Jewish Gifts

Perhaps the most important component of Jewish gifts (and Jewish gift giving) is knowing what is and what is not an appropriate Jewish gift. Certain things are obvious.

When my brother's daughter was born, a well-meaning neighbor decided to pay him a visit with a congratulatory bottle of brandy. He never made it out of his house.

His girlfriend took one look at the bottle and screamed I am told in a voice that could be heard all over the neighborhood "Joe, what's the matter with you? You're going to celebrate the birth of a Jewish girl and you're going with a bottle of brandy that says Christian Brothers??!!! What are you, nuts?!?!?!?" Certain things are obvious, or should be. Well maybe they just weren't to my brother's friend Joe.

Another key factor is knowing what kind of gift fits what holiday, and what holiday customs need to be considered. For instance, a dear friend of mine told me a story about his wife, who had recently converted to Judaism. Channukah was the first holiday that came up after her conversion. This was her first experience with Jewish gift giving as a Jew. She did not realize that since there are eight nights of Channukah and eight nights of gift giving, that it is not generally the custom to give a major gift every night of the holiday. I remember as a child getting one, maybe two major gifts during Channukah, and receiving a more modest gift the rest of the nights. This particular Channukah, the children in my friend's family received lavish gifts night after night, every night. The children in the family were delighted and excited. My friend became overly excited when he saw his credit card bill. An important lesson in Jewish gift giving etiquette was learned that Channukah.

Obviously, you can't miss with a food gift, just make sure you know which holiday goes with which food. So if it's Latkes, Hamentashen, Honey Cake or even Matzoh Ball Soup, your gift will be appreciated, but just make sure you know which food matches up best with which holiday.

One final thought: We think the finest Jewish gifts in all the land are our CDs. They bring a smile to the face, warm the heart, and you never have to refrigerate them.