Antique Judaica

Jews all over the world are celebrating the holiday of Chanukah this week. Chanukah, or The Festival of Lights, is a very minor holiday with little religious significance. A battle fought between the Greeks and the Jews, under the leadership of Judah Maccabee and his brothers, was finally ended when the Jews drove out the Greeks and began to rededicate the second Jewish temple in Jerusalum. Olive oil, which was needed to burn the temple's eternal flame, was scare. There was only enough oil to last one night, but miraculously God enabled the oil to burn for 8 days - the time it took to process new olive oil. Alongside the huge growth of the commercialism of Chrismas, Chanukah has become a widely celebrated holiday by mostly Jews worldwide. The most visible symbol of the holiday is the menorah, or the candelabra with its eight candle holders plus one which is used to light each individual candle. The fesital lasts 8 days and corresponds with the winter solstice, as does Christmas. Most Jewish families have several menorahs, a new one given perhaps as a wedding shower gift, and an old one that has been passed down for a generation or two.

These old menorahs are widely valued in the collecting field known as Judaica, or the area of collecting Jewish ceremonial and secular items. This field has grown enormously in the past decade and major auction houses such as Christies and Sotheby's have their own Judaica divisions. Perhaps it is the hunger for a more spiritual life that has fueled this field of collecting or maybe it result of the Holocaust that has caused this pride of religion. Regardless of it's reasons, Judaica is a hot item - not quite reaching Major Trend Alert status, prices of Judaica are going through the roof.

There are three components of Judaica: manuscripts and books written in Hebrew, fine art, and ritual objects (of which the menorah would fall under). Items can be secular or relgious. Since Jew migrated from the Holy Land through Spain, into Eastern Europe through Germany and finally Russia - before they began their westward flight to the Americas, Northern and Southern, Judaica comes from many countries, with each country's unique influence onto a single object. Religious objects are universally either silver, pewter, or brass. Gold is rarely, if ever seen.