Judaica On Stamps

Since we have a Christmas thread going, and it is almost Hanukhah, and board members live all over the globe, I thought it would be interesting to see what Jewish related stamps are out there. I know the USPS has/had a Hanukhah stamp. I don't have a copy, so I can't post a scan.

Anyone have anything to share?

USPS has issued Hanukkahs stamps since 1996. The first design was Scott #3118, which was issued through 2003. From 2004 through 2008 the design of a Dreidel was used. The third was design was used in 2009 and 2010. A new forth design is issued for 2011.




The above screenshot is from http://www.hanukkahstampquest.com/ a site dedicated to convincing the USPS to issue a new Hanukkah design each year.

I think I like the .44 best

I agree; it has a classy look to it. The new Forever issue is colorful and having one "K" in the form of a driedel is clever but overall it is my least favorite.

I would highly recommend the book The Jewish World In Stamps - http://www.amazon.com/The-Jewish-Wo...+stamps

I managed to snag it cheap when I was still in College and the price wasn't too bad. It's far more detailed than I expected and really helped me on my Biblical topics as well as LOTS of history and cultural notes.

This one caught me off guard... a German stamp commemorating Germany-Israel diplomacy since 1965! Interesting.

Israel High Holidays issue 1972.
Torah Arks from Italy.
A Torah Ark refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scroll or scrolls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah...h%20scrolls.
These Arks have been transported from old Jewish synagogues in Italy which no longer function, to new homes in Israel.
0.15 Israeli lira: 17th Cent. Ark from Ancona, now in the Istanbul Synagogue, Jerusalem. The actual Ark: https://static.timesofisrael.com/ww...-ark3163.jpg
0.45 Israeli lira: 18th Cent. Ark from Soragna, now in the Hechal Shlomo, Jerusalem. The actual Ark: https://www.david-shoshani.co.il/fi...%20_002_.jpg
0.70 Israeli lira: 17th Cent. Ark from Padua, now in the Knesset, Jerusalem. The actual Ark: https://main.knesset.gov.il/About/B...judaica3.png
0.95 Israeli lira: 18th Cent. Ark from Reggio Emilia, now in the Central Synagogue of Kiryat Shmuel - Haifa. The actual Ark: https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/...g/lcdl:52266

Israel High Holidays issue 1951.
Torah scroll (Sefer Torah). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefer_Torah

This contains the Five Books of Moses, hand-written in Hebrew on parchment, mounted on a pole at either end.
Note the covering (mantle), which varies in style according to different communities. This one also has a silver "breast plate" and small silver finials at the top of the poles.
Compare with an actual Torah scroll:


Israel High Holidays issue 1967.
Five stylized Torah scrolls, reflecting different traditions of coverings & casings, and crowns and finials (the text itself is identical in every part of the world):

Venezuela: 1998 issue to celebrate Israel's 50th birthday.
One of 10 stamps in the sheet, showing an open Sefer Torah (Torah scroll).

Ironically, the text on the tab is not from the Torah nor even the Jewish Bible:

Quote:
No hagas a otro lo que no quieres que te hagan a ti

It is a quotation from the New Testament, Matthew 7:12:

Quote:
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you

Jesus was a Jew familiar with Jewish sources, and here he could have been paraphrasing Leviticus 19:18

Quote:
...you shall love your neighbor as yourself...

Alternatively he was quoting his contemporary, Hillel:

Quote:
That which is hateful unto you, do not do to your neighbor.

The image of the open Torah scroll was used in the First Day of Issue postmark of the Danish stamp celebrating 300 years of their Jewish community:


Israel High Holidays issue 1966
The reader from the Torah often uses a pointer:

Israel High Holidays issue 1972.
The Torah scrolls are commonly embellished with silver crowns or finials, and the mantles themselves are decorative, as are the cases used by Middle Eastern and North African communities. The crowns are removed prior to reading from the Torah.

These crowns are from various communities:
NIS 1.60 19th cent. crown from Aden.
NIS 3.80 Polish crown, 1729
NIS 3.80 19th cent. crown from Turkey

Hungary 1984 Jewish Museum Art.

19th cent. crown from Buda.
The mantles often have an additional "breast plate", as this 19th cent. one from Vienna.


Czechoslovakia 1967 Jewish Culture
Not only is the Torah scroll decorated, but also the Ark (see previous page with Italian Arks). Frequently an embroidered curtain is hung before it.

This is a detail from a Czech curtain from 1593.

Israel High Holidays issue 1970.
Five synagogues from around the world.

IL 0.12 The Old Synagogue in Cracow, Poland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_S...Krak%C3%B3w)
IL 0.15 The Great Synagogue in Tunis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand...gue_of_Tunis
IL 0.35 The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, Holland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portu..._(Amsterdam)
IL 0.40 The Choral Synagogue in Moscow, USSR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosco...al_Synagogue
IL 0.60 The Shearith Israel Synagogue in New York, USA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congr...arith_Israel

Israel High Holidays issue 1983.
Four modern Israeli synagogues.

IS 3 Ohel Moed Sefardi Synagogue, Tel Aviv https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synagogue_Ohel_Moed (in French)
IS 12 Yeshurun Synagogue, Jerusalem https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/...erusalem.jpg
IS 16 Ohel Aharon Synagogue, the Technion, Haifa https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohel-...goge_(Haifa) (in German)
The Ohel Aharon Synagogue is considered one of the most striking synagogues in the world with its modern, simplistic and yet unique design. This Synagogue was the first permanent synagogue on the Mount Carmel campus of the Technion. The complex includes a House of Prayer, a House of Study and a Meeting Place.
IS 20 Khalaschi Synagogue, Beer Sheba https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/..._(Beersheba)

From the 1975 Israel Architecture issue:

Another modern synagogue, the Goldstein Synagogue of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbi...in_Synagogue

Israel High Holidays issues 1987 & 1988.
Models of six notable synagogues from around the world.

From left to right:
30 agorot: 13th cent. Altneuschul Synagogue in Prague, Czechoslovakia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_New_Synagogue See Czech stamps below.
50 agorot: Approx. 5th cent. Great Synagogue in Aleppo, Syria (almost totally destroyed in 2016, during the civil war). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centr...ue_of_Aleppo
60 agorot: 19th cent. Great Synagogue of Florence, Italy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great..._of_Florence

35 agorot: 12th cent. synagogue in Kai-Feng-Fu, China (surmised from Jesuit description; dismantled mid-19th cent.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaifeng_Jews
60 agorot: 17th cent. synagogue of Zabludów, Poland (destroyed by Nazis in June 1941). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zab%C...3w_Synagogue
70 agorot: 18th cent. Touro Synagogue, Newport, RI, USA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touro_Synagogue See US stamp below.

Czechoslovakia 1967 Jewish Culture
Altneu Synagogue

(Above) Israel 1997 (joint issue with Czech Republic)
Interior of Altneu Synagogue.

USA 1982 Commemorative stamp.
The Touro Synagogue, Newport, RI

Judaica as an TOPIC is really wide territory/topic in Philately, and I know few philatelist that made from this "main" topic/category, few sub-category, as Judaica-Persons, Judaica-womans, Synagogues, Judaica-WWII and so on!

I will show one issue from Slovakia, with one interesting information I have.
One very "strong" client of mine, that specialized in "Judaica" topic, asked me for this WWII End of the War issue.
So, as I was not aware that it is actually "Judaica", I asked, what connection?
Reply come as "The person holding flag was Jew".....
(I really don't know if it is really true or not, but if he say, than I go with it)

Year: 2015, Scott catalog # 717, Slovakia.
Affordable catalog value of 2.25 US$ per single, but in this sheet of 50 it is real BEAUTY!

In response to Milco's contribution, re the Slovakian stamp celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2, I have a couple of comments.
1. If discussing a stamp, it is very important to show a clear image. Here is the stamp discussed:

2. The original photograph is discussed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raisi...he_Reichstag
There is no suggestion that the person holding the flag was a Jew.
However the photographer certainly was: https://www.yadvashem.org/research/...khaldei.html
3. As this site is devoted to Judaica, I think it should be confined to artifacts, etc., related to Judaism but not to Jews per se.

Barbour: even that "click" on picture of full sheet will give You more better view of stamp alone, thanks for sharing this single stamp and comments.
I will just put here FDC too.