When you think of the word Judaica, your first association might be your local store selling “Jewish products.”
This might include mezuzot, talitot, tefillin, and even kippot. But when I hear the word Judaica, I think of the Torah and the role of Judah, one of the 12 tribes.
When I hear the word Judaica, I think about our rich history and our indigenous land, Judea.
That’s right, what the world calls The West Bank today is actually Judea and Samaria. But by calling it Judea, it is sort of an admission that the Jews were always here. That’s why the global community doesn’t like to call it that. As Jews, we come from Judea and we come from Judah.
Hidden in the word Judaica, we have the tribe and kingdom of Judah, we have the place Judea, and we have the name of our nation, Jews.
So, while Judaica might refer to a store today, it actually holds thousands of years of heritage right in its name.
