A Torah binder keeps the Torah closed when it is not in use. Different traditions of its form and decoration have arisen in various communities. For example, in Germanic (Ashkenazi) lands the swaddling cloth for the circumcision ceremony of a male child was used, decorated with words and images that wish him well, In Italy women embroidered floral patterns and sometimes inscriptions on a length of cloth, expressing hopes and thanks for important events. Often, the insides of letters are executed in exuberant patterns and vibrant colors, and the binders are ornamented with imagery related to the child.

Going back to ancient times, musical instruments made from animal horns were blown to announce the onset of important events such as the Jubilee year and the Jewish New Year. Today, the shofar is used primarily during the new year holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when it is blown one hundred times during services. 

Going back to ancient times, musical instruments made from animal horns were blown to announce the onset of important events such as the Jubilee year and the Jewish New Year. Today, the shofar is used primarily during the new year holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when it is blown one hundred times during services. 

Going back to ancient times, musical instruments made from animal horns were blown to announce the onset of important events such as the Jubilee year and the Jewish New Year. Today, the shofar is used primarily during the new year holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when it is blown one hundred times during services. 

Going back to ancient times, musical instruments made from animal horns were blown to announce the onset of important events such as the Jubilee year and the Jewish New Year. Today, the shofar is used primarily during the new year holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when it is blown one hundred times during services. 

Traditional cabinets of wonders often feature beautifully made objects, cunningly made, frequently of precious materials. Like many institutions with a broad mission—focusing on art, but with strong attention to culture and history—the Jewish Museum has acquired an eclectic range of objects. The two model ships in this room were commissioned for exhibitions on the antiquities of Israel. Long since detached from that purpose, they remain works of fine craftsmanship, resonant with a sense of the distant past—both that of the Mideast and that of the museum.

Prayer books and Bibles have often been given as gifts, sometimes between affianced couples. Finely crafted book bindings made of precious materials signal both the status of the owner and the great value of the book. At the other extreme, the invention of celluloid in the second half of the nineteenth century soon led to its use for book covers, providing an inexpensive, durable imitation of ivory. Novelty items such as miniature Hebrew Bibles became popular in the late nineteenth century, after the invention of microphotography.

Since antiquity jewelry has played a social role beyond mere adornment. Gold and gems convey economic status, whether in the ancient Mideast or today. In Ottoman Iraq, a bride-to-be received a diamond pin from her fiancé, while in the twentieth century women proudly wore gold-plated pins signaling that they had raised funds for Israel Bonds after the formation of that state.

Prayer books and Bibles have often been given as gifts, sometimes between affianced couples. Finely crafted book bindings made of precious materials signal both the status of the owner and the great value of the book. At the other extreme, the invention of celluloid in the second half of the nineteenth century soon led to its use for book covers, providing an inexpensive, durable imitation of ivory. Novelty items such as miniature Hebrew Bibles became popular in the late nineteenth century, after the invention of microphotography.

Clay was the earliest plastic material fashioned by humans into vessels and figures. When fired, it can last for millennia, and is the most ubiquitous object material found by archaeologists as well as the most useful for dating sites. A series of oil lamps shown here demonstrates the technological progression in form and size from the large open bowl-shaped examples to smaller mold-made lamps with small fill and wick holes to prevent oil spillage.

Clocks and watches with Hebrew dials became popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, probably as an overt expression of Jewish identity. Some of the clocks may have been inspired by the founding of the Zionist movement at the end of the nineteenth century, since they bear Jewish stars with the word Zion in the center or images of Theodor Herzl, the movement’s founder. Other clocks have music boxes in their bases. An unusual timekeeper is a small perpetual calendar in Hebrew, made as a button to be sewn onto clothing.

The Levantine coast from Syria to Israel was a major center of glassmaking in the first millennium. The earliest evidence of blown glass, as opposed to molten glass formed around a core or pressed into a mold, dates to the first century BCE in Israel. Clear, colorless glass was at first difficult to produce and was prized, but by the first century CE it had become common.

The sanctity of the Torah scroll is so great that those reading it to the congregation in synagogue should not touch the text. Since it is crucial that the reader not lose his or her place, a rod is used, often with a little hand at one end, guiding finger extended. 

During the holiday of Purim, the book of Esther is read aloud in synagogue. Every time Haman, the villain of the story, is mentioned, the entire congregation uses noisemakers to drown out his name, as well as stamping on the floor. Noisemakers, sometimes called groggers, come in various forms, usually with ratchets or clappers. 

Clocks and watches with Hebrew dials became popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, probably as an overt expression of Jewish identity. Some of the clocks may have been inspired by the founding of the Zionist movement at the end of the nineteenth century, since they bear Jewish stars with the word Zion in the center or images of Theodor Herzl, the movement’s founder. Other clocks have music boxes in their bases. An unusual timekeeper is a small perpetual calendar in Hebrew, made as a button to be sewn onto clothing.