Jewish Ritual Items
Jewish ritual items go along with Jewish holidays. Rosh Hashanah is a day celebrating the creation of Adam, God's son, with the holiday signifying a day of judgment by God. Members of the Jewish faith often pray during this day and attend service at a Synagogue. Another large holiday with dozens of rituals involved is Passover, which celebrates the Jews exodus from Egypt. During the first and second day of Passover, a Seder meal is prepared--the meal includes wine, Shmurah Matzah 
and bitter herbs (to signify the bitterness of slavery). If you're interesting in the details of Seder, this Jewish cookbook may be useful. Aside from these two holidays, there are many others. For a complete list see OU.org.
As Gifts
At some point, you may need or want to give a traditional "Jewish" gift, but do be careful with this kind of thing; you're going to have to understand that there are a lot of options. Though giving ritualistic gifts can be wonderful, some won't be as appreciated by a person who doesn't lead an observant life. To avoid offending any sensibilities, try to reason as to whether a serious piece would be used and appreciated, or if it will make your recipient feel like s/he isn't observant enough. When in doubt, go for less intense options like Jewish dominoes, Jewish Collectibles or Star of David bracelets.
If you do decide to go with a ritual item, check out some of our suggestions below.
Top Five Ritual Items
Sabbath Ritual Items
| Fire, Wine and Bread. What Could Be Better? |
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Sabbath Candlesticks and Candles - Jews light candles (commonly in pairs, however, many light one per family member) to bring in the Sabbath on Friday night.
- Candlesticks can be as beautiful and ornate as you'd like.
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Kiddush Cups - The Kiddush is the ceremonial prayer said over wine before just about all festivals and Sabbath meals.
- Silver, ceramic, glass, plastic, and whatever else you could imagine make great kiddush cups.
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Challah Plates and Covers - Challah is the bread traditionally eaten at holiday and Sabbath meals.
- Before making the blessing over it, it is covered.
- Covers range from $10 for a machine-sewn polyester cover to several hundred dollars for painted silk.
- Plates can be wood, plastic, silver, etc., and often have bread knives that fit inside of them.
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Havdalah Sets - The ritual used to end the Sabbath on Saturday involves some prayers said over a multi-wicked candle, a cup of wine, and spices.
- You can get wonderful sets of a wine cup, spice box, candle holder and candle for a gift.
- The opportunities for artistry with these sets are endless.
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Home Ritual Items
| Mezuzah |
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- The mezuzah is a small, artful ritual item that is put on the doorpost.
- Inside it there is a little scroll, written on parchment that is required to be kosher, with Biblical quotations.
- The mezuzah marks a Jewish home and is often hung up immediately after moving in.
- They can be as beautiful and artistic as you want.
- They are placed on all doorways except the bathroom.
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| Tzedakah (Charity) Boxes |
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- Beautiful boxes can come in all shapes and sizes.
- Put some money in it to set aside for charitable giving.
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Ritual Clothing
| Ritual Clothing |
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Yarmulke (Kippah) - A head covering worn by many Jews (predominantly males, but it depends on your denomination) during prayer, meals, and/or all the time.
- While some people favor a classic black velvet or suede look, many (especially kids) will have a variety of styles and fabrics.
- Cartoon characters and sports team logos are also very popular.
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Tallit - A prayer shawl.
- It has special fringes on the ends (called tzitzit) that serve as a reminder of the commandments in the Bible.
- These can range from a standard blue and white striped design, to ornate and extraordinary artworks in any range of fabrics.
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Tefillin (phylacteries) - A set of straps and boxes that men (and some women depending on your denomination) traditionally bind to their arm and head during morning prayer.
- Unlike many ritual objects, these don't take well to artistic embellishment.
- They are entirely black leather with pieces of Biblical-inscribed parchment inside the small boxes.
- Jews who don't pray on weekdays may not find a use for this gift.
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| Tzitzit |
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- The fringes that hang off of a tallit are also customarily worn underneath everyday clothing.
- This is a very useful gift for Jews (almost exclusively men) who are more observant than most.
- If your recipient does not wear a kippah or head covering of some sort (i.e. a hat) all the time, the likelihood that s/he would wear tzitzit under his/her clothes is very small.
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| Kittel |
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- This all white shroud is worn (almost exclusively by men) at serious life cycle events.
- Men will wear them at their weddings and oftentimes on the high holiday of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement).
- They also serve as the burial shroud.
- You should steer away from buying someone a kittel unless you're absolutely sure they need/want one.
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Other Ritual Items
| Torah Reading Pointers |
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- When reading the Torah (the first five books in the Bible) in synagogue, the person chanting the words to the congregation will hold a beautiful pointer that guides his/her eye along the calligraphy because you are not supposed to touch the parchment with your hands.
- If you're buying a gift for a Jew who you know has a strong leadership position in a congregation, s/he may find great use in this pointer.
- They can be any number of materials, from beautiful metals to blown glass or porcelain.
- Called a "yad" meaning "hand" in Hebrew and often shaped with a small pointing hand at the end.
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| Hand Washing Cups |
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- Before eating bread, some Jews ritually wash their hands with a special cup.
- The cup can be made of anything you'd like.
- It should have no spout and have two handles, so that you can switch from left to right-handed holding easily--this must be done when washing hands the proper way with the prayer.
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Holiday Ritual Items
| Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) |
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Shofar - A ram's horn that is blown on Rosh Hashanah.
- It can be anywhere from 1 to 4 feet long and is very simple looking.
- When blown correctly, it can be very loud and impressive.
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Apple and Honey Sets - For a sweet new year, many Jews eat apples and honey on Rosh Hashanah.
- You can buy an apple and honey set to help celebrate.
- This gift is great for Jews with all different ranges of religious observance.
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| Sukkot |
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Etrog Box - On Sukkot (the eight-day-long Feast of Tabernacles) Jews carry around a small fruit called an etrog (citron). It's a lot like a lemon.
- You can keep the Etrog in a box to keep it fresh.
- The box can be made of any material, from silver to glass to wood.
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Lulav Bag - With the etrog goes a lulav, a combination of myrtle, palm, and willow branches that stands about 3 feet by 4 inches.
- They come already attached to each other.
- A simple bag of resilient plastic that's the right size for this set can help keep the branches together during the week of Sukkot.
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Sukkah - The main event of Sukkot is actually dwelling in a temporary hut called a "sukkah."
- Jews build these themselves.
- There are some kits for a ready-to-assemble Sukkah out of pipes, wood, and/or cloth.
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Sukkah Decorations - It's a great joy of Sukkot to decorate your sukkah.
- Paper chains, wall hangings, and harvest lights can hang along the walls and ceiling.
- Decorations should also be fruit (not necessarily real) as this is part of the theme of the holiday.
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| Hanukkah |
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Hanukkah - On Hanukkah, candles are lit by a special, 9-branched Hannukiah.
- Often mistakenly called a menorah, which only holds 7 candles.
- These can be as elegant or whimsical as you'd like.
- In order to be considered true and valid (or "kosher"), it must have eight branches all of the same height with a ninth branch higher by any distance or height.
- There are candle Hannukiahs as well as oil-burning varieties.
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Candles - Inside your Hannukiah, you must put candles!
- 44 candles should come in a box, lasting through the eight days of the holiday.
- Candles are not a usual gift, but if you are giving someone candles, look for unusual, handmade or otherwise special candles.
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Dreidel - A spinning top that is a fun betting game for the holiday of Hanukkah.
- The letters correspond to "A great miracle happened there" (or "here" in Israel) to commemorate the Hanukkah story.
- Some dreidels are meant for playing and other, more ornate ones, are decorative.
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| Purim |
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Mask - The purpose of Purim is to commemorate the events that occurred in the Book of Esther by dressing up as different characters in the story.
- Masks are worn to celebrate the joyousness associated with this day.
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Noisemakers - During the reading of the story of Purim, the congregation boos the name of the villain, Haman.
- Noisemakers are used to create a bigger ruckus. It's fun!
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Megillah - The Megillah (Book) of Esther is the scroll that tells the story of Purim.
- The scroll is written on parchment and often comes in a beautiful case.
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Books
- Prayer Books : Come in all different varieties, often dictated by the denomination in which they come from. Here are a few examples, but these are by no means the only prayer books available. A more extensive list can be found on Wikipedia.
- The Reconstructionist prayer book Kol Haneshamah features gender-neutral language and an inclusive liturgy.
- The Reform prayer book Mishkan Tfilah has new poetry and translations.
- The Conservative prayer book Sim Shalom has an easy-to-use format for the entire Conservative liturgy.
- The Orthodox prayer book Art Scroll has a myriad of annotations, explaining the details of the service.
- Books of the Bible have the same degree of variety.
- You can get copies of the Torah in any languages you want, with as much commentary as you'd like.
- The entire Old Testament can come in a set as well.
- A serious scholar also studies the Rabbinic commentaries, knows as the Talmud.
- This is a giant set of books. Do not attempt to buy them all at once unless you really know what you're doing.
- Don't worry. Wikipedia has a good article to catch you up on this.
Related Guides
- Hanukkah: For Hanukkah-specific ritual items, read this guide.
- Hanukkah Gifts: If you're looking for ritual gifts, here are some for Hanukkah!
- Religious Clothing Buying Guide: If you're interested in buying religious clothing of any sort, check out this buying guide.
External Links
- About.com: A guide to all of the Jewish holidays.
- Judaica-Guide.com: A guide to many of the objects above, including Tefillin, Mezuzah, Yarmulke, Tallit and Shofar.
