Shana Tova Cards

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's], Israel Defense Forces

  2015.2.83

  Six black and white photographs. From top left: Soldiers holding bayonets, Israeli and other flags, soldiers in white marching with bayonets, tank and soldiers, soldiers on horseback, soldiers in tanks with airplanes flying over head. Several phrases printed in Hebrew. Back: Black printed Hebrew in middle. Message and address both written in Hebrew on either side. Green pasted stamp with illustration of a coin. Black circular hand stamp over pasted stamp.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  The custom of sending Jewish New Year's cards dates to the Middle Ages. Shana Tova, meaning "Have a good year" in Hebrew, reflects the belief that one's fate is sealed for the coming year on Rosh Hashanah, and thus Rabbis would encourage congregants to begin letters sent during the Jewish month of Ellul with the blessing "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." The custom has continued over the years even as the thematic content of the Shana Tova card has changed to reflect changing social and historical needs and circumstances. If early cards reflected biblical themes and motifs, later ones referred to religious customs and practices often staged in a studio using amateur actors. Later scenes depicted the religious and social life of East European Jews in a nostalgic manner, often with the intention of preserving traditions, customs and social life lost in the Holocaust. With the mass immigration of Jews to the shores of America in the first decades of the twentieth century, Shana Tova cards depicted the new homeland as a beacon of hope, prosperity, and religious freedom. Other cards focused on Zionist ideology and contemporary views of the land of Palestine. Secular views were more commonly expressed in Shana Tova cards with images of pioneers working the land and building kibbutzim. With World War II there is the obvious focus on Jewish immigration, of refugees fleeing a Europe devastated by the Holocaust, with ships and boats bringing immigrants to the shores of a Palestine still under the British mandate. We see as well the burgeoning of an enormous pride that reflects a people at last feeling more in control of their fate, not only raising families and celebrating holidays but images of an intense self-reliance, images of the "tough" Jew hardened by working the land, raising a defense force with both men and women as co-participants, as well as scenes depicting Israelis in a celebratory mood, dancing the hora or singing Hatikvah.

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  Shana Tova Card of Holocaust Survivors from Buchenwald Concentration Camp Raising National Flag

  2021.1.50

  Folding photo card showing concentration camp survivors in front of the Israeli flag.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Real photograph card “On the Threshold”, survivors from Buchenwald aboard ship “Matroha” arriving in port of Haifa July 15, 1945. As Palestine at this time continues under British Mandate, they will be arrested by the British as “illegals”.

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  Shana Tova Card of Immigrant Ship with Holocaust Survivors Aboard Coming Ashore in Palestine

  2021.1.51

  Folding photo card showing a crowd awaiting the docking of a large ship on a beach.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Old Shana Tova Card before Israel gained statehood. Depicts one of the “Immigrant Ships” discharging its human cargo, wading ashore in the new homeland of Palestine with cheering onlookers.

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  Shana Tova Postcard of Israel Defensive Forces Festival After United Nations Voted on Israel Statehood

  2021.1.49

  Israeli postcard showing crowd waving Israeli flag in celebration after the United Nations vote on Israeli statehood.

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's] with David Ben Gurion Declaring Statehood for Israel

  2015.2.75

  Black and white photograph with black Hebrew text in upper righthand corner. Depicts a board of men sitting, with one man standing underneath a black and white photo of a man with a long beard, and two Stars of David. Other men sit perpendicular in front of them. Back: Black printed Hebrew text at bottom. Some writing in pencil and blue ink in middle.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Shana Tova card photograph of David Ben Gurion declaring statehood for Israel.

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's] Early Israel Defense Force

  2015.2.82

  Black and white photograph of men in military uniforms, hats and shorts, marching down a street. Includes Hebrew text in a banner on lower lefthand corner, and Hebrew text on the bottom middle. Back: Black printed postcard lines. Message written in blue on left side, addressed to M. Leibel on right side. Black Star of David with olive branch and sword on upper left, printed Hebrew text on bottom left and in middle. Two pasted stamps, each red and depicting an illustration of wings. Black circular hand stamp over them.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Sending Shana Tova-Jewish New Year- cards has been a venerable Jewish tradition, even as the themes and motifs of these cards have changed with changing times and circumstances. Biblical themes were commonplace for many years. Later cards would reflect the customs and traditions of the eastern European shtetl Jews. Alternatively, they could evoke a sense of pride in their prosperity, carrying on Jewish customs and a thriving family life in larger European cities. As Jews left the “old country” at the turn of the twentieth century for new lands, Shana Tova cards reflected an emigrant’s desire for opportunity, religious freedom, and freedom from persecution in their new homeland. In the wake of the Holocaust, Shana Tova cards could thematize Jewish refugees-the surviving remnant- seeking sanctuary from a Europe devastated by the Nazi scourge. There were perilous journeys in salvaged boats and ships to a Palestine that seemed as elusive as the Promised Land for Moses. Yet as the immigrants eventually settled their new homeland, raising families, working and defending their cities and kibbutzim- men, women and children co-participants in the common project of building a new nation- Shana Tova cards would reflect a burgeoning pride: photos of men and women proudly marching in their military uniforms, but as well singing Hatikvah and dancing the Hora. Shana Tova cards feature this Jewish pioneer who is self-reliant, hardened by working the land, raising a family as well as a military force: a secular Zionist who would never again fall prey to aggressor nations wishing his demise.

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  Shana Tova New Year Card: Holocaust Survivors Immigrating to Palestine

  2020.1.3

  Card with image of group of immigrants smiling on boat under Israeli flag. Printed Yiddish text at top left and bottom right as well as interior of card.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Real photo Shana Tova (New Year’s) card showing Holocaust survivors immigrating to Palestine.

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  Former Buchenwald Prisoners' Health Restored

  2015.2.4

  Front: Black and white photograph, showing four men working with horses and a cart. Three men are shirtless, and one wears a white shirt.Back: Pasted news clipping on left side. Several stamps and stickers, and writing in pencil.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Acme Newspictures wire photo with news clipping verso: "HEALTH RESTORED--Nearly all the former inmates of the German Buchenwald have regained their health in This [sic] Palestine compound. They work the land and enjoy their new freedom.”

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's], Celebrating the New Nation's Air Force

  2015.2.84

  Tan card with scalloped edges. Depicts three ships and four airplanes on and over water, and an Israeli flag on rope. Red printed Hebrew text on top left and across the bottom.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Sending Shana Tova-Jewish New Year- cards has been a venerable Jewish tradition, even as the themes and motifs of these cards have changed with changing times and circumstances. Biblical themes were commonplace for many years. Later cards would reflect the customs and traditions of the eastern European shtetl Jews. Alternatively, they could evoke a sense of pride in their prosperity, carrying on Jewish customs and a thriving family life in larger European cities. As Jews left the “old country” at the turn of the twentieth century for new lands, Shana Tova cards reflected an emigrant’s desire for opportunity, religious freedom, and freedom from persecution in their new homeland. In the wake of the Holocaust, Shana Tova cards could thematize Jewish refugees-the surviving remnant- seeking sanctuary from a Europe devastated by the Nazi scourge. There were perilous journeys in salvaged boats and ships to a Palestine that seemed as elusive as the Promised Land for Moses. Yet as the immigrants eventually settled their new homeland, raising families, working and defending their cities and kibbutzim- men, women and children co-participants in the common project of building a new nation- Shana Tova cards would reflect a burgeoning pride: photos of men and women proudly marching in their military uniforms, but as well singing Hatikvah and dancing the Hora. Shana Tova cards feature this Jewish pioneer who is self-reliant, hardened by working the land, raising a family as well as a military force: a secular Zionist who would never again fall prey to aggressor nations wishing his demise.

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  Shana Tova Card with Kibbutznik Working with Horses

  2021.1.48

  Card showing a young Jewish woman working standing in front of two horses on a communal farm in Israel

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's]

  2015.2.43

  Front: White card with scalloped borders. Red Hebrew text in upper right corner. Illustration of a farmer with horse and cart with a brown field on the right, and a green field with mountains and the setting sun on the left. Glitter on the sun and through the brown field.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  More than merely celebrating agriculture, this drawing of a Zionist tilling the soil is also a potent metaphor for Israeli pride in its independence, self-sufficiency, and self-generative power in creating a new nation with a new history for Jewish people after WWII.

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  Israel Shana Tova Card IDF (Israel Defense Force) Soldier at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

  2021.1.47

  Card showing photograph of IDF soldier carrying a machine gun at the wailing wall in Jerusalem.

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's]

  2015.2.38

  Front: White card with black Hebrew and English text in upper left corner. Illustration of of man in blue and white robe with white beard playing Shofar in front of brick wall.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Sending Shana Tova-Jewish New Year- cards has been a venerable Jewish tradition, even as the themes and motifs of these cards have changed with changing times and circumstances. Biblical themes were commonplace for many years. Later cards would reflect the customs and traditions of the eastern European shtetl Jews. Alternatively, they could evoke a sense of pride in their prosperity, carrying on Jewish customs and a thriving family life in larger European cities. As Jews left the “old country” at the turn of the twentieth century for new lands, Shana Tova cards reflected an emigrant’s desire for opportunity, religious freedom, and freedom from persecution in their new homeland. In the wake of the Holocaust, Shana Tova cards could thematize Jewish refugees-the surviving remnant- seeking sanctuary from a Europe devastated by the Nazi scourge. There were perilous journeys in salvaged boats and ships to a Palestine that seemed as elusive as the Promised Land for Moses. Yet as the immigrants eventually settled their new homeland, raising families, working and defending their cities and kibbutzim- men, women and children co-participants in the common project of building a new nation- Shana Tova cards would reflect a burgeoning pride: photos of men and women proudly marching in their military uniforms, but as well singing Hatikvah and dancing the Hora. Shana Tova cards feature this Jewish pioneer who is self-reliant, hardened by working the land, raising a family as well as a military force: a secular Zionist who would never again fall prey to aggressor nations wishing his demise.

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's]

  2015.2.39

  Front: White card with black Hebrew text on upper left, black English text on upper right. Illustration of man with white and blue tallis, black cap and grey beard writing on a scroll with a quill pen on a table with blue and white table cloth and candle.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

  Shana Tova card of scribe, quill pen in hand, creating a Torah scroll. Sending Shana Tova - Jewish New Year - cards has been a venerable Jewish tradition, even as the themes and motifs of these cards have changed with changing times and circumstances. Biblical themes were commonplace for many years. Later cards would reflect the customs and traditions of the eastern European shtetl Jews. Alternatively, they could evoke a sense of pride in their prosperity, carrying on Jewish customs and a thriving family life in larger European cities. As Jews left the “old country” at the turn of the twentieth century for new lands, Shana Tova cards reflected an emigrant’s desire for opportunity, religious freedom, and freedom from persecution in their new homeland. In the wake of the Holocaust, Shana Tova cards could thematize Jewish refugees - the surviving remnant - seeking sanctuary from a Europe devastated by the Nazi scourge. There were perilous journeys in salvaged boats and ships to a Palestine that seemed as elusive as the Promised Land for Moses. Yet as the immigrants eventually settled their new homeland, raising families, working and defending their cities and kibbutzim - men, women and children co-participants in the common project of building a new nation - Shana Tova cards would reflect a burgeoning pride: photos of men and women proudly marching in their military uniforms, but as well singing Hatikvah and dancing the Hora. Shana Tova cards feature this Jewish pioneer who is self-reliant, hardened by working the land, raising a family as well as a military force: a secular Zionist who would never again fall prey to aggressor nations wishing his demise.

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's]

  2015.2.40

  Front: White card with black English text on upper left, black Hebrew text on upper right and across the bottom. Illustration of a crowd gathering at the Western Wall in Israel, with a blue and white banner with the Star of David at the bottom.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Sending Shana Tova-Jewish New Year- cards has been a venerable Jewish tradition, even as the themes and motifs of these cards have changed with changing times and circumstances. Biblical themes were commonplace for many years. Later cards would reflect the customs and traditions of the eastern European shtetl Jews. Alternatively, they could evoke a sense of pride in their prosperity, carrying on Jewish customs and a thriving family life in larger European cities. As Jews left the “old country” at the turn of the twentieth century for new lands, Shana Tova cards reflected an emigrant’s desire for opportunity, religious freedom, and freedom from persecution in their new homeland. In the wake of the Holocaust, Shana Tova cards could thematize Jewish refugees-the surviving remnant- seeking sanctuary from a Europe devastated by the Nazi scourge. There were perilous journeys in salvaged boats and ships to a Palestine that seemed as elusive as the Promised Land for Moses. Yet as the immigrants eventually settled their new homeland, raising families, working and defending their cities and kibbutzim- men, women and children co-participants in the common project of building a new nation- Shana Tova cards would reflect a burgeoning pride: photos of men and women proudly marching in their military uniforms, but as well singing Hatikvah and dancing the Hora. Shana Tova cards feature this Jewish pioneer who is self-reliant, hardened by working the land, raising a family as well as a military force: a secular Zionist who would never again fall prey to aggressor nations wishing his demise.

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's]

  2015.2.41

  Front: White card with decorative blue border that alternates between Stars of David and wild animals. Inside are two men in Middle Eastern garb. Between them is a mountain with tablets with flaming Hebrew text. Above the men is a menorah, and below them are flowers with a scroll with red Hebrew text. There is grey glitter around the card.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Sending Shana Tova-Jewish New Year- cards has been a venerable Jewish tradition, even as the themes and motifs of these cards have changed with changing times and circumstances. Biblical themes were commonplace for many years. Later cards would reflect the customs and traditions of the eastern European shtetl Jews. Alternatively, they could evoke a sense of pride in their prosperity, carrying on Jewish customs and a thriving family life in larger European cities. As Jews left the “old country” at the turn of the twentieth century for new lands, Shana Tova cards reflected an emigrant’s desire for opportunity, religious freedom, and freedom from persecution in their new homeland. In the wake of the Holocaust, Shana Tova cards could thematize Jewish refugees-the surviving remnant- seeking sanctuary from a Europe devastated by the Nazi scourge. There were perilous journeys in salvaged boats and ships to a Palestine that seemed as elusive as the Promised Land for Moses. Yet as the immigrants eventually settled their new homeland, raising families, working and defending their cities and kibbutzim- men, women and children co-participants in the common project of building a new nation- Shana Tova cards would reflect a burgeoning pride: photos of men and women proudly marching in their military uniforms, but as well singing Hatikvah and dancing the Hora. Shana Tova cards feature this Jewish pioneer who is self-reliant, hardened by working the land, raising a family as well as a military force: a secular Zionist who would never again fall prey to aggressor nations wishing his demise.

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's]

  2015.2.42

  Front: White card with black English text on the upper left, and black Hebrew text on the upper right. Depicts a young woman in a white dress with colorful collar and belt with a Menorah, the Israeli flag behind her, and an olive branch. There is grey glitter on the Star of David and elsewhere on the card.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Sending Shana Tova-Jewish New Year- cards has been a venerable Jewish tradition, even as the themes and motifs of these cards have changed with changing times and circumstances. Biblical themes were commonplace for many years. Later cards would reflect the customs and traditions of the eastern European shtetl Jews. Alternatively, they could evoke a sense of pride in their prosperity, carrying on Jewish customs and a thriving family life in larger European cities. As Jews left the “old country” at the turn of the twentieth century for new lands, Shana Tova cards reflected an emigrant’s desire for opportunity, religious freedom, and freedom from persecution in their new homeland. In the wake of the Holocaust, Shana Tova cards could thematize Jewish refugees-the surviving remnant- seeking sanctuary from a Europe devastated by the Nazi scourge. There were perilous journeys in salvaged boats and ships to a Palestine that seemed as elusive as the Promised Land for Moses. Yet as the immigrants eventually settled their new homeland, raising families, working and defending their cities and kibbutzim- men, women and children co-participants in the common project of building a new nation- Shana Tova cards would reflect a burgeoning pride: photos of men and women proudly marching in their military uniforms, but as well singing Hatikvah and dancing the Hora. Shana Tova cards feature this Jewish pioneer who is self-reliant, hardened by working the land, raising a family as well as a military force: a secular Zionist who would never again fall prey to aggressor nations wishing his demise.

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  Shana Tova [Happy New Year's], Dancing the Hora, Palestine

  2015.2.81

  Black and white photograph of people holding each other's arms and dancing around a fire. White Hebrew text in upper right corner. Interior: Printed and handwriting in Hebrew. Back: Hebrew and English text 'Made in Palestine' at bottom.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Sending Shana Tova-Jewish New Year- cards has been a venerable Jewish tradition, even as the themes and motifs of these cards have changed with changing times and circumstances. Biblical themes were commonplace for many years. Later cards would reflect the customs and traditions of the eastern European shtetl Jews. Alternatively, they could evoke a sense of pride in their prosperity, carrying on Jewish customs and a thriving family life in larger European cities. As Jews left the “old country” at the turn of the twentieth century for new lands, Shana Tova cards reflected an emigrant’s desire for opportunity, religious freedom, and freedom from persecution in their new homeland. In the wake of the Holocaust, Shana Tova cards could thematize Jewish refugees-the surviving remnant- seeking sanctuary from a Europe devastated by the Nazi scourge. There were perilous journeys in salvaged boats and ships to a Palestine that seemed as elusive as the Promised Land for Moses. Yet as the immigrants eventually settled their new homeland, raising families, working and defending their cities and kibbutzim- men, women and children co-participants in the common project of building a new nation- Shana Tova cards would reflect a burgeoning pride: photos of men and women proudly marching in their military uniforms, but as well singing Hatikvah and dancing the Hora. Shana Tova cards feature this Jewish pioneer who is self-reliant, hardened by working the land, raising a family as well as a military force: a secular Zionist who would never again fall prey to aggressor nations wishing his demise.

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  Shana Tova [Happy New year's], Celebrating Immigration

  2015.2.85

  White card with blue border made to shape white cloud. Blue and red ship with Hebrew text on it, and blue airplanes. Red printed Hebrew text on right.

  Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: Colorful Zionist Jewish New Year card created around the establishment of the Israeli state and its 1948 War of Independence, and soon after the Holocaust. It is designed with a message of hope for the immigration of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Europe. The text in Hebrew reads "A year of massive immigration," with images of a ship named Galila and airplanes. Sending Shana Tova-Jewish New Year- cards has been a venerable Jewish tradition, even as the themes and motifs of these cards have changed with changing times and circumstances. Biblical themes were commonplace for many years. Later cards would reflect the customs and traditions of the eastern European shtetl Jews. Alternatively, they could evoke a sense of pride in their prosperity, carrying on Jewish customs and a thriving family life in larger European cities. As Jews left the “old country” at the turn of the twentieth century for new lands, Shana Tova cards reflected an emigrant’s desire for opportunity, religious freedom, and freedom from persecution in their new homeland. In the wake of the Holocaust, Shana Tova cards could thematize Jewish refugees-the surviving remnant- seeking sanctuary from a Europe devastated by the Nazi scourge. There were perilous journeys in salvaged boats and ships to a Palestine that seemed as elusive as the Promised Land for Moses. Yet as the immigrants eventually settled their new homeland, raising families, working and defending their cities and kibbutzim- men, women and children co-participants in the common project of building a new nation- Shana Tova cards would reflect a burgeoning pride: photos of men and women proudly marching in their military uniforms, but as well singing Hatikvah and dancing the Hora. Shana Tova cards feature this Jewish pioneer who is self-reliant, hardened by working the land, raising a family as well as a military force: a secular Zionist who would never again fall prey to aggressor nations wishing his demise.