Jewish Symbols:

By Gracja Coutts
 Kiddush Cup:

● Filled with wine and lifted to symbolize

“remembering the sabbath to sanctify
it.”
● A blessing recited over grape juice or
wine to sanctify the Jewish and Shabbat
holidays.
● Beginning of holy time of rest.
 Mezuzah

● It is a piece of parchment scroll with the

shema prayer inscribed on it.
● The shema prayer is important to jews
because the words describe God asking
Jews to remember his commands in
their heads and hearts.
● It symbolizes a home as protected
 Magen David (Star of David)

● It represents God as the protector

(shield) of David
● Six pointed star peace and harmony in
Buddhism
● Alchemists believed it symbolizes
nature
● It appears on synagogues, Jewish
tombstones, and the flag of the State of
israel.
 Shabbat Candles

● Represents the two commandments to

‘remember’ and ‘observe’ Shabbat.
● before Shabbat begins, two candles
are lit marking the division between
light and darkness as described in the
story of Creation. A blessing is recited,
generally by the matriarch of the
house.
● Candles are a symbol of the soul
 Kippah/Yarmulke

● It is a brimless cap, made of cloth and it

is usually worn by Jewish males as a sign
of respect.
● It is seen as a sign of devoutness
● Yarmakule indicates reverence and
humility. (God is above us, in mind and
in heart.)
 Shofar

● Reminds us of the ram/goat that

Abraham offered as a sacrifice in place
of his son Isaac.
● Given the magical power of frightening
and dispersing evil spirits & Gods of the
enemies who helped their people in
battle.
● It is also an instrument that symbolically
releases God’s voice.
 Aron Kodesh

● It symbolizes the Ark of the Covenant

(Held the stone tablets with the ten
commandments carved on & received by
Moses)
● It means “holy ark” in english. Also
called ark of the law
● It also means teaching and singing.
 Menorah 7 and 9 branches

● The 7 lamps hint at the branches of

human knowledge.
● Six of these lamps are inclined inwards
towards the light of God, which is
represented by the center light of God.
● The menorah with nine branches
represents the Hanukkah menorah (The
eight day Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah.)
 Challah

● The Challah braid symbolizes truth,

peace, and justice.
● The 12 humps from two small or one
large braided bread recall the miracle of
the 12 loves for the 12 Israel tribes.
● Round loaves (with no beginning and no
end) are baked to symbolize continuity.
 Ner Tamid

● Represents the light that burned

continuously in the western section of
the ancient Temple of Jerusalem.
● Ner Tamid means eternal lamp in
english.
● This is a reminder of the holiness of the
Torah scrolls that are stored within the
ark. It also calls to mind God’s abiding
presence and his favourable care of
Jewish people.
 Tallit and Tzitzit

● It reminds the wearer of all Torah

commandments.
● A tallit is a shawl with frigid corners
worn over the head or shoulders by
Jewish men espiecally during morning
prayers.
● The blue fringe comes from the blue
snail dye mentioned throughout the
Torah.
 Torah Scroll Breastplate
● The Torah Scroll Breastplate expresses the
great respect and honor given to the torah
scroll.
● The torah scroll breastplate reserves which
torah scroll should be used for which Torah
reading on any particular shabbat or
holiday.
● The 12 stones on the breastplate are odem,
pitdah, bareket, nophek, sappir, yahalom,
lashem, shebo, ahlamah, tarshish, shalom,
and yashpheh.
● Also known as Aarons breastplate or
breastplate of the high priest.
 Tefillin

● Tefillin means prayer

● Tefillin is a set of small black leather
boxes with leather straps containing
scrolls with verses from the Torah.
(Hebrew parchment scrolls)
● Put on by adult Jews for weekday
morning prayers.
● It is worn on the forehead and upper
arm.
 Yad Pointer

● Yad means hand. It is a Jewish ritual

pointer that is used to point to the text
during the Torah reading from the
parchment Torah scrolls.
● The Torah pointer helps trace the Torah
to respect God and His word. It also
helps to protect the texts from being
damaged or cleaned off.
● The jewish tradition prohibited touching
the scroll containing the holy scriptures
with a bare finger.
 Grager

● Grager is a noisemaking device that is

used to make noise by the congregation
when the name of haman is read out
during the reciting of Megillah in the
synagogue. During the celebration of
Purim in order to blot out Haman's
name.
 Dreidel

● It is a spinning top with four sides, each

inscribed with a letter of the Hebrew
alphabet.
● The Hebrew letters inscribed on a
dreidel are Nun, Gimel, Hey or Chai, and
Shin.
● It is a game played during the Jewish
holiday of Hanukkah.
● The dreidel is a Jewish variant on the
teetotum,
 Etrog
● Etrog refers to the heart, the place of
understanding and wisdom.
● Etrog is the yellow citron or citrus
medica used by Jews.
● The Etrog is shaped like a heart, and the
lulav is like the spine. The myrtle leaves
are shaped like the eyes, and the willow
leaves like the lips.
● These four elements shows that one
should serve God with his/her heart,
spine or body, eyes & lips.
 Lulav

● Lulav is a bundle of branches

representing three spices; willow,
myrtle, and palm. These are shaken
together with the etrog on Sukkot.
● The lulav represents the spine, the
myrtle the eyes, the willow is the lips,
and the etrog represents the heart.
 Hamantaschen

● The pastries symbolize the defeated

enemy of the Jewish people.
● The word tash means ‘pouch’ or ‘pocket’
in yiddish, and it possibly refers to
‘human pockets’ symbolizing the money
that Haman offered to Ahasuerus in
exchange for permission to destroy the
Jews.
● It is fried dough drenched in honey or a
sugar syrup. It is formed into a triangle
to signify Hamans hat.
 Sukkah

● It symbolizes the booths in which the

Israelites dwelled during their journey
through the desert.
● Sukkah in Hebrew means a temporary
hut or dwelling.
●
 Latkes

● Latkes are potato pancakes and they’re

meant to symbolize miracle of
Hanukkah.
● The oil of the menorah in the ransacked
Second Temple of Jerusalem was able to
stay aflame for eight days even though
there was only enough oil for one day.
● The symbolism comes from in th form of
oil that Latkes are fried in.
Seder Meal
 Haggadah (non-edible)

● Tells the story of the Exodus

● It is meant for praise & thanksgiving &
for rededication to the idea of liberation.
● To commemorate the mercy of God
sparing them from the plague of the
death of the first-born son in Egypt and
subsequent freedom from slavery.
 Arba Kosot

● It is four cups of wine drunk by each

participant at the passover seder service
● It represents the four expressions of
deliverance promised by God
● Each adult drinks four cups of kosher
wine.
 Karpas

● It refers to the vegetable that is dipped

in liquid and eaten
● The word comes from the greek karpos
which means fresh raw vegetable.
● It represents the historic birth of israel
out of the womb of Egypt and the
rebirth of nature every spring.
● It is a symbol of spring & hope.
 Beitzah

● It is a roasted egg that symbolizes the

festival sacrifice that was offered in the
temple in Jerusalem. It is oven roasted
and eaten as part of the meal on Seder
night.
● It celebrates the Hagigah sacrifice that
was eaten with the Paschal sacrifice on
seder night during temple hours. It was
animals brought to the temple, not eggs.
 Haroset

● It is a sweet relish made with fruits,

nuts, spices, and wine and a blinder like
honey.
● Haroset represents the mortar the
Hebrews needed to work with during
their enslavement.
 Maror

● Maror is bitter herbs that are eaten

during passover. (horseradish)
● The bitterness of herb is to remind us of
the bitterness of slavery that our
ancestors endured while in Egypt.
 Zeroa

● Zeroa means arm in hebrew and implies

that it is an outstretched arm of God,
which the bible says it lead the Jews out
of Egypt.
● It is a lamb bone or roast chicken wing
neck used on passover
● It symbolizes the passover sacrifice or
the paschal lamb.
 Matzah or Matzos

● It is a unleavened flatbread. During

passover, chametz (leaven) is forbidden.
God commanded the israelites to only
eat unleavened bread during the 7 day
passover.
● We eat this because the Jewish wasn’t
able to wait for their breads to rise when
they were fleeing slavery in Egypt,
therefore resulting in flat bread.