Shlomo Ohana

Mea Shearim

About

Some of the best-loved, though sometimes kitschy objects of Judaica have been created over the centuries by neighborhood metalsmiths working with humble materials such as tin, copper, and brass. In Shlomo Ohana's workshop, this tradition lives on. You'll find amulets, hamsas (Hands of Fatima), and Shabbat candleholders, all modestly priced. Shlomo Ohana, who was born in Morocco, also makes the simple glass-enclosed Chanukah lamps traditionally mounted beside doorways in Jerusalem's 19th-century neighborhoods. His davvening (praying) Hassidim are a popular tourist item, and his grander Chanukah menorahs are impressive. The experience of visiting this workshop, deep in Mea Shearim's Ein Yaacov market, is always fascinating; in deference to Mea Shearim's ultra-Orthodox community, women should dress modestly, and men should avoid shorts. If the shop is closed, ask one of the neighbors when it will reopen.

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