Postcards for the Jewish New Year were once very common and they are a popular item for collectors. See here for some examples. The Israeli Postal Service has even recently reprinted some older New Years Cards as part of a campaign to encourage the use of the good-old postal system. Just the other day I purchased on Ebay a postcards, which while formally not a New Year’s postcard, showed in my opinion the importance of greetings for the New Year. The postcard was send from Yugoslavia to Palestine in 1936. Shanah Tovah to all of you and your families.

For those who are interested in Jewish ephemera, also see the blog Ephemera, collecting Jewish-themed postcards is very popular. A hundred years ago postcard collecting was extremely popular, and Jewish-themed postcards were no exception. The two most common types of postcards are New Year/Shannah Tovah cards, and those with synagogues. A number of years ago the JTS Library had an exhibition of these postcards, with a beautifully illustrated accompanying book. As an outgrowth of my stamp-collecting I have begun to collect postcards, usually able to find many for between $5-$15 on Ebay. There are many rarer cards, usually of Europeans synagogues that are more expensive, but yesterday one was sold on Ebay for an incredible about of money. A postcard of Congregation Beth El of Borough Park (see this NY Times’ article about its construction) circa 1908 sold for $504.95! My guess is that it is an incredibly rare card or that there is some treasure map encrypted in the picture. If anybody is looking for a hobby, collecting postcards is fun, filled with history, and doesn’t take up much room.