Benchers, tefillos booklets, and segulos texts are among the most widely distributed and personally meaningful small sefarim in Jewish life, used at every Shabbos table, at every simcha, and in the daily personal tefillah practice of men, women, and children across all communities. At Eichlers, we carry a full selection of benchers in every style and format, personal tefillah collections for specific occasions and needs, and segulos texts that draw on the deep well of the Jewish tradition of special prayers and practices for protection, healing, parnassah, and personal wellbeing.
A bencher is the small booklet used at the Shabbos and Yom Tov table for reciting Birkas HaMazon, the Grace after Meals, and the zemiros, the Shabbos table songs, that are central to the Shabbos experience in frum homes across all communities. Birkas HaMazon is recited after every meal at which bread was eaten, and having a bencher at the table ensures that every family member has access to the full text with proper vowelization for clear, accurate recitation. Shabbos benchers typically include the full Birkas HaMazon text in the nusach of the community, the full Shabbos day zemiros including Shalom Aleichem, Eishet Chayil, the Friday night zemiros, the Shabbos morning and afternoon zemiros, and the Havdalah text for Motzaei Shabbos. Some benchers also include the Shir HaMaalos before Birkas HaMazon, the abbreviated Zimmun text for groups of ten or more, and additional tefillos appropriate for the Shabbos table.
Custom benchers produced for a wedding, bar mitzvah, aufruf, sheva brachos, bris, or other simcha are one of the most practical and universally appreciated takeaways a host can provide. Every guest uses the bencher during the meal, takes it home, and uses it at their own Shabbos table for years afterward, making it a gift with extraordinary longevity and daily usefulness. Simcha benchers are typically personalized with the family's name, the date and occasion, and often a photograph or decorative design on the cover, and they are produced in quantities ranging from a small intimate gathering through a full community wedding with hundreds of guests. At Eichlers, we carry a range of ready-made benchers in elegant designs suitable for any simcha, as well as guidance on custom bencher options for families who want a fully personalized keepsake for their special occasion. A beautiful bencher distributed at a simcha is something guests genuinely keep and use, which means it carries the memory of the occasion into the daily life of every household that received one.
Benchers are available in the major nusachos of Jewish davening, and choosing the right nusach matters both for halachic accuracy and for communal consistency. Ashkenaz benchers follow the standard Ashkenazi text of Birkas HaMazon with the associated zemiros in the Ashkenaz tradition. Sefard benchers, used by Chassidim and many Ashkenazi communities that follow Nusach Sefard, use the Chassidish version of the Birkas HaMazon text with the appropriate zemiros. Sephardic benchers follow the Sephardic rite as codified in the Shulchan Aruch and include the zemiros and tefillos specific to Sephardic communities. For a simcha attended by guests from multiple communities, choosing a bencher that includes both Ashkenaz and Sefard texts, or selecting based on the host family's own nusach, are both common approaches.
Beyond the standard siddur and bencher, the Jewish tradition has developed an extensive literature of specific tefillos for particular occasions, times of need, and personal circumstances. These tefillos booklets collect relevant prayers in an accessible, clearly organized format that makes them available exactly when they are needed without requiring the user to navigate a full siddur or locate texts scattered across different sefarim. Common categories include tefillos for the sick and for those davening on behalf of a choleh, tefillos for traveling including the full text of Tefillas HaDerech and related prayers, tefillos for Erev Rosh Hashanah and the Aseres Yemei Teshuva, special tefillos for Erev Yom Kippur including Kol Nidrei preparation texts, tefillos for pregnancy and childbirth, tefillos for the Days of Selichos, and collections of personal tefillah texts for parnassah, shalom bayis, and other areas of personal prayer that go beyond the fixed structure of the three daily tefillos.
A segula, literally a remedy or a treasure, refers in the Jewish tradition to a specific prayer, practice, text, or action that is believed to carry particular spiritual power for achieving a certain outcome or providing protection against a specific danger. The tradition of segulos is ancient, rooted in kabbalistic teachings and in the accumulated wisdom of the great Torah authorities across generations, and segulos texts have been an important part of Jewish popular religious life for centuries. Common segulos include specific chapters of Tehillim recited for healing or protection, the recitation of Parshas HaMan on a particular Tuesday before Parshas Beshalach as a segula for parnassah, the wearing or placement of amulets inscribed with specific divine names, the recitation of Shir HaShirim on Erev Shabbos, the saying of specific tefillos on significant occasions in the calendar, and many others transmitted through the communities of Eastern Europe, Morocco, Iraq, Yemen, and other diaspora centers over the generations. Segulos books compile these traditions in an organized, accessible format with their sources cited so that the reader can understand the origin and authority behind each segula they choose to practice.
Parshas HaMan, the section of the Torah in Parshas Beshalach describing the falling of the manna in the desert, is one of the most widely practiced segulos in the Ashkenazi world, with the tradition holding that reciting it on the Tuesday of the week of Parshas Beshalach is a segula for parnassah based on a teaching attributed to Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov. Many families and communities have extended this practice to reciting Parshas HaMan regularly throughout the year as a general tefillah for sustenance and livelihood. Dedicated Parshas HaMan booklets, often produced in a small, convenient format for easy daily or weekly use, typically include the full Hebrew text of the parsha with vowelization, the Aramaic Onkelos translation repeated three times according to the standard of shnayim mikra v'echad targum, and often additional tefillos for parnassah that complement the recitation.
A quality bencher set or a carefully chosen tefillos booklet makes a thoughtful and practical gift for virtually any Jewish occasion. A set of Shabbos benchers for a newly married couple's first home ensures they have the full text of Birkas HaMazon and the zemiros available for every Shabbos table. A personalized simcha bencher distributed at a bar mitzvah or wedding is a takeaway every guest actually uses rather than setting aside. A tefillos booklet for a specific personal need, a tefillas haderech booklet for someone who travels frequently, a tefillos for pregnancy booklet for a couple expecting a child, or a segulos collection for a person going through a difficult time, is a gift that communicates genuine care and understanding of what the recipient is experiencing. Browse our full bar mitzvah gifts collection and our wedding gifts and Judaica collection for more meaningful gift ideas to pair with a bencher or tefillah booklet.
Benchers, tefillos, and segulos booklets belong alongside the full range of tefillah sefarim and Jewish books that Eichlers carries for every occasion and daily practice.
A bencher is a small booklet containing the full text of Birkas HaMazon, Grace after Meals, along with the Shabbos and Yom Tov zemiros. It is used at the Shabbos table and at simchos so that every person at the meal has access to the complete text for recitation after eating bread. The word bencher comes from the Yiddish for bless, reflecting its primary function as the text for the post-meal blessing.
Choose a bencher in the nusach of your community and household. Ashkenaz benchers follow the standard Ashkenazi Birkas HaMazon text. Sefard benchers use the Chassidish version of the text. Sephardic benchers follow the Sephardic rite. For a simcha with guests from multiple communities, many hosts choose to include both Ashkenaz and Sefard in a single bencher or select based on the host family's own nusach.
A segula is a specific prayer, text, practice, or action from the Jewish tradition believed to carry particular spiritual power for achieving a certain outcome or providing protection. Segulos are rooted in kabbalistic teachings and in traditions transmitted through the generations of Torah authorities and Jewish communities across the diaspora. They are practiced widely across Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Chassidish communities.
The tradition holds that reciting Parshas HaMan, the Torah portion describing the manna in Parshas Beshalach, on the Tuesday of that week, is a segula for parnassah attributed to the teachings of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov. Many families extend this practice to reciting the parsha regularly throughout the year as a general tefillah for sustenance. Dedicated Parshas HaMan booklets with the full vowelized text and Onkelos are available at Eichlers.
Yes. We carry a range of ready-made benchers in elegant designs suitable for weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other simchos, as well as guidance on custom options for families who want a fully personalized bencher with their family's name, date, and occasion printed on the cover. Custom benchers are one of the most practical and lasting simcha takeaways available.
We carry tefillos booklets covering a wide range of specific occasions and personal needs including tefillos for the sick, Tefillas HaDerech for travelers, tefillos for Erev Rosh Hashanah and the Aseres Yemei Teshuva, tefillos for pregnancy and childbirth, Selichos collections, and personal tefillah texts for parnassah and shalom bayis. Browse our full selection for the tefillos booklet that fits your specific need or occasion.
Yes. A quality bencher is one of the most universally useful and appreciated simcha gifts. Every guest takes it home and uses it at their own Shabbos table for years, meaning the gift carries the memory of the occasion into their daily life long after the simcha itself. A personalized bencher with the family's name and occasion printed on the cover adds a keepsake dimension that makes the gift even more meaningful.