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The spice box is used on Saturday night in a ceremony to differentiate between the holy and the secular. Smelling the aroma of the spice is intended to carry the comfort of the Sabbath over into the ensuing week. The shape of the spice box appearing on this stamp is very common in central and eastern Europe, recalling the Municipal tower-houses in which spices from the Far East were kept in the Middle Ages.
The Jewish housewife lights two candles to mark the beginning of the Sabbath, and to set the day apart from weekdays.
Before the festive meal on Sabbaths and holidays, the head of the household sanctifies the day with wine. He uses a cup or beaker which is usually well designed and made of precious material. Often it is engraved with a text, a commemoration, a date or various illustrations.
To avoid touching the Torah, the Scrolls of the Law, the reader in the synagogue uses a pointer, a kind of scepter shaped at the end with a hand and outstretched finger.
An Eternal Light burns in synagogues, in front of the shrine containing the Scrolls of the Law, in remembrance of the eternal light which burned in the Tabernacle (Ex. 27:20). A hanging oil lamp was generally used.
