Standing on ceremony
By Abigail Radoszkowicz

As a religion with many home-centered practices, Judaism has a long list of ritual objects. Seder plates, kiddush cups, havdala sets are only some of the basics. Yet none of these are necessary, halachically. Any large plate can be set with the six symbolic Pessah foods; any cup of appropriate volume can be used for kiddush; the blessings over the havdala spices can be made no matter what container they happen to be in, including their commercial packaging.

Nor is there any prescribed form for the Sabbath candles holders - or oil wicks, as in the Sephardi tradition - says Rabbi Ezra Nulman one of the halachic experts employed at the Hasofer Judaica store on Rehov Straus in the heart of Jerusalem.

Yet Jews throughout the ages and the Diaspora, literally took to heart the commandment of hidur mitzvot, of beautifying the fulfillment of the commandments, and created religious artifacts that become treasured family heirlooms.

Today, Judaica is often displayed together with jewelry in stores selling both, offering aesthetic pleasure as would any other art object.

Avi Biran's jewel studded sterling silver charity box for pre-Yom Kippur atonement ceremony, symbolizes the slaughtering of chickens.

I remember one blind-date which consisted solely of browsing the Judaica stores in the King David area. While the young man was eminently forgettable, the items displayed were not. My special favorites were the variations on the havdala sets designed as a three-part train, and the havdala spicebox constructed as city towers.

I am just as happy to look at good contemporary Judaica as at those classic designs. One silversmith known for his innovative work is Avi Biran, the 1999 winner of the Israel Museum's Jesselson Prize for contemporary Judaica Design. While his garbage container spice container might not make it to everyone's havdala, it succeeds in provoking thoughts about the distinction between the sacred and the profane, which is, after all, the theme of the weekly end-of-Sabbath ceremony.

One of his works, a charity box in the shape of a Humpty Dumpty-like chick, not only accommodates those Jews who use money instead of slaughtering a chicken for the pre-Yom Kippur kappara ceremony, but highlights its meaning. The surface of the piece is polished to a high sheen so as to reflect the family members performing this atonement ceremony, thereby symbolizing that the chicken/ charity money has taken on their sins. Another reference to a traditional Yom Kippur practice is the chicken's prominent belt, suggestive to the kittel robe worn by Ashkenazi men on Yom Kippur. On the belt, Biran has engraved the verses of the kappora ceremony. This interweaving of text and material art is prominent in much traditional and contemporary Judaica.

ASKED whether his customers are predominantly religious or secular, Biran answers that they are predominantly from abroad, due to the upscale prices of handmade Judaica. His well-organized Web site - www.avi-biran.co.il - suggests as much.

Does he ever get any requests from American Jews unique to that community? Biran mentions Miriam's Cup, which is filled with water and placed next to the the traditional Elijah's Cup on the Pessah table as a tribute to the biblical prophetess.

That's one article of Judaica that Rabbi Moshe Flumenbaum, proprietor for the last 20 years of Hasofer can't provide. On the other hand, his shop does sell those Judaica articles that Jews do need to meet halachic requirements: mezzuzot (the parchment inside, not just the cover), tefillin, tzizitit, talitot, shofarot.

Whether shopping on the Web or among brick and mortar, the customer should check for an annually updated statement of certification from an independent rabbinical organization, such as Mishmaret Stam. "Don't think that the person selling religious items is ethically correct. Just because he's wearing a uniform is no more indication that he is either knowledgeable or legitimate than walking in a garage, seeing a guy in overhauls and thinking he's an expert mechanic."

The customer should also be aware of pitfalls in other types of Judaica products. When purchasing pure silver, always look for the stamp indicating that it is either .925 or .855 pure. Otherwise it is only silver-plated or chrome. In addition, be on your guard for bait and switch, Flumenbaum warns.

Much Judaica - legitimate or otherwise - now comes from abroad, he adds. Knitted kippot, for example, once produced mostly by local Arabs, are now largely imported from China.

Judaica items which serve a Jewish function without being ritual objects run a wide gamut, from halla covers and halla boards, to honey dishes for the Rosh Hashana table, to netiliat yediam (hand washing) cups. Like labor-saving innovations in secular society, Judaica novelties are often designed to make the observant life an easier one. The ring-holder for netiliat yediam in the display window of Azoulay's Ceramic Judaica on Yoel Solomon, right off Zion Square, was a sharp reminder of how I'd lost my wedding ring just two weeks into marital life.

FLUMENBAUM points out that there is now culture-identification Judaica not related to religious observance, like bagel cutters, popular among American - as opposed to European - tourists. In addition, whole fields of Judaica have evolved over the last few years. There's children's Judaica, including games ranging from bracha cards to Israeli Monopoly. There's a whole leather Judaica industry - not to worry, it only refers to new uses of leather for Judaica, such as Birchat Habayit (blessing for the house) frames and megilla holders. "If you search Judaica on the Web," says Flumenbaum, "you can look at ten sites and not run into any duplication." His own Web site - www.hasofer.com - offers everything from Hebrew-numbered clocks to megillot.

But back to basics. Looking to buy a traditional silver havadala set? It can set you back anywhere from less than $200 to over $2,500, depending on the quality, says Flumenbaum.

Jerusalem's Bezalel was founded in 1905 as part of the Zionist renaissance, and named after the first Jewish artist, the builder of the tabernacle. But crafting Judaica fell out of favor there. Only in the last 20 years has it begun to be emphasized again in the curriculum, along with the history and halachic requirements of Jewish ceremonial objects.

A selection of the fruits of this renewed interest in Judaica are displayed in the school's Continuity and Change exhibition put together during the state's 50th anniversary three years ago, and still on world tour.

As one might expect, striking futuristic pieces make up much of the exhibition. But those still suggest the architectural cast of much traditional Ashkenazi Judaica.

One real stand-out in this context is Malka Kochavi's feminine havdala spice box, a round coil of silver and gold topped off by a flower. Beyond the beauty of its form, Kohavi's piece promotes hidur mitzvot also in function. As in traditional spice boxes, the coil of Kohavi's is pierced to let out the scent of the spices. So as long as the owner of this spice box got - or received - flowers for Shabbat, he/she would have additional scents for the havdala bracha.

Jewish ceremonial objects in traditional styles link us to our past. But contemporary Judaica reminds us that it is also ever evolving.