The Jewish New Year began yesterday evening at sunset. What better way to party like it’s 5773 than with the Center for Jewish History’s wonderful selection of vintage Rosh Hashanah greeting cards. All date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and are written in English, Hebrew and Yiddish. The tradition of sending Jewish New Year’s greetings is not new. The earliest mention of the custom dates back to the 15th century. With the industrial revolution, printing became inexpensive and starting in the 1880s entrepreneurs began selling cards printed specifically for Rosh Hashanah. No worries. I won’t complain if you don’t send me one. L’shana tova!
(The first 7 greeting cards are care of YU Museum collections. They can be viewed along with additional material on the Center’s Flickr page. The last image is from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research collections.)
