Israeli Pens

Pens with Judaica and Israeli Motifs

Writing implements go back to ancient times when writing was an exclusive art and the scribe was venerated for his knowledge and skills. They would spend days and weeks and more writing documents and books by hand on parchment. These scrolls were valuable and cherished as a means to transmit knowledge and information.

With the invention of the printing press, reading and writing skills became widespread and over the years, pens – either a quill, a dip pen and later a fountain pen - became an item in every household. It wasn’t until the 1940’s that the popular biro pen was invented and rapidly spread world-wide. The design was developed and perfected and today every year, billions are sold in a variety of styles. Collecting pens has become an international hobby and well-known public figures are proud of collections worth millions of dollars.

When the typewriter was introduced, followed later by the personal computer with its keyboard, the general feeling was that this was the death knell for pens and writing implements. Surprisingly, the opposite has been the case. In our digital age, pens are still popular and in widespread use. Fountain pens are a status symbol and are an exclusive gift. They are used for advertisements and promotion and are often presented free of charge to customers and clients of banks and businesses. Exclusive and expensive pens are a gift of friendship and esteem.

An interesting use of the pen is to attach to it the well-known Travelers’ Prayer, the Tefillat Ha’derech, recited at the beginning of a journey, requesting G-d for Divine protection from all dangers on the road. Instead of searching in the corners of your bag for the text, all you need to do is to whip out your pen and gently unscroll the prayer from the side. Ajudaica offers various options: The prayer in English or Russian adorned with the icon of the Israeli Army or with a map of Israel or pictures of Israeli tourists sites.

As part of its office gift selection aJudaica also offers Shahar Peleg’s desktop model of an eskimo fishing in the ice. A pen is attached to the rod and there is a pile of memo papers at the base.

Long before the poet wrote that the “The pen is mightier than the sword,” the Jewish nation, People of the Book, passionately loved the written word and respected the pen that made this possible.

Copyright 2002-today www.ajudaica.com
1 Imrei Baruch st. Bnei Brak 56109 Israel