About the brand

Rite Lite

Rite Lite has made Jewish holiday goods since 1949, when Holocaust survivor Jacob Rosenthal turned a clever Shabbat candleholder into a business.

Since: 1949
Craft: Holiday Judaica and gifts

Rite Lite began in Brooklyn in 1949. Jacob Rosenthal and his wife, Miriam, came to America after the Holocaust, and when he tried to return to work as a lumber merchant, he found the trade closed to anyone who wouldn't work on Saturdays. "Giving up the Sabbath was out of the question for us," Miriam recalled.

His way in was a European novelty: a spring-loaded metal candleholder, later called the "Rite Lite." He took the idea to Murray Zuckerman's Lower East Side menorah workshop, and the two started out with that candleholder and a handful of menorahs.

Today the catalog covers nearly every holiday, from menorahs, candles and dreidels to kids' pajamas, slipper socks, crafts, decorations and pet toys.