2 New Sheqalim Judaic Art - Havdalah Spicebox

Part of Israel's long-running Judaic Art series, this issue commemorates the havdalah spice box — the besamim container used in the ritual marking the end of Shabbat. The Bank of Israel began the series in 1984, commissioning designs that documented objects from Jewish ceremonial life at a moment when many of these artifacts existed primarily in diaspora collections or museum holdings rather than in active use.

The spice box chosen for this design draws from the Germanic-Ashkenazi tradition of tower-shaped filigree silver work, a form that dominated European Jewish silversmithing from the 16th century onward.