Rachel Neiman
September 14, 2017, Updated May 14

Every year at Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, the Israel Postal Company (previously the Israel Postal Authority) issues a festival stamp series including a first-day commemorative cancel for the series.

The first festival series was issued in 1948 to mark the start of the High Holidays in Israel. It was designed by Otte Wallish, the graphic designer responsible for the design and calligraphy of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, as well as the state’s first postage stamps.

Wallish’s “flying scroll” design was based on ancient seals found on the handles of jars dating back to 700-600 BCE. According to the Israel Post website, it is impossible to say with certainty what the motif represents but since 1940s archaeological research associated the “flying scroll” with the first Jewish-Roman war and the Bar Kochba Revolt, it is fair to assume that Wallish was referencing this historical event as a parallel to the newly established State of Israel.

Festivals 5709 (1948) by Otte Wallish. Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/

The following year, the Wallish-designed 1949 festival series honored the freshly minted Israel Defense Forces, created by order of Prime Minister Ben-Gurion following the disbanding of all paramilitary groups that had fought prior to independence.

A vintage Israeli first day cover features three postage stamps, a decorative blue border with Hebrew text, and an official emblem. The envelope is postmarked and includes the phrase First Day Cover in English.
Festivals 5710 (1949) by Otte Wallish. Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/

Over the years, the festival series honored general themes such as Miriam Karoly’s 1955 series depicting biblical musical instruments; celebrated victories like Dror Ben Dov’s 1968 series honoring reunified Jerusalem; and paid homage to previously disenfranchised communities as in the 1974 series by Moshe Amar depicting the Sephardic synagogues of Jerusalem.

A vintage Israeli first day cover with four colorful stamps depicting ancient musicians. Each stamp has Hebrew text, and there are postmarks and a “Day of Issue” stamp on the envelope.
Festivals 5716 (1955) by Miriam Karoly. Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/
An envelope with three colorful Israeli stamps depicting Jerusalem landmarks, each postmarked in 1979. A blue illustration of a cityscape and Hebrew text appear at the bottom left.
Festivals 5729 (1968) by Dror Ben Dov. Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/
A commemorative envelope with three Israeli synagogue stamps, each with a unique building illustration, postmarked in Jerusalem. Left side shows an old sepia drawing of a synagogue interior with Hebrew and English text below.
Festivals 5735 (1974) by Moshe Amar. Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/

During the 1980s, influenced perhaps by the opening of the Diaspora Museum in 1978, the festival series took a deep dive into Judaica and, in fact, for two years running presented artifacts crediting the museum in 1987 and 1988 in a series, also designed by Dror Ben Dov.

An Israeli envelope features three synagogue stamps, each showing different historic synagogues, with Hebrew and French text, postmarks, and decorative script at the bottom left.
Festivals 5748 (1987) by Dror Ben Dov. Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/

In the 1990s, the Post Office developed a sort of 3-in-1 concept for the festival series, with the first stamp in the series presenting Rosh Hashana, the second honoring Yom Kippur and the third celebrating Sukkot or Simhat Torah, as in the series designed by Ora and Eliyahu Schwarz in 1991.

A white envelope features six colorful Israeli stamps with festive and symbolic illustrations, Hebrew and English text, postmarks reading Jerusalem, and a Day of Issue label in the top left corner.
Festivals 5752 (1991) by Ora and Eliyahu Schwarz. Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/

 

And just as the world looked forward to the new millennium, the Israel Postal Authority looked backwards in a nostalgia-themed festival series. Instead of presenting original graphics, as it had done for decades, the year 2000 series took inspiration from old Jewish New Year postcards provided by Israeliana ephemera collector Hayim Shtayer.

A vintage Israeli Day of Issue envelope with three colorful stamps, each showing vintage-style illustrations of people celebrating the Jewish New Year. Postmarks with an umbrella motif overlap the stamps and envelope. Text in Hebrew and English.
Festival Stamps 5761 (2000). Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/

Over the past decade, the festival series’ themes have focused more on the religious aspect of the High Holidays, as in the 2013 series “The Month of Tishrei” by Aharon Shevo.

It presented three of the special customs associated with the period: the Tashlich ceremony of symbolically casting away any sins on water, the Yom Kippur Kol Nidrei prayer, and bearing the lulav (palm frond) at Sukkot.

A commemorative envelope features three Israeli stamps depicting Jewish holiday scenes, Hebrew text, ritual items, and an open prayer book, with the phrase: Accept our prayers with love and willingness.
Festivals 2013 (5774) by Aharon Shevo. Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/

 This year’s series by children’s book illustrator Diana Shimon  is even more esoteric, presenting three special customs that are carried out in the dark: Selichot – prayers for forgiveness that are recited in the period leading up to Yom Kippur; sukkah-building, which traditionally takes place at night immediately after the end of Yom Kippur, and hakafot — dancing with the Torah scroll — on Simchat Torah.

Three illustrated Israeli stamps depict Jewish holidays: a man praying (Selichot Prayers), a family building a sukkah (Building a Sukkah), and people dancing with Torah scrolls (Second Hakafot). Each stamp has Hebrew and English text.
Festival 2017 – (5778) by Diana Shimon. Photo via israelphilately.org.il/en/

 

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