Get ready for Passover 2022: April 15th to April the 23rd
There are five top Judaica products for Passover that every Jewish family should own: Seder plates, Kiddush cups, napkin rings, candelabras and a wine fountain. There’s a common misconception that fine Judaica products are simply collectors items or ornaments. They are certainly beautiful items, but modern Passover Judaica are also functional items of tableware that are perfect for your Seder dinner.
Top Five Products for Passover
We’re all hoping that Passover 2022 will be a special holiday. The COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions of previous years made it harder to enjoy a traditional Seder. Some family gatherings were possible, and plenty of Jewish families connected over Zoom to exchange Passover greetings, but it wasn’t the same.
If there are no further restrictions, Passover 2022 will be a chance to bring friends and families together for a traditional Seder dinner. If you’re planning a full Seder this year, it’s the perfect time to buy new tableware for Passover and spoil yourself with new Seder plates, Kiddush cups, or other ritual items!
How to Celebrate Passover 2022
Passover (Pesach or פסח) begins on the evening of Friday April 15th, and continues through the following week until the evening of Saturday April 23rd. Israelis usually celebrate the arrival of Passover with a single Seder on the first night. US Jews and others in the Diaspora sometimes mark the start of Pesach with two Seder dinners.
Every family has its own way of celebrating the Seder dinner. Some follow the full Passover tradition with a 15 step ritual dinner, including the reading of the Haggadah. Other families prefer a shorter Seder with just a flavor of the ancient traditions. Almost everybody who hosts a Seder will observe at least the core traditions. If you’re celebrating Passover in 2022, and you want to do it in style, here’s what you’ll need:
The Seder service begins with the Kadesh (blessing or benediction). Usually the host or a respected guest will say Kiddush to proclaim the holiness of the holiday. Any cup can serve as a Kiddush cup, but most people prefer to honor the occasion with a special Judaica Kiddush cup or a Kiddush cup set.
Modern Israeli Judaica collections embrace a wide range of styles and materials. Traditional Kiddush Cups are made of 925 sterling silver and fall into two broad styles. The first style draws on Eastern or Mizrachi traditions, especially Jewish Yemenite silversmithing. The Yemenite style is characterized by ornate silver filigree work. The intricate designs represent master craftsmanship and can include precise geometric patterns or flowing natural swirling designs.
The second traditional style derives more from the Ashkenazi tradition and antique European styles. 925 silver Kiddush Cups are crafted to enhance the gleam of polished silver surfaces. They usually feature more subtle silver filigree, silver solder or stamping. Additional decorations can include colored enamel inlays and gemstones like Israeli amethysts or lapis lazuli.
Some of the finest designer Kiddush Cups for Passover are handcrafted from anodized aluminum. If you’re not familiar with modern Judaica, you might think that anodized aluminum is an industrial product that’s better suited to manufacturing cars or office furniture. In fact, anodized aluminum is an amazing material that is ideal for designer tableware. Designers use it to create bold, perfectly finished Kiddush cups in a range of staples from goblets, to flute glasses, to beakers. Anodized aluminum is available in vivid hues of all colors, as well as matte black and white.
Wine (or non alcoholic grape juice) plays a big part in a traditional Seder. As well as the Kiddush, the Seder ceremony includes the ritual Four Cups of Wine. If you’re serving wine to your Seder guests, pouring through a wine fountain is a wonderful way to do it. A Judaica wine fountain is not only a superbly practical item of tableware, it’s a beautifully crafted Passover centerpiece.
Judaica wine fountains are handmade from 925 sterling silver, or crafted from colorful anodized aluminum. When you buy a wine fountain for Passover (or Shabbat) you’ll need to make sure that it holds enough wine cups – usually six or eight cups – is stable and robust, and easy to clean.
How to Use a Wine Fountain?
Wine fountain designs vary, but they always include a stand with a stable base, a top Kiddush cup to receive the wine from the bottle and an integral tray of smaller wine cups. The poured wine flows through the main Kiddush cup, and down hidden pipes into the drinking cups. The idea is that all the wine cups are filled simultaneously with no risk of overflowing or spillage. Seder guests can take their filled wine cups from the tray.
- Check that the Wine fountain is correctly assembled and working. If you want, you can do this by pouring water through it before the Seder. A test run with water also ensures that you will know how much wine to pour and won’t overfill the cups.
- Uncork your wine and allow it to breathe if required. Ensure that it is at the preferred temperature for serving.
- See that the wine cups are correctly positioned and pour the wine gently and steadily into the top Kiddush cup. It’s better to pour too little wine and to repeat, rather than to pour too much!
A glowing Jewish candelabra is the perfect centerpiece for every Seder table. Lighted candles don’t just have a ritual significance, they create a wonderful atmosphere and ambience. A gleaming silver candelabra, or line of silver candlesticks will create an old world Jewish feel at any Seder on Shabbat dinner. Luxury candelabra, decorated with amethysts or lapis will create a palatial feel. It’s easy to close your eyes for a moment and picture the Courts of King Solomon or King David, and imagine their candlelit Pesach banquet tables!
If you decide to buy candlesticks or candelabra for passover, you’re not limited to sterling silver. Modern Judaica styles feature handcrafted anodized aluminum. It’s a striking material that matches any modern home decor and will look amazing alongside designer tableware. Jewish Candelabras can include ritual items like menorahs and hanukkiahs, but general styles that are suitable for all events are very popular.
Judaica candlesticks for Pesach (and other holidays) come in a wide range of styles and materials. Silver candlesticks are a good choice for a gift because they will usually fit most interior design styles. If you want to buy modern anodized aluminum candlesticks, or non-traditional designs, you’ll need to consider the recipient’s home decor and personal taste. Most Judaica candlesticks are designed for burning wax candles and small oil pots for ritual use.
Passover Seder Plates
(Ka’arah or קְעָרָה )
One the candles are lit and the Kiddush completed, the Seder is sanctified and the main rituals begin. The most important part of the Seder for most families (especially those with young children) is the Haggadah and the traditional Passover dishes that accompany it. A proper Seder plate is possibly the single most important Pesach item. If you have a big Seder table, and a lot of guests, you may need a set of Seder plates.
What are Passover Seder Plates?
A Passover Seder plate is a unique type of plate that’s used solely for the Pesach Seder dinner. It has to be big enough to contain all the six traditional Passover foods that are needed for the full Seder ritual. These are matzah, zeroa, egg, bitter herbs, charoset and karpas. Most Seder plates contain labeled settings or round slots for the individual dishes. A Judaica Seder plate needs to be a functional item that’s practical to use and easy to clean. It should also be a beautiful piece of decorative tableware that celebrates the spirit of Passover and the story of Exodus.
Should I Buy a Modern or Traditional Seder Plate?
You should buy a Seder plate that is the right size for your table and matches your home decor and personal taste. The ancient Jewish communities who celebrated Pesach hundreds, or even thousands of years ago used whatever tableware was available. No doubt their tastes and preferences varied too.
Traditional Seder plates are handmade from 925 sterling silver and can be decorated with breathtaking Yemenite filigree silverwork, or with gems like amethysts, or even with colored enamel. Luxurious models include sterling silver Pesach Plates with blue enamel inlay and gold plated Six Food dishes. Silver Seder plates look amazing on a crisp white table cloth, especially when they’re placed next to other silver tableware.
Modern Pesach plates would amaze our ancient Jewish ancestors – but might also inspire them. Modern Seder plates are made of all kinds of materials. If Israeli artists and designers see a possibility, they’ll press ahead and create a new design. They know that someone, somewhere will love it.
Contemporary designer Pesach plates are made of anodized aluminum, cast concrete, glassware, ceramics and pretty much anything else that can be crafted into a beautiful object. Styles include art deco, contemporary Scandinavian, minimalism, and brightly colored innovations like Seder plates designed as artists palettes.
Top Tip for Buying a Pesach Plate
When you buy a Pesach plate online, check whether it comes with its own dishes or bowls for the six traditional Seder foods. If it doesn’t, you may need to buy them separately
.
קְעָרָה Seder Plate
קְעָרָה Seder Plate The Six Food Stations on a Traditional Seder Plate
| |||||
Matzah | Zeroa | Egg | Maror | Charoset | Karpas |
מצה | זרוע | ביצה | מרור | חרוסת | כרפס |
Matzos Plate for Pesach
Not everybody is a big fan of matzah, and there were probably even ancient Israelites who privately wished that it wasn’t part of the Passover menu. Even if you don’t like matzah, you’ll still be expected to nibble at a piece during the Seder!
A Matzos plate is the final must-have item for your Pesach table. The most popular matzos plates are painted ceramic plates that are designed to look like a slice of matzah. They are a fun item for the Seder table and kids definitely love them.
The most exciting and luxurious Matzos plates are in a different league entirely. The Nadavart Triple Matzos Plate is more like a small cabinet than a conventional plate. The top is a silver Seder plate with six stations, but underneath are three enclosed matzos shelves behind a hinged door.
If you want to buy modern or traditional Judaica for Passover – or designer tableware and home decor for all year round – check out the full boutique collections at Nadavart. All Judaica items are handmade in our Jerusalem workshop and come with fast UPS shipping.
