Skip to content

A bundle of beginnings

The start of a new semester, the advent of the Jewish New Year and the debut of a blog. In this instance, as in so many others characteristic of the modern Jewish experience, tradition -- Jewish learning -- receives a new lease on life, thanks to its encounter with the latest technology.

Much the same could be said of yet another Jewish cultural institution: shana tovas, Jewish New Year cards.

An invention of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these beribboned and beflowered creations, replete with accordion pleats and pop-out features, were made possible by harnessing the popular art of the chromolithograph and the engine of mass publishing to the age-old custom of wishing one’s relatives, friends and neighbors a sweet new year.

As you can see from this sampling of shana tovas from the Bernice and Harry Kramer Collection of the National Yiddish Book Center (PDF file), these newfangled creations enlivened the rhythm of Jewish life. Here’s hoping our blog will do the same.

Images of shana tovas: courtesy of the National Yiddish Book Center. More images after the jump.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *