandreceivingagift,JewishgiftsandJudaicagiftshave
anadditionalaspectofbeingdeeplymeaningfulandoftenbeingitemsthatarepassed
fromgenerationtogeneration,strengtheningthechainofJudaismwithinthefamily.
Judaicaitemsthataregivenaspresentstodaybecometheheirloomsoftomorrow
KiddishCups,Mezuzahs,ShabbatCandlesticksandPassoverSederPlatesareall
examplesofitemsthatarepassedonfromfathertoson,frommothertodaughteroverthe
generations,appreciated,cherishedandadmired.
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JewishJewelryisacategoryofJewishgiftsthatisdevelopingandgrowingatan
astonishingspeed.Fromtraditionalsymbols,suchastheStarofDavidandChaisymbols
tothemorecontemporaryKabbalahandHamsa,JewishJewelryisapopularwayfor
JewishpeopletodisplaytheirJewishprideandsenseofunity.Rings,pendants,earrings,
pinsandnecklacescanbefoundinanarrayofstylesinourJewelrycollections,madeofa
varietyofmaterials,silver,gold,ceramic,plasticresinsandothers.
Formoreinformation,pleasevisithttp://joyschonberg.com/.
