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Purim Judaica Gift Guide

What Purim actually obliges you to give

Purim is the one festival in the Jewish year whose gift-giving is written into the day itself, so it is worth being clear about what that means before you buy anything. The two obligations are mishloach manot and matanot la'evyonim.

Mishloach manot is a parcel of food sent to a friend on Purim day. The mainstream practice is at least two different ready-to-eat foods, sent to at least one person. Matanot la'evyonim is money given to people in need, mainstream practice being gifts to at least two of them, given on Purim day so it can be used on Purim day. Both are things you do, not things you own.

So, the honest position: no object sold here fulfils either obligation. We do not sell food, and we do not make groggers, hamantaschen or Megillah cases. Customs differ between Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities on quantities, timing and who counts, and this is a page about gifts rather than a ruling. Follow your own rabbi where it matters.

What remains is the rest of the day, and it is substantial: the seudah, the hosting, the wine, and the presents people give each other because it is a party. That is where this catalogue has something to say.

The vessel, not the contents

A mishloach manot parcel is assembled on something and carried in something. The food is gone by evening; the dish and the linen come back out every year. This is the cleanest way to give a permanent Purim gift without pretending it is the mitzvah.

The most useful pieces at the lower end are the ones that get used weekly rather than annually. The Set of 6 napkin rings is $250 and a set of 12 is $360; the Wine coaster made of stainless steel is $350 and stops a bottle marking the table during a long, loud meal. The Set of napkin rings "Letters of the Hebrew alphabet" is $800 if you want the letterform running through the whole table. Our napkin rings and holders guide covers counts and sizing.

One step up, the Set of dish and 6 shot glasses made of silver is $1,550 and is genuinely a Purim object: a dish that holds what you are sending, and the glasses that go round when it arrives. For a gift meant to serve every Shabbat as well, a Set of stand and knife for challah starts at $950, with the versions carrying art at $1,900.

The seudah, and the drinking pieces

The Purim seudah is a feast, and unlike most Jewish meals its centre of gravity is the wine rather than the bread. Whatever your community's practice about how much is drunk and by whom, the table needs decanting and it needs glasses.

A decanter is the obvious anchor. The Decanter "Star of David" and the Decanter "Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet" are both $750. If you want the whole service rather than the single piece, the Set of decanter and 4 shot glasses is $1,950 and a set of decanter and 10 shot glasses is $2,300, which is the sensible choice for a household that actually seats ten.

The other piece is the becher. It is a kiddush cup, so it works far beyond Purim, and it is the single most-given object in this catalogue for a reason. The Becher and saucer for kiddush "Letters of the Hebrew alphabet" is $950. Read the kiddush cup and becher buying guide before choosing between the silver and the gilded versions, and the hosting gifts above $1,500 page if the piece is going to a host you owe something substantial.

Jewellery and small personal gifts

This is what people actually hand each other around Purim when they want the gift to outlast the day. It is small, personal, and it does not have to be expensive to be right.

Bracelets start at $99. The Bracelet "Hamsa with ornament and Stars of David" with silver is $99, the blackened-silver version is $149, and the enamel version is $199. Pendants start at $190: the Pendant "Menorah" made of silver is $190, as is the silver Pendant "Ice and Fire", with the gold version of the same design at $1,980. Key chains start at $120, including the Key chain "Brodsky Synagogue in Odesa" made of silver, the easiest thing here to give a man who says he wants nothing.

For sizing, materials and who each piece suits, see the Jewish bracelet gift guide and the broader Jewish jewellery gift guide.

The host gift, and one word about costumes

Purim is a party, and someone is hosting it. The host gift follows the ordinary rules: something for the table, given in person, priced by how close you are rather than by how good the food was. The wine coaster at $350 and the napkin rings at $250 are the safe end; the becher at $950 and the decanter set at $1,950 are for the household you eat with all year.

On the dressing-up: the kippah collection includes a line called the Costume Collection, among them the Kippah "Classic". Costume Collection at $200 and the "770" version at $250. The name refers to the design line rather than to Purim, but a kippah from it is a light and honest nod to the one day of the year when Jewish dress is deliberately not what it usually is.

What to spend, by relationship

Ordering in time

Much of the catalogue is made to order by the David Roytman design house, and production runs roughly three to four weeks before anything ships. Engraving is $50 and adds time on top of that. Shipping is free worldwide. Work backwards from Purim on that basis.

If several people in a family are sending to the same circle, order the permanent pieces as one batch. It keeps the production run together.

If the piece you want is not in the catalogue

Purim gifts often need to say something specific: a name, a date, a synagogue, a joke that has run for twenty years. Engraving at $50 handles the short version. Beyond that, special orders and commissions are arranged by conversation rather than through a form, and the sooner that conversation starts the more the workshop can do with it. The exclusive collection shows the range at the upper end, and the Jewish holiday Judaica guide puts Purim in sequence with the rest of the year.