Jewish Star of David Gifts & Jewelry

The six pointed Star of David, Judaism and Israel's distinctive symbol, has also had a significant usage as an art symbol. Whether it be paintings, sculpture, or in a myriad of jewelry designs, the 'Star' (also called Magen David or Shield of David) is commonly used in various art all over the Jewish world.

Originating in decorative frescos in Jewish houses of worship, including beautiful ornate stained glass windows, the Star of David can be found in paintings by famous international artists, including Marc Chagall, Samuel Bak, and Michael David, are well known in international art exhibitions. Many paintings were also made during and after the Holocaust, depicting Jews and Jewish property marked with the notorious yellow Star of David is a sad reminder of a very dark period in Jewish history.

In both Jewish religious art, and in Jewish jewelry, the Star is also made in a variety of forms, and artistic designs are only limited to the artist's imagination. From more traditional forms of single drop pendants in gold and silver as noted here, to modern and even elaborate creations, using a variety of materials Including diamonds and other precious stones and coins and medallions, art forms for the Star appear to be unlimited. Those who are interested in mysticism, including studying the occult and the Kabbalah, a very popular pastime nowadays, finding jewelry and other kinds of art based on this symbol is very easy, especially on the Internet. Along with Kabbalah jewelry, related art forms using what is known as Solomon's Seal and the Shield of David are also sought after by many.

Tourists visiting the State of Israel can find a wealth of jewelry and artwork of all forms using the Star of David, as well as other symbols, including the Hebrew word "Chai", meaning Life. Jewelry and souvenir shops abound all over Israel, especially in the larger cities such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Besides the rich selection of jewelry incorporating this well known symbol, a large collection of Jewish religious and ceremonial items made from silver and other metals, as well as decorative glass and ceramic ware is also available on online shopping sites, such as EBay, and websites specializing in Judaica and religious oriented items and giftware. As for those wishing to purchase these items, one is only limited by his or her pocketbook.

Visit our Star of David section for some great Jewish gifts. Some of more popular Star of David gift ideas include:

Small Blue Star of David Necklace
Bat Mitzvah Star of David (Pink)
Star of David Family Blessing
Gold & Blue Star of David Pendant
Bar Mitzvah Star of David Bracelet
Magen David Necklace
Red Kabbalah Bracelet & Star of David
Star of David Necklace & Earrings Set
Turquoise Star of David Anklet
Green Hanging Star of David

Eshet Chayil A Jewish Song For A Woman Of Valor

The famous Jewish traditional song "Eshet Chayil" in Hebrew or "Woman of Valor" in English, is popular not only among families singing it, but also as a verse inscribed on various Judaica art pieces and Jewish Jewelry pendants and necklaces.

Praising a woman with diverse capabilities inside the house and outside, the song speaks to women and girls of our age as it did to their ancestors as well.

On the surface Eshet Chayil, which consists of the last two verses of King Solomon's Proverbs, is a hymn to ideal wife.
Though, like much of King Solomon's writing, it has meaning beyond this, the song is allegorical, it refers not only to an actual woman but also to Shabbat, the Torah and the Shechinah (the dwelling of the divine on Earth).

This biblical poem employs an archaic form of typography in that it has an acrostic arrangement where the verses begin each with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in regular order.

Eshet Chayil is sung to a familiar tune on Friday nights, after synagogue, following Shalom Aleichem and before Kiddush.


The words are as follows in Hebrew and English:

Eshet chayil mi yimtza v'rachok mip'ninim michrah
An accomplished woman, who can find? - Far beyond pearls is her value.

Batach bah lev ba'lah v'shalal lo yechsar
Her husband's heart relies on her and he shall lack no fortune.

G'malathu tov v'lo ra kol y'mei chayeiha
She does him good and not evil, all the days of her life.

Darshah tzemer ufishtim vata'as b'chefetz kapeiha
She seeks wool and flax, and works with her hands willingly.

Haitah ko'oniyot socher mimerchak tavi lachmah
She is like th emerchant ships, she brings her bread from afar.

Vatakom b'od lailah vatiten teref l'vetah v'chok l'na'aroteiha
She arises while it is still night, and gives food to her household and a portion to her maidservants.

Zam'mah sadeh vatikachehu mip'ri chapeiha nat'ah karem
She plans for a field, and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

Chagrah v'oz motneiha vat'ametz zro'oteiha
She girds her loins in strenght, and makes her arms stong.

Ta'amah ki tov sachrah lo yichbeh balailah nerah
She knows that her merchandise is good; her candle does not go out at night.

Yadeha shilchah vakishor v'chapeiha tamchu felech
She sets her hands to the distaff, and holds the spindle in her hands.

Kapah parsah le'ani v'yadeiha shil'chah la'evyon
She extends her hands to the poor, and reaches out her hand to the needy.

Lo tira l'vetah mishaleg ki chol betah lavush shanim
She fears not for her household because of snow, because her whole household is warmly dressed.

Marvadim astah lah shesh v'argaman l'vushah
She makes covers for herself, her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Noda bash'arim ba'lah b'shivto im ziknei aretz
Her husband is known at the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

Sadin astah vatimkor vachagor natnah lak'na'ani
She makes a cloak and sells it, and she delivers aprons to the merchant.

Oz v'hadar l'vushah vatischak l'yom acharon
Strength and honor are her clothing, she smiles at the future.

Piha patchah v'chochma v'torat chesed al l'shonah
She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the lesson of kindness is on her tongue.

Tzofi'ah halichot betah v'lechem atzlut lo tochel
She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Kamu vaneha vay'ash'ruha ba'lah vay'hal'lah
Her children rise and praise her, her husband, too, and he lauds her.

Rabot banot asu chayil v'at alit al kulanah
Many women have have done worthily, but you surpass them all.

Sheker hachen v'hevel hayofi ishah yir'at Hashem hi tit'halal
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears G-d, she shall be praised.

T'nu lah mip'ri yadeiha vihal'luha vash'arim ma'aseha
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Jewish Gifts Calendar

The Jewish calendar year, which begins with the month of Tishrei (from mid to late September) has certain periods in which gift giving coincides with the particular seasons. During the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur many types of gifts are given, especially gifts of food and wine, as well for the home. As these holidays usually fall during or after the September Equinox, the holidays usher in the Autumn season, and gifts of harvest related items, including paintings, pottery, and other art work are very good gift ideas. These holidays are also deeply tied to religion; and a number of Jewish jewelry gift items, including amulets and Judaica items make excellent gifts.

Almost immediately following the Yom Kippur fast is the eight day festival of Sukkot. Sukkot is a harvest festival, making items dealing with seasonal produce as well as artwork excellent gift ideas. When visiting friends and relatives during this period, especially during the interim Chol Hamoed days, gifts of wine and house wares as well as seasonal fruits are smart gift ideas.

Following Sukkot, the next big gift giving festival is the eight day festival of Hanukkah, occurring during the Hebrew month of Kislev which falls during the month of December. Hanukkah is definitely a children's festival, which means any type of gifts for children, from infants to teenagers, are appropriate. Since Hanukkah is also called "Chag Hanurim" or Festival of Lights, giving gifts such as eight candled Hanukkah Menorahs and Dreidels, both excellent seasonal gift ideas. Some excellent examples of handmade Menorahs can be found in the Judaica gifts section of our site.

Tu-Bishvat is a mid-winter festival following Hanukkah celebrating the new year of the trees and, in fact, Tu-Bishvat is called the Festival of Trees in English and gifts of nuts and dried fruit, as well as seasonal citrus fruit make excellent gifts. Since Tu-Bishvat is actually the "Birthday of Trees" any kind of gift relating to trees, nature and wildlife is an excellent gift ideas.

Purim is the next gift giving festival, and falls on the Hebrew month of Adar (late February to mid-March). Like Hanukkah, Purim is a fun holiday for kids and children often give what is called in Hebrew "Mishloah Manot" which are gift parcels of sweets and small toys.

A month after Purim, in the Hebrew month of Nisan, is the festival of Pesach or Passover. Passover is a very special season for gift giving; especially gift parcels with "Kosher for Passover" foods and wines as well as gifts for the home. Like Rosh Hashanah, Passover is a big gift giving season.

The last important gift giving festival of the Jewish year is the holiday of Shavuot which occurs six weeks after Passover in the month of Sivan, usually early June. Shavuot is a harvest festival as well as a religious one, and is also referred to as "Bikurim" (first fruits), making gifts of seasonal produce and flowers very appropriate; as well as artwork. Gifts of dairy products, such as fine cheese, wines and dairy foods are also very good gift ideas, since many people eat only dairy products during this holiday. Shavuot is the religious holiday that marks the time when the Children of Israel were given the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Gifts with a religious motif, including Jewish Gifts and Judaica are very appropriate.

The last gift giving festival of the Jewish Year is called "Tu-Be Av" which occurs in late summer during the Hebrew month of Av, is actually the Jewish "festival of love". Any kind of gift with a romantic flavor, as found in our sites, including Handmade Jewelry, Heart Jewelry, Gifts for Her and Gifts for Him are a very good place to look.

Happy Holidays

Shabbat Candlesticks - Gifts for Any Occasion

Every week, before the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, women light two candles to mark the beginning of the religious day of rest for observant Jews. As it was instructed by G-d to His servant Moses on Mt. Sinai, and written in the Ten Commandments: "Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy". The tradition of lighting two candles or two small lamps of oil to usher in the Sabbath, or Shabbat in Hebrew, is said to originate in Jewish communities situated in and around the Mediterranean basin in the 8th Century C.E. The custom eventually spread to other Jewish communities until by the 14th Century it had spread over the entire Jewish world.

The ritual of lighting two candles by the mother of the family usually takes place on Friday afternoon several minutes before the official beginning of the Sabbath (Shabbat) Eve. The woman lights both candles after saying the following prayer: "Blessed art Thou o Lord, King of the Universe, who commands us to observe the holy act (Mitzvot) of lighting the Shabbat candles". If there are unmarried daughters in the house, they are required to light a single candle before the two candles are lit by their mother, officially hallowing the sacredness of the Sabbath. The one candle by the daughter indicates that as she is not yet married her life is still incomplete.

The lighting of the Shabbat Candlesticks, besides welcoming the Sabbath, are supposed to symbolize the last lighting of fire before the beginning of Shabbat when no fires or lights are to be lit.

Shabbat Candlesticks come in a myriad of materials and designs, including those made of crystal, silver, bronze, pewter, ceramic, wood, and glass. While some are very simple in design, others are ornate with designs of biblical fruit, such as pomegranates, and biblical verses dealing with Shabbat. The Candlesticks often come in sets including single Candlesticks to be lit by unmarried daughters. Some Candlesticks have been carried down in families, from mothers to daughters, for generations.

On Jewish festivals, it is permitted to light candles after sundown, providing they are lit from a flame that is already burning. Traditional Jewish women light festival candles in a similar manner as they do before Shabbat, reciting a prayer pertaining to the holiday for which they are lit. If the first night of the festival happens to fall on the eve of Shabbat, then the festival candles are lit first, followed by the ones for Shabbat.

The lighting of candles, whether for Shabbat or a festival is a very important part of preserving religious traditions which have been passed down from parent to child for hundreds of years.

MostOriginal.com offers a great selection of Jewish Gifts in general and specifically Shabbat Candlesticks including the following:

Handmade Wooden Candlesticks
Modern Shabbat Candlesticks
Crystal Candlesticks with Swarovski Crystals
Pillar Candlesticks
Shabbat Candlesticks
Large Crystal Candlesticks

Judaica Gifts & Israeli Handmade Jewish Gifts

The term Judaica covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history, culture, holidays, language, scripture, religious teachings, religious books, Jewish jewelry and artifacts, in general everything having to do with the Jewish religion and the Jews.

JUDAISM: the religion of the Jew, equivalent to the Hebrew “yahadut”, Judaism was the first monotheistic faith, ( the belief in one and only one God). It is practiced by the matrilineal descendants(descendants of the mother).

There is not a trace of racism in Judaism, the doors are open to all, anyone irrespective of his origin or color, is an eligible candidate for entry into the Jewish community.

Judaism is a lifestyle defined by God in the Torah (the bible), which contains obligations of man to God, such as the observance of Shabbat, of man to man, the prohibition of murder, and of man to him or herself and the prohibition of suicide.

Judaism affirms that god spoke to man in the form of prophecy, and that man has an opportunity to communicate with God by means of prayer. Although there are great differences between Judaism and other religions of the world, Judaism anticipate the time, told in the bible, that those nations will acknowledge the Lord in Zion, and the Lord will say: “and I brought to my Holy mountain, and allowed them to rejoice in my house of prayer, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”. ( Ezekiel 36;25 ).

The Ana BeKoach Prayer

Ana BeKoach, g'du-lat y'min-cha ta-tir, tze-ru-ra: We beg Thee, with the strength and goodness of Thy right arm, Untangle our knotted fate.

So begins one of the most significant prayers connected with the Kabbalah. The Ana BeKoach prayer, also chanted by Jews each Friday night, has an unknown author, and is attributed to have been written around the Second Century C.E. The prayer is made up of seven sentences which are supposed to correspond with the seven days of the week. The Kabbalistic meaning is even more pronounced as the prayer itself is actually a form of code for the name of God. Each letter corresponds to its numerical position within the Hebrew alphabet, and if you add up the first letters of each word you have the number 42, which is encoded to be first 42 letters of the Book of Genesis.

In other words, the number 42 is another term for God, The Creator.

Ana BeKoach is often found engraved on Jewish Jewelry and recited in Kabbalah meditation prayers and exercises, with the result to be a form of healing energy for the soul. As each line of the prayer has a significant meaning, the reciting of the prayer is supposed to assist in bringing comfort and healing into our lives. For example, the beginning of the prayer, as noted above, is make us aware that we live in a world of time and space, filled with both chaos and difficult obstacles. By praying for assistance from G-d, we can rise above all barriers and achieve the ability to rise the problems that surround us, enabling us to "untangle out knotted fate".

Other lines in the prayer call upon the Almighty One to assist us in achieving good health and prosperity, as well as finding the inner strength to prevail, even though there is "darkness" all around us. The prayer even makes mention of the forces of evil the Satan has sown upon the world, and how we can "tear away Satan" by eradicating our negative egos and fears.

One of the most meaningful lines is line 6 in which the Kabbalah's most hidden secrets are revealed, making the Kabbalah's essence of spiritual wisdom known to all. The prayer ends with the message of bringing a spiritual new beginning, enabling us to throw off our negative forces and begin a new life, more enlightened and refreshed.

The end of the prayer asks God to "accept our cries and hear our screams"; and blesses the name of God's Kingdom forever. As we are but mere mortals, we ask God to assist us in our search for answers to help find more meaning to our lives.

Birkat Kohanim The Priestly Blessing

During morning prayers and holidays, the Kohanim approach the front of the synagogue and bless the congregation.
This is known as the Priestly Blessing, Birkat Kohanim or Nesiat Kapayim.
The prayer or blessing is based on the scriptural verse: "They shall place My name upon the children of Israel, and I Myself shall bless them."

The powerful Jewish Blessing consists of the following Biblical verses (Numbers 6:24–26):

May Hashem bless you and guard you
May Hashem make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you
May Hashem lift up his face

After the Amidah, the Kohanim wash their hands, remove their shoes and walk up to the platform in front of the ark, which is at the front of the synagogue. They cover their heads with their tallit and recite the blessing over the performance of the mitzvah – turn to face the congregation, and then the hazzan recites the three verse blessing (written above) with the Kohanim repeating after him. The congregation responds Amen after each verse.

The text is found in the Bible in Numbers 6:23–27, when Aaron and his sons bless the Israelites. Amulets, dating from the First Temple Period, inscribed with this text are found today in Jerusalem at the Israel Museum.
A range of interpretations on these verses relate them to the three Patriarchs; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to the three applicable attributes of God: Mercy, Courage and Glory.
Only Kohanim are permitted to perform the Priestly Blessing, however the Torah strictly prohibits a Kohen from reciting the blessing when under the influence of alcohol, or immediately following the death of a close relative.

All of the Kohanim present in the synagogue are obliged to participate and so should a Kohen refuse, he is required to leave the sanctuary for the duration of the blessing.

In many traditional Jewish communities it is customary for congregants to spread their tallit over their own heads during the blessing and they must not look at the Kohanim. Should a man have children, they will come under his tallit for a blessing.

In addition to synagogue prayer services the Birkat Kohenim is also used by parents to bless their children on Friday night before eating the Shabbat meal; and some rabbis say the blessing to a boy at his bar mitzvah. Usually it is prefaced for boys with a request for God to make the child like Ephraim and Manasseh (this is Jacob's prayer to the children of Joseph).

The Jewish Traveler's Prayer "Tefilat Haderech"

The Traveler's Prayer, Wayfarer's Prayer or, in Hebrew, "Tefilat HaDerech" is the prayer that petitions the Divine for safe journeys. This is an appropriate prayer for sea, air and even long trips in a car.

The blessing is recited at the outset of each journey and is preferably recited standing. Often it is inscribed on Jewish Jewelry pieces and Hamsa Hands instead of the Blessing for the home, or the Shema Prayer. Keep in mind, all forms of travel, involve a degree of danger. Consequently, we say "Tefilat Haderech".

The prayer in Hebrew reads as follows:

"Y'hi ratzon milfanekha A-donai E-loheinu ve-lohei avoteinu she-tolikhenu l'shalom v'tatz'idenu l'shalom v'tadrikhenu l'shalom, v'tagi'enu limhoz heftzenu l'hayim ul-simha ul-shalom.
V'tatzilenu mi-kaf kol oyev v'orev v'listim v'hayot ra'ot ba-derekh, u-mi-kol minei pur'aniyot ha-mitrag'shot la-vo la-olam.
V'tishlah b'rakha b'khol ma'a'se yadeinu v'tit'nenu l'hen ul-hesed ul-rahamim b'einekha uv-einei khol ro'einu.
V'tishma kol tahanuneinu ki E-l sho'me'a t'fila v'tahanun ata. Barukh ata A-donai sho'me'a t'fila."

In English it reads as follows: "May it be Your will, LORD, our God and the God of our ancestors, that You lead us toward peace, guide our footsteps toward peace, and make us reach our desired destination for life, gladness, and peace.
May You rescue us from the hand of every foe, ambush along the way, and from all manner of punishments that assemble to come to earth.
May You send blessing in our handiwork, and grant us grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us.
May You hear the sound of our humble request because You are God Who hears prayer requests. Blessed are You, Adonai, Who hears prayer."

Some laws that apply to the reciting of this particular blessing are found in the Code of Jewish Law or The Shulchan Aruch:

Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 68:1

"Tefilat HaDerech - the wayfarer's prayer cannot be said before somebody has left the city limits; to be defined as seventy and two-thirds Amot 350 meters, after the final house. Instead it should be said one "Miel" or one kilometer from the city limits.
When travelling overnight on a multi-day trip, one is to say Tefilat HaDerech before leaving for the day part of the journey."