GOLDA Gang, last week we hosted our first mom and kids Mini Mahj afternoon at ColorPop Workshop in Southampton. It was totally adorable, and so special to see a new generation embracing the game. At our first GOLDA Mahjong Night this spring, I was struck by how many of you said you wanted to learn because you remembered your mom or bubbe playing when you were growing up, the clacking of the tiles part of the soundtrack of visits to Miami Beach or Brooklyn. L’dor v’dor, as we like to say—from generation to generation.
We’re gearing up to bring Mini Mahj to New York City this fall—stay tuned for that and other exciting GOLDA events we’ll be announcing soon.
But first, with all due respect to summer, Rosh Hashanah is right around the corner. The Jewish New Year begins just a few days after Labor Day, the evening of Friday, Sept. 11. One of my favorite annual GOLDA traditions is our High Holiday shopping guide—gifts, jewelry, and decor to start the year off right. (Here’s last year’s edition.)
This week on our podcast GOLDA Girls, I interviewed the owners of three of the brands featured in the guide: Elisa Solomon Jewelry, Feldi Studios, and Challah Back Girls.
In the show’s opening segment, my co-host Rabbi Diana Fersko said that while she loved the tradition of getting new clothes for the High Holidays, she never really thought about Rosh Hashanah as a shopping holiday. I explained that my superpower as a girl from Great Neck is my ability to make anything a shopping holiday. But seriously, we’re called to spend the next few weeks thinking about who we want to be in the coming year and what we want our lives to look like, so why shouldn’t that include making our homes full of bright and beautiful Jewish objects and supporting Jewish-owned businesses?
It’s an easy mindset to embrace with items as chic as these. Read on for High Holiday decor, gifts for your hosts, fashion inspired by the season, and all things apple-themed.
For the Table
I have spent many years wondering where all the cute honey dishes were. It seemed like the one Jewish object that never got a refresh, despite the fact that we have a major holiday with apples and honey as the main event. I am overjoyed to report that two of my favorite people have put their modern spin on this humble vessel, earning it a stylish spot on your holiday table.
Food Network star Molly Yeh, who recently shared her summer cooking essentials with GOLDA, just launched a collaboration with Anthropologie that includes farm-inspired cookware and accessories. She told me a cute honey pot for Rosh Hashanah was at the top of her list, and I absolutely love what she came up with.
I’ve featured Feldi Studios’ bold and funky Judaica before, and this new Pom Honey Pot brings the brand’s signature ceramic whimsy to the High Holidays. It comes in a bunch of different colorways, and its unique shape creates a star of David image when filled with honey for Rosh Hashanah—or, as Feldi founder Melissa Felderman explained on GOLDA Girls, applesauce for Hanukkah or saltwater for Passover. Use code GOLDAxFELDI for 10% off yours.
My friends Kara and Sam created NESSI after years of hosting holiday meals and searching for fun and elevated party supplies that reflected Jewish traditions. Their adorable line of Apple and Honey plates and napkins are available at The Jewish Museum Shop, which is offering GOLDA subscribers 10% off their High Holiday purchases with code GOLDA10@JM. Check out their full collection of paper products at shopnessi.com.
Peace Love Light Shop is one of my go-tos for Jewish gifting (especially their baby gifts and mahjong merch). These cloth napkins elegantly highlight the Jewish New Year motif of the pomegranate—and offer a nice complement to all the apple imagery around here. Use code GOLDA for 10% off.
5787 Fit Check
Jewelry and accessories perfect for the High Holidays—and the rest of the year.
Jeweler Elisa Solomon designed this apple charm last Rosh Hashanah, and it’s so good I had to include it again this year. When I interviewed Elisa this week on GOLDA Girls, I asked if she ever second-guessed her decision to include Jewish-themed items in her collection—after all, Elisa Solomon Jewelry is a mainstream, celebrity-loved brand. She told me that seeing so much interest in her Jewish pieces after Oct. 7th inspired her to expand her offerings in clever and creative ways. (See: her black-and-white cookie charm, tiny chai charm customizable by birthstone, and my absolute favorite: her Jewish Symbol Band, a ring packed with a hamsa, chai, Torah, menorah, pomegranate and a wheat stalk.) Use code GOLDA25 for 25% off.
I’m usually not into themed single-use kids’ clothes, with the exception of holiday pajamas (we’re already wearing these guys in for Hanukkah 5787). But these apple t-shirts and onesies from Fern at ChaiFiveArt are cute enough—and subtle enough—to wear all year round. Just like our Hanukkah pajamakkahs.
Another repeat from last year, this scarf from GOLDA-favorite Israeli designer Noa Tarlovsky’s brand Ofnat Bracha manages to feel both trendy and timeless.
Start the New Year on the right foot with these perfect fall flats. Favorite Daughter co-founder (and Nobody Wants This creator) Erin Foster recently sat down with Karlie Kloss on her and her sister Sarah Foster’s World’s First Podcast to discuss observing Shabbat, converting to Judaism, and family traditions—which means you might see her wearing these to temple in a few weeks…
Around the House
Keep things elevated and inspired for 5787.
The pomegranate design on this dish towel was inspired by pioneering Jewish textile printer William Morris—and makes the perfect gift for your Rosh Hashanah dinner hosts. Get it from the Jewish Museum Shop and use code GOLDA10@JM for 10% off.
I love how At The Well makes ancient rituals relevant to modern women’s lives, and this 5787 calendar is no exception. It brings the Hebrew calendar’s lunar cycle to life, and shows how tracking moon phases and lunar rhythms can benefit our daily lives.
Dive headfirst into A Year of Jewish Joy by Rebekah Lowin, aka the Jewish Martha Stewart. It’s more than just a cookbook—it’s full of hosting tips, tricks, tablescape inspiration, and kosher recipes for the entire year. My favorites? The chicken schnitzel and adorable mezuzah cookies.
You probably know Apeloig Collection’s chic lucite mezuzahs (we have the pink one up at GOLDA HQ), but sisters Daniela and Gabriela Apeloig also make these beautiful cloth sets to chicly cover your challah as it rises. Get 10% off using our link.
Sweet Treats
Plain challah is so 5786. This Rosh Hashanah, set your table around the Apple Cinnamon Challah from Challah Back Girls. You can hear co-founder Sara Loffman on GOLDA Girls talking about how the family-run challah company grew from pandemic project to nationwide shipping.
Looking for something sweet on the go? Try these Kosher High Holiday-inspired lollipops. You can also use them to sweeten any hot beverage. Use code GOLDA10@JM for 10% off.
What makes this babka different from all other babkas? For starters, the Austin, TX-based Israeli sisters who run Lady Babka use brioche dough. Plus, all their products are certified kosher and ship across the country.
GOLDA may earn a few shekels from anything purchased through links in this newsletter.
On Thursday, Sept. 17 I’ll be interviewing Dr. Beth Ricanati at the NYC launch event for her book, The Braided Prescription: Seven Practices for Living Well from the Ancient Practice of Making Challah, at The Strand Columbus at 7 p.m. Register here.
Check out all of our GOLDA events here, and get in touch at [email protected] to bring our signature GOLDA programming to your community.
Happy shopping!
Stay GOLDA,
Stephanie
