For Everyday Observance An Abundance Of Finely Crafted, Contemporary Judaica Is Finding Its Way To Area Shops And Galleries And Homes. And After The Ritual, The Objects Are Just Too Beautiful To Put Away.

Visitors to the Reznick home in Voorhees may pause to glance at a contemporary crafted piece at the upper right side of the front door. Artistically wrought in sedate reds and golds, its metal prongs curve around a small cylinder to form a Hebrew letter.

Inside the home, other such pieces grace the entrances to daughter Laura's bedroom and the computer-filled study Laura shares with her younger brother, David.

They are mezuzahs - for Jews, a reminder of the presence of God - and at Nancy and Keith Reznick's home, one sign of a religious awakening. Nancy, who had never set foot in a synagogue until age 13 when she attended other children's bar mitzvahs, began experiencing this awakening through her daughter's own religious rite of passage.

``I've been learning myself,'' she said, ``and have been on this quest to discover what I missed as a child - the richness of everyday Jewish life.''

For the Reznicks and many other Jews, an exploration of their religious heritage has, in recent years, been reflected in the acquisition of ritual items that go beyond function into the realm of fine craft. Those long established in their faith are also welcoming these items.

Artistic pieces of Judaica are nothing new. Beautiful menorahs that are centuries old, along with haggadahs, texts used for Passover seder, and other ritual objects have long been highly prized by museums. But now, pieces with notable aesthetic value are more widely accessible.

Finely wrought menorahs and dreidels grace shops and galleries that didn't stock them five years ago. And at those that did, the inventory has expanded to include mezuzahs; sabbath candleholders, to help mark the onset of Shabbat at dusk Friday; kiddush cups for the blessing over the wine; yads, or pointers, used by those reading the Torah; and seder plates used in the Passover dinner.

Some shops even offer tzedakah boxes to hold contributions to charity; ketubahs, or Jewish wedding contracts, featuring a combination of art and calligraphy; challah plates to hold the braided bread used in the Shabbat observance; and havdalah sets, for the ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat and the return to the workweek.

``Jews are proud of their heritage,'' observed Laurie Waring, one of the volunteers who helps run Congregation M'Kor Shalom's synagogue shop in Cherry Hill, where mezuzahs are flying off the shelves. ``There's more participation in Jewish life.''