Ritual Objects
The artifacts in this gallery represent ritual objects used on Shabbat, the High Holidays and Chanukkah
Kiddush Cup
Europe
This kiddush cup was given to me by my grandfather in honor of his 80th birthday. It used to belong to my great-grandfather. It was part of the collection that he had. He took it with him when he and my grandfather left Germany before world war two broke out.
This kiddush cup was used for welcoming the sabbath on shabbat. The word kiddush comes from the root meaning holy and shabbat comes from a root that means rest, the kiddush cup is used to make the day of rest a holy day. The Jewish people recite the kiddush to remember god creating the universe, bringing us out of Egypt and picking us over all other people to be holy.
Yarmulke
Poland
Henry W., Grandfather
This was worn by my great, great grandfather, who lived in Poland in the mid-1800\'s. It was made in the U.S. It is very important to my family because it is the only Jewish ritual item that my family has that was passed down from our family in Poland
According to Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, the yarmulke is a well known symbol of Jewish religiosity. Wearing a yarmulke symbolizes the presence of God, a force in the universe above the wearer. It is worn as a custom, not a law, in the Jewish faith.
Kiddush Cup
Hungary
Doug B.
This Kiddush cup was bought by my father\'s grandmother who was from Hungary. My father\'s family has been using this cup for his whole life on every holiday. It signifies the survival of the Jewish nation and the family and friends who were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
The Kiddush cup shows the tradition of our family and the Jewish people as a whole. The markings on this old cup of the star of David remind us of who we are, that we are the people that were led out of Egypt by Moses and we remember all our history from Abraham all the way down to modern day miracles such as winning The War for Independence. This makes us remember who we truly are, The Jewish People. The word Kiddush comes from the root word for holy, \"kaddosh\" and when we recite the kiddush over the wine we are making the Sabbath holy.
Menorah
Russia
my great grandmother
It was used for 4 generations by the Heifetz family and it will continue to be used by future generations. As you can see, it was used by our family this past Hanukkah
It is a Chanukah menorah called a hanukkiyah. The hanukkiyah is lit for 8 days during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah and commemorates the miracle of the small amount of oil that continued to burn for 8 days. The word Hanukkah means \"dedication\" and we are reminded of our dedication to Jewish values and the continuation of Jewish life through the generations.
Havdala Spice Box
Israel
Tobi I.
It is important to my family because it is something that my great-grandfather used and cherished, and it is amazing that over 50 years ago, he used it. It is important to us because it was passed down through the generations.
It is used for havdalah, which is the Jewish ceremony that symbolizes the end of Shabbat, separating what is holy (Shabbat), and what is regular (the week).