Asia
All of our artifacts are from the continent of Asia. Most of them are actually from Israel. These artifacts are all very unique and important because of the stories they tell. These artifacts represent Judaism. In some way each of them shows our history and impact of Judaism in our lives. These objects will be passed on through the generations and their stories will continue to be told as the years go on.
A Mortar and Pestle
Yemen
Eden I. and Manny A.
Many, many years ago a metal worker in Yemen was sitting at his work table with sticks of brass and his tools. He was making a mortal and pestle, and he shaped it perfectly. Finally, it was for sale! After being passed down from many people, Miriam A. eventually received it and brought it to America.
This artifact is very special because it has a lot of stories in it. It is also significant because it belonged to my great-grandma. She used it as a kitchen tool for grinding spices for everyday life and Jewish holidays when my Grandpa was a young boy. Now, we do not use it as a kitchen tool, but rather as a symbol of remembrance.
Bar Mitzvah Kippah
Israel
Father
This is the kippah that my father wore when he became a Bar Mitzvah. It was given to him by a close family friend who was a Rabbi. He had brought it with him all the way from the land of Israel. My Dad passed it on to me when I began Hebrew School.
My artifact is significant to Jewish Heritage because it was sent from Israel. So not only was it worn by my Dad when he became a man, it was sent from our homeland for him on his special day. It was given to our family by a Rabbi, someone we all look up to and respect. My Dad gave it to me so we can keep up our Jewish heritage and traditions.
Hanukah Menorah
Israel
Barry F.
This menorah was given to my great-grandmother when she went to visit her sister in Israel. It was only the second time the two sisters met face to face since they left Russia after the Revolution.
My great-grandmother used this menorah to celebrate Hanukah every year until she died. When we look at it we remember her and the reuniting of two branches of our family.
Cameo Pin
Italy
Esther F.
In 1940, my Great Grandfather Yitzchak gave this cameo to my Great Grandmother Lea, for whom I am named. My Great Grandmother was 40 years old, living in Tel Aviv. It was her first piece of jewelry. She wore this pin every day. When she died in 1984, my grandmother flew from New York to Tel Aviv for the funeral. The pin was on a jacket in my great grandmother's closet. When I was born, March 13, 2000, my grandmother gave the pin to my mother. One day, when I become a mother, the cameo will be mine. And I will also pass it down to my child.
Most of the young Jews in Tel Aviv in the 1940s were not wealthy. To have a significant piece of jewelry was something to be cherished. My great grandmother did so for more than 40 years. Whenever I see this cameo, I think of my great grandmother and think of the struggles she went through and how nothing was taken for granted during that time.
Mezzuzah
Israel
Grandma
This mezzuzah is important to me because my great grandmother brought it back from the holy land and it is now a piece of Jewish heritage right here in my and my family's home.
The design on the mezzuzah is the ten commandments, the same ones Moses came down with from Mount Sinai - it is a little piece of the Jewish law we all live our lives by every day.
Necklace
Israel
It's mine from my Dad
This gold necklace has the symbol of the Irgun, the Israeli underground that fought the British and the Arabs during the years leading up to Israel's War of Independence. My Grandpa, Benzion T. was in the Irgun and was a shomer (bodyguard) for Menachim Begin. After the State of Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, the Irgun was disbanded. This symbol was given to my Grandpa by Menachim Begin and he never took it off. He gave it to my Dad to hold for me.
This is the symbol of the underground army (Irgun). It is a reminder of the commitment of the members of the Irgun and others to re-establish the Jewish homeland after 2,000 years of exile.
The Greatest Romance in History
Palestine (Israel)
I found this booklet printed by Keren Hayesod (originally the Palestine Foundation Fund) while cleaning out the apartment of a deceased family member. It demonstrates the dream our family had - along with Jews around the world - about the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel. Little did they know that a few short years after this book was printed that dream almost did not come to pass as a result of the Shoah.
This booklet was written as the journal of a man traveling through what would become a Jewish homeland rebuilt.The reaction to the 1917 Balfour Declaration on the pictured page says: "The words were flashed around the world; they reached Jewish homes in mourning; they reached Jewish soldiers at the front. The British Empire had pledged its word to see the Jewish land restored to the Jewish people! The two-thousand year exile was drawing to an end!"