The Jewelry Judaica Blog

After much thought and reflection, I've come up with a few guidelines that I hope will help create a fun and meaningful holiday, while staying true to the Jewish values that matter most. I hope that one or more of these ideas resonate with you, and that they bring more intention to your own celebration.

As we approach the anniversary of October 7th and prepare to usher in a sweet New Year filled with a complex mix of anxiety, fear, gratitude, sadness, and above all, hope, wearing a Star of David (or even a Hamsa or Chai) sends an unspoken message: we are in this together.

On Shavuot we celebrate the monumental event in Jewish history when G-D gave the Jewish people the Torah, seven weeks after the Israelites left Egypt. According to the Torah, G-D descended down to Mount Sinai and spoke the first Ten Commandments to the Jewish people. We refer to this miraculous event as “the revelation at Sinai.”

What is Lag Ba’omer?

Starting tonight, Jews around the world celebrate Lag Ba’omer, a holiday that occurs on the 33rd day of the Omer, — the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot. During this one-day holiday, the Jewish people cease their mourning practices adopted during the Omer period and celebrate, typically with bonfires and music.

 

As we celebrate the rituals of the holiday, gather with family to read the Haggadah, and enjoy our macaroons and matzah ball soup, it is important for us to also contemplate: what is the deeper meaning of Passover?

What is Tu B'Shevat?

Tu B'shevat literally translates to the 13th day of the month of Shevat. It is known as the birthday for the trees or the new year for the trees. It dates back to the Talmud in reference to the laws of Orlah, that the fruits of a fruit bearing tree cannot be eaten for the first 3 years.

In modern days, Tu B'Shevat is an ecological celebration. Its customary to plant trees have a Tu B'Shevat seder full of wine, dried fruits and fresh fruits. 

Since we post so many pictures of dreidels... here is a little background!

A dreidel is a 4 sided top, each side has a Hebrew letter on it. In Israel, the letters are an anagram for A great miracle happened here (Nun, Gimel, Hay, Pay). Outside of Israel you find the letters Nun, Gimel, Hay, Shin - for a Great miracle happened there. The word dreidel is in Yiddish. In Hebrew its called a Sevivon, which means turn around. 

Here are the quick instructions for how to play dreidel!

In our mission to help promote positive Jewish identity, we want to flood the internet with pictures of people proudly wearing their Jewish Jewelry! So please send us photos that we can share or tag us @jewelryjudaica and we will repost them!

The best of 2020 is in this hanukkah gift guide. Need inspiration for your gifts? Look no further. We have hanukkah themed gifts, jewish jewelry under $50, judaica jewelry for women and for men! Time to check everyone off your list.  Happy shopping!

When I planned out my blog post schedule for the year a few months ago, I never could have imagined the topic for my Passover post would be the Corona Virus. In fact, only a few short weeks ago I had never heard the phrases “social distancing” or “safer at home” and now they are ubiquitous.  We live in a crazy time yet it feels like we are living in biblical times and enduring one of the 10 plagues. My daughter’s preschool teacher told me that she she is confident quarantine will be over on April 19^th, as initially discussed, because that marks the end of Pesach and we will be led to freedom like the Jews leaving Egypt.  I really hope she is right, not just because I CANT WAIT for my 2 young children to be back to school, but because that will mean there is an end in sight to this terrible virus that is plaguing the whole world.

The big Jewish question during quarantine is what do we do for Pesach? If we have all been in quarantine for 2 weeks can we come together? Can we break our social distancing just to be with our closest family in a small group for the Seder? Do we risk our parents’ health and bring their grandkids over? Or do we let grandma make the food, each eat it at our own house while we have a zoom Seder? How to we navigate this? It’s one of the most important holidays of the year and we are instructed to invite others into our home to retell the story of the Jews being let to freedom, it seems unfathomable that a single person will be left to have a Seder at home on their own. This is so hard!

The rabbis in Israel came out with a declaration that you can have Zoom on during your Seder as long as you set it up and connect before the holiday begins (read more). Its not often that the ultra-orthodox bend the rules but in this case, it is Pikuach Nefesh, or saving a soul, which states that preservation of human life overrides virtually any religious rule. This comes after telling people not to kiss the mezuzah, stop visiting the mikvah and attending synagogue.  So, I guess the rabbis are encouraging Zoom.  (As a side note, who had heard of Zoom before a few weeks ago?)

One thing is sure, the show must go on and one way or another we will have a Seder. With a heavy heart I’m leaning towards a zoom Seder myself, but I’m curious what you are all doing. Please feel free to comment below, we would love to get this conversation going and maybe figure this out together.

We hope you all stay safe and healthy and wish you a Chag Pesach Sameach! Wash your hands, stay home and lets pray we can put this behind us sooner than later.

We curated our favorite items under $50 for this holiday season. This gift guide has suggestions for hostess gifts as well as gifts for women, men, girls, boys, grandmas and grandpas! Hanukkah gifts for the entire family and every party you are invited to, all under $50. Check it out now!

Tu B’Av

ט ו באב

Ah, Valentine’s Day. A joyous occasion of roses, chocolate, and eating ice cream by the tub alone in your room. While Valentine’s Day has gained notoriety around the world, Tu B’Av is still very unknown. A Jewish holiday with uncertain roots has transformed into a whole day devoted to love and human connection.

Since this holiday is very old (as many things are in the Jewish religion), there is no set “beginning” of this tradition. The story goes that one day, the daughters of Jerusalem danced in a vineyard wearing white dresses, and the men were asked which one they would want to be their wife. That’s why the modern take of this day is all about love. The men were said to find their one true love dancing in the vineyard. To celebrate and signify the white the dancing women wore, here is a beautiful white gold chai pendant. This pendant not only symbolizes the white frocks the women wore, but also embraces the femininity of the women. The swirl cutouts are reminiscent of the vineyards women danced in. 

Even though this holiday is not widely celebrated, the Talmud (the Jewish book of teachings) considers this day of festivals the greatest of all the holidays, with Yom Kippur a runner-up. Personally, I find it positively insane that I have grown up all my life being told that Yom Kippur is the most important holiday, when in fact it was simply a holiday of dancing, celebration, and love. I would much rather be dancing in the streets than sitting in temple on a day off in uncomfortable clothes. 

The thing is, there is no legal “day off” in Israel for Tu B’Av. It is a normal work day. Religiously, this holiday is observed through an omittance of certain morning prayers. For a holiday the Talmud thinks is more important than Yom Kippur, it seems like a pretty measly celebration. However, in more modern times, Israeli culture has celebrated this holiday with celebrations of dancing and singing into the night. Here is a sleek ahava pendant to honor the holiday in a very modern way. The small rose gold charm is 14k of elegant beauty. “Ahava” (spelled אהבה in Hebrew) directly translates to “love.” This pendant can make you feel even more connected to Israel, as it is a replica of the famous statue in Tel Aviv. 

It is a good thing this holiday is when it is. It follows the somber holiday of Tisha B’Av, which is a day of remembrance of all of the travesties and genocides the Jewish people have endured. In my eyes, it is a nice contrast from a dark day to one of love and acceptance. It shows the true Jewish resilience that one can go from a day of memorial, moments of silence, and sirens in the street to love, harmony, and peace. 

The whole foundation of this holiday is love. Yes, it started out simply for men to find wives. However, over time it has come to mean so much. One single day, devoted to love. Love of self, love of others, love of love. I truly think that is what we, as humans, need right now. In a turbulent time when antisemitism is on the rise, what the Jewish people need is more and more love. To come together, rather than drift apart. Now, more than ever, Israel should stay united under love, and Tu B’Av is the best way to celebrate that.