All Things Jewish

From Albania to Zanzibar, if it’s a postage stamp portraying a famous Jew or Jewish topics and themes, Montreal philatelist Issie Baum is likely to have handled it.

So says the Canadian Jewish News.

Issie is the owner-operator of Judaica Sales, an Internet business based out of his home that deals in all things related to Judaica paper collectibles.

According to reporter Kelly Putter, "It truly is all things Jewish for Baum, who claims to have the largest stock of Judaica philately in the world. While Pope John XXIII might seem an unlikely candidate, he falls under Judaica material, because he saved Jewish kids from the Nazis during World War II by issuing them Catholic birth certificates."

Issie is quoted in the article as saying, "“Not a day goes by that I don’t learn about Jewish history and people. I’m in love with philately mainly because it brings me into contact with interesting people and interesting stories. Friends joke that I’m a walking encyclopedia of Jewish history.”

Born in what was then Montreal’s Jewish ghetto, Issie started collecting stamps at age nine. At the same time, he was attending religious school with his sights set on becoming a rabbi – a dream that never materialized. His love of Jewish stamps began at his bar mitzvah, when an uncle gave him a rare and valuable set of the first stamps issued by Israel.

To read the entire story, click here.