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PHOTO BY DAN IEL LIPPITT

Mainstream Judaica

Department stores, art galleries and
local boutiques sell Judaica crafts and
traditional items all year long.

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BY SUSAN R. POLLACK SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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These Orate's are'by
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from the Synauugoes 01
1 mope Collection — "In
lovinn memory of lo%1
communities."
Available at
Jacobson's, S 110 each.

any Jewish families

aren't waiting for
Chanukah to dis-
play their meno-
rahs anymore.
These days, not only meno-
rahs, but seder plates, kiddush
cups and many other ceremoni-
al objets d'art — known collec-
tively as Judaica — are coming
out of the closet. Beautiful as well
as functional, they're gracing
homes year-round rather than
being tucked away and reserved
for religious observances only.
Consequently, many main-
stream retailers, as well as up-
scale galleries and specialty shops
in metro Detroit and nationally,
are rushing to stock Judaica to
meet the increasing consumer de-
mand. They're moving into ter-
ritory once reserved for
synagogue gift shops, specialty
museums and Judaica-only bou-
tiques. In the process, they're also
reaching non-Jewish customers,
who no longer need to hesitate
when buying wedding presents,
baby gifts and other items for
their Jewish friends.
Some call the wider availabil-
ity of Judaica an "explosion," and
say the trend is sparked in large
part by baby boomer couples who
are buying Jewish art to decorate
their homes and to teach their
children about their heritage.
Today's family-oriented shop-
pers also are choosing from a bar-
rage of mass-produced holiday
items, such as dreidels and meno-
rahs, that are showing up every-
where, from the aisles of Target
and Mervyn's to Tupperware par-

ties, Disney outlets and the
World Wide Web.
"Four or five years ago, when
gallery owners started to offer
fine Judaica to their clients, they
ate it up, they loved it," observes
craft artist Gary Rosenthal,
whose workshop of artists in
Kensington, Md., creates metal
and fused-glass Judaica objects.
"Judaica is now the hottest line
in the entire American craft mar-
ket. Artisans are turning out in-
credibly beautiful things —
they're making Judaica that peo-
ple want to buy."
He credits intermarriage and
conversion for spurring much of
the booming interest. "What's
driving the market, as far as rm
concerned, is the Reform move-
ment. [Many adherents] are af-
fluent and converted and they
want pretty, contemporary things
around as opposed to using them
once and hiding them, which is
what our parents did."
Gayle Weiss, a Judaica cura-
tor and historian in Washington,
D.C., says the mainstreaming of
Judaica is not surprising, given
the historical appeal of such
items combined with American
retail know-how in the '90s.
"People want to see their mod-
ern tastes reflected in Judaica,
which is not uncommon histori-
cally. Throughout the centuries,
Jewish ceremonial art has al-
ways reflected the prevailing
tastes and styles of the times,"
she says.
Capitalizing on the trend, to-
day's sophisticated retailers not
only are expanding their Judaica