Putting Judaica On the Gift List
By Flora Rosefsky
There’s nothing wrong with signing a generous check to honor a Jewish lifecycle event such as a wedding, bar or bat mitzvah, or milestone anniversary celebration. However, there are times to consider giving a Judaic object or jewelry with a Jewish twist either alone or in addition to a money envelope. The AJT spoke to a few Jewish Atlanta small businesses noted for their personal service that offer the kind of Judaic gift giving that often is treasured for a lifetime.
Israeli silk tallitot
The store’s name alone, Judaica Corner, sums up what owner Janet Afrah sells in her Toco Hill neighborhood shop – just Judaica and Jewish items. With her mother Rena Naghi, the pair help customers make selections. For wedding gifts, think challah boards, embroidered challah cloths, Elijah or Miriam cups, a mezuzah, ceramic painted dish for apples and honey, or a silver and glass honey jar. Afrah says an authentic ram’s horn shofar from Israel is something bar mitzvah boys like. Bat mitzvah girls gravitate to Jewish necklaces, but painted wood, engraved metal and glass dreidles can start a collection for them. Because of COVID, many Jewish families canceled their trips to Israel, where normally they would have picked out the bar or bat mitzvah child’s tallit. Today, those families pick out made-in-Israel hand- painted silk tallitot at the store. What catches your eye if you look closely inside the glass cabinet at the front counter are antique Persian miniature paintings on ivory made into pendants, an art form from Iran. When Afrah, her sister and parents left TehATLANTA JEWISH TIMES
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Broken glass creations
A portion of owner Bob Brourman’s large Sandy Springs gift store, Fragile, showcases Judaic inspired gifts, many from his biggest supplier Michael Aram. Some of Aram’s items include menorot, Kiddish cups, mezuzot, challah boards, and honey pots made of different
metals, woods and other materials. For wedding gifts, Brourman buys colored glass Judaica creations from Shardz, a company in California owned by artist Fay Miller. The bridal couple preselects which colored glass the groom will use at the end of the Jewish wedding for the traditional breaking of the glass ceremony. After the wedding, Fragile ships the broken pieces to Shardz, where Miller uses the pieces to create a mezuzah, Kiddush cup or picture frame. Brourman says the Shardz glass
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1. One of these colorful glasses found at Fragile are what a
groom breaks at the end of a Jewish wedding ceremony. 2. Mezuzot come from the studios of American designers, available at Aimee Jewelry. A picture frame for a bride that incorporates Shardz (broken vessel) can be ordered through Fragile as a wedding gift. 4. The Hebrew word Chai, available in gold or silver from H&A, can be attached to a chain for a simcha gift. 5. An authentic ram’s horn shofar imported from Israel sits on a stand by artist Gary Rosenthal at Judaica Corner. 6. In-house jewelry designers at H&A International Jewelry create necklaces appropriate for bat mitzvah gifts.
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