Jewish Ritual Items

At some point, you may need or want to give a traditional "Jewish" gift. Be careful with this kind of thing. You're going to have to understand that there are a lot of options. Do you know your recipient? All of these gifts are wonderful, but some won't be as appreciated by someone who doesn't lead an observant life. To avoid offending any sensibilities, try to deduce if a serious ritual 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 the less serious options.

Top Five Ritual Items

(Get these if you don't know much about the person)

• Candlesticks (Depending on the level of religiosity for men and women.)
• Yarmulke (Depending on the level of religiosity for men and women.)
• Mezuzah
• Tzedakah Box
• Kiddush Cup

Sabbath Ritual Items

Fire, Wine and Bread. What Could Be Better?
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.	Kiddush Cups  The Kiddush is the ceremonial prayer said over wine before just about all festival and Sabbath meals. Silver, ceramic, glass, plastic, and whatever else you could imagine make great kiddush cups.	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 to several hundred dollars for painted silk. Plates can be wood, plastic, silver, etc., and often have bread knives that fit inside them.	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, spicebox, candle holder and candle for a gift. The opportunities for artistry with these sets are endless.

Home Ritual Items

Mezuzah

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 on it written and prepared the proper way. 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.

Tzedakah (Charity) Boxes
	Beautiful boxes  can come in all shapes and sizes. Put some money in it to set aside for charitable giving.

Ritual Clothing

Ritual Clothing
Yarmulke  (Kippah) A headcovering 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.	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.	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 Biblically inscribed parchment inside the small boxes. Jews who don't pray on weekdays may not find a use for this gift.

Tzitzit
	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.

Kittel
	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.

Other Ritual Items

Torah Reading Pointers

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.

Hand Washing Cups
	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 often has two handles, so that you can switch from left to right-handed holding easily which must be done when washing hands the proper way with the prayer.

Holiday Ritual Items

Rosh Hashanah (the New Year)
Shofar  A ram's horn that is blown on Rosh Hashanah. It can be anywhere from 1 to 4 feet long and is otherwise very simple looking. When blown correctly, they can be very loud and impressive.	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.

Sukkot
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. They can be any material, from silver to glass to wood.	Lulav Bag  With the etrog goes a lulav, a combination of myrtle, palm, and willow branches that stands about 3 feet by 4 inches. The 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.	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.	Sukkah Decorations  It's a great joy of Sukkot to decorate your sukkah. Paper chains, wall hangings, and harvest-theme 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.

Hanukkah
Hanukiah  On Hanukkah lighting candles held by a special, 9-branched hanukiah is performed nightly 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 a true and valid or "kosher" hanukkiah it must have eight branches all of the same height with a ninth branch higher by any distance or height. There are candle hanukkiot as well as oil burning hanukkiot.	Candles  Inside your hanukiah, 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. A box of ordinary Hanukkah candles is not much of a gift!	Dreidel  A spinning top that is a fun betting game for 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.

Purim
Mask  The purpose of Purim is to commemorate the events that occured in the Book of Esther by dressing up, often as different characters in the story. Masks are worn to celebrate the joyousness associated with this day.	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!	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.

Passover
Seder Plates  On Passover a ritual meal/storytelling session (called a seder) occurs around a table. On the table is a seder plate, holding several objects described during the Passover story. These plates have spots for each of their objects and can be as beautiful or simple as you'd like.	Elijah's Cup /Miriam's Goblet  After the seder meal, the door is opened to greet the prophet Elijah. A glass of wine is on the table for him. These glasses can be simple, ornate or fun. Some feminist thinkers have incorporated Miriam's goblet (a goblet of water) into the seder to honor the contributions of Miriam, sister of Moses.	Matzah Container  Matzah, the main food of Passover, gets its own cover and/or box. You can also get a decorative pouch  to hold the afikomen, the half of a matzah which is hidden during the seder and needs to be recovered by the children.

Books

• Prayer Books  -- Come in all different varieties, often dictated by the denomination 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 whole Old Testament  can come in a set together, 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 all at once unless you know what you're doing.
• Don't worry. Wikipedia has a good article on this.

External Links

• About.com -- A guide to all the Jewish holidays.
• Something Jewish -- A British guide to the holidays.
• Judaica Guide -- A guide to many of the objects above, including tefillin, mezuzah, yarmulke, tallit and shofar.