As Jews around the world will be gathering and sitting down for the Seder this year, there will be more to discuss than just the order of the Haggadah.

The world has drastically changed. The attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions and places of worship have been unimaginable.The Oct. 7 barbaric attack and the hostage situation caused by Hamas is unprecedented and remains unsolved. Quassam and Scud missiles, as well as ballistic rockets, rain down on Israel almost daily.

Thomas Gelb, an avid collector of besamim boxes, has always been focused on the situation in Israel, even more so since Oct. 7. He recently commissioned an Israeli metal sculptor to create a “Rocket Besamim” from rocket fragments that were fired into Israel from Gaza. A partially exploded Qassam rocket landed in the artist’s pomegranate orchard, prompting him to create a spice box in the shape of a pomegranate, fabricated from the rocket fragments. It has a crack in its gun metal body, exposing “red arils” pouring out that are made from glistening Swarovski crystals. This “Rocket Besamim”will be shown in the Bernard Heller Museum this summer in an exhibit called “Swords into Plowshares.”

Gelb commissioned another Israeli artist to create a different besamim box: The “Am Yisrael Chai” spice box is a 10 inch tall silver sculpture whose physical structure is the shape of the map of Israel. The sculpture rests on a carved Jerusalem stone base. The front face of this vessel is engraved with the Hebrew blessing for smelling spices during Havdalah. A Star of David engraved on it locates the city of Jerusalem on the map. Perforations indicate the Dead Sea and the Sea of the Galilee.

The inspiration for this tall sculpture was to memorialize the Oct. 7 massacre and to never forget the atrocities that occurred on that dreadful day. A large ribbon inscribed on the back of the artwork commemorates Oct. 7. ”Am Yisrael Chai” is engraved in Hebrew, and an English message “Long Live the People of Israel” is also inscribed.

The silver vessel is easily removable from the stone base, so everyone can touch and inhale the smell of the aromatic spices housed inside when the blessing is made.

Limited pieces of this besamim box are available for sale.

This.925 sterling piece can be viewed at the new Greenstein Gallery, located at 524 Central Avenue in Cedarhurst, New York. For more information, email Tommy at [email protected] or visit the gallery.