Jewish ceremonial art

Multiple early rabbinic commentaries on the Hebrew Bible refer to sanctifying rituals with visually pleasing objects in the Midrash.

Midrash Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael has this teaching on a biblical verse: "This is my God and I will glorify Him" (Exodus 15:2)Is it possible for a human being to add glory to his Creator?

This teaching was understood by succeeding generations as a duty, when possible, to make beautiful items used in Jewish life and worship, both physical and textual.

In Jewish communities around the Mediterranean, a sprig of a sweet-smelling shrub was customarily used, in Northern Europe by the twelfth century there are literary references of the use of a specially designed spice box or container.

[7] To protect the esrog during the Sukkot holiday, it is traditionally wrapped in silky flax fibers and stored in a special box, often made from silver.

The tradition of artistically embellished haggadahs, the Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder, dates back to the Middle Ages.