myTalit - Tallit

Choosing the perfect tallit is a difficult choice, but to start with, you must know what material you want it to be made from. Below, is a guide to many of the different types of materials from which the tallit is nowadays made.

Silk Tallit

There are many varieties of silk tallitot available on the market today. Crepe, taffeta, embroidered, beaded, crepe, douppioni, crepe backed satin, charmeuse, and raw woven silk are just some of the options available. Then there are multitude of mix or combinations such as silk with rayon, silk with viscose, silk with wool and so forth.
Cotton Tallit

Usually hand woven, cotton is a popular material chosen for a tallit as it is flexible, but not fragile, durable but not heavy, and is able to support many designs and colors easily. It is also easier to clean.

Wool Tallit

The ideal tallit is made from either sheep’s wool or lamb’s wool, which was the material from which the traditional tallit was made. It is very warm as was needed in ancient times. Depending on the weave, such a tallit can be quite itchy or very soft. It is important to note that goat’s or camel’s wool does not qualify as a suitable material from which to make a tallit.

Viscose Tallit

Tallitot made from viscose is a much newer trend, though the material, which is extremely light and soft, and completely natural (originating from wood pulp), has been embraced with designs for both men and women. Designs that appeal to men tend to be in more darker, somber colors, such as navy, black, grey, or brown – all colors that match suits easily. Designs for women, on the other hand, are vibrant and colorful, using pinks, yellows, oranges, vivid blues, and greens to depict beautiful scenes or religious images.

Organza Tallit

Usually reserved for womens’ tallitot, organza is a very delicate material made from nylon, polyester, and silk filaments, but which feels very much like silk. It supports an expansive range of colors and appears very luxurious, graceful, and sophisticated, so is a popular choice for many women.

The Environmentally Friendly Tallit

For those concerned about the environment, there exists a very small niche market of weavers who use only environmentally friendly textiles, such as organic cotton. Though more expensive, to some, the contribution to the environment does justify the increased cost incurred when purchasing an eco-friendly tallit.

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Unfortunately, many people are afraid to clean their tallit or tallis, as it can be known.
With such a highly respected garment, it seems strange that one wouldn’t clean it,
However some people believe the tallit ought to show its age and usage through the many stains and marks that it acquires over the years.

For others, the fear that something will happen to their tallit – that it might get ruined or fall apart – overrides their desire to keep it clean.

And such concerns are justified. Indeed, many non-Jewish cleaners will not take enough care with the tzitzit to ensure it remains intact, nor that the colors do not run. As almost all tallitot do not have labels attached or cleaning instructions, it is a bit of a guessing game for the cleaners, many of whom do not realise the tallit’s importance to their customer.

In fact, many consider giving a tallit to a non-Jew for cleaning not to be kosher.

It is suggested that a tallit be cleaned twice a year, although, if you are living in a hot country and sweating a lot, this is neither practical nor hygienic.

Luckily, cleaners do exist – usually Jewish – that are specialized in cleaning tallitot and they maintain that all tallitot can be dry cleaned and that most stains will come out. Very familiar with the variety of tallit that is available, and that many have embroidered motifs that sometimes come away during cleaning, the cleaners are usually happy to re sew small items back onto the tallit.

However, such cleaners do sometimes also request their customers to sign a release form in the case of multi-colored designs, which may be oil-based and run, despite the cleaners’ best attempts at preventing this.

Possibly the most problematic concern is that of the tzitzit as they can easily tangle and get stretched. Contrary to popular belief, if the tzitzit have started unravelling, subsequently bearing the incorrect quantity of knots, they are not invalidated. The problem should be corrected, however the tallit is still a useful and acceptable one.
A tallit should always be cleaned on a delicate cycle – whether at home in the washing machine or in the care of a cleaner.
Despite best efforts, one of the trickiest problems is to remove age spots, which appear over time when a tallit remains inside a bag, particularly one that’s made of plastic. If the bag is kept within a smoking environment the problem is compounded again. They appear as small yellow spots and the easiest way to ensure they don’t appear is to use the tallit occasionally.

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Prayer shawls, as with any gift you give, always benefit from a card accompanying them. Sometimes, it’s because the words within the card are particularly beautiful or because the image on the front is just very appropriate. Either way, prayer shawl cards can only enhance the gift of the prayer shawl, and provide more pleasure.

Although uniqueness and creativity are always welcomed regarding gifts, prayer shawl gift cards do tend to follow a certain trend. They often include images, paintings, or drawings of a person wearing a prayer shawl, a traditional morning prayer shawl otherwise known as a tallit, a tree signifying life, a sun and its rays to signify hope and a brighter future, and other similar optimistic designs.

Sometimes religious images may be featured on the front or center of your prayer shawl card, however, as not all people share the same religious views or beliefs, it’s generally considered a good idea to stay away from any image or wording that implies or suggests anything specifically geared to one religion. Equally, it is very important not to try to ‘convert’ your recipient as this will detract from the act of giving the prayer shawl in the first place.

The key is to remain positive without being condescending, provide hope without giving instruction, and to convey your sentiment without using clichés. Phrases such as “Every cloud has a silver lining” provide no comfort to distraught people.

If you are unsure as to what to write or need ideas, there are many sites online which will provide you with free templates of prayer shawl cards to use and other sites that sell pre-printed ones.

Particularly difficult are prayer shawl cards that accompany a prayer shawl made for charity where the recipient is unknown. In such cases, the wording should be upbeat and non-specific to allow for a variety of situations.

Generally, prayer shawl cards are not small rectangular tags like those you would attach to a birthday present. Instead, they are the type that opens up to contain an encouraging message. It is not necessary to write anything in addition to the printed message if you are uncertain as to what to write, though it is a nice touch if you do.
Matching your prayer shawl card to the colors of the actual prayer shawl itself is quite a common practice too.  Some Prayer Shawls come with Hamsa Hand design.

No matter how your prayer shawl is presented, or whether there is a card – matching or otherwise - or not, rest assured that your recipient will be overwhelmed by your efforts to make the prayer shawl in the first place.

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The Torah explicitly commands that Tzitzit be added to the four corners of garments. (Maimonides considered it one of the most important of the 613 Mitzvot); traditionally the wearing of Tzitzit began with this commandment, though biblical scholars consider it to be much older, and argue that the commandment reflected an already existing practice.

In early Judaism, Tzitzit were used for the corners of ordinary everyday clothing; most Jewish people at the time wore clothing which consisted of a sheet-like item wrapped around the body, comparable to the abayah (blanket) worn by the Bedouins for protection from sun and rain, and to the stola/toga of ancient Greece and Rome. As recorded in the Talmud, these were sometimes worn partly doubled, and sometimes with the ends thrown over the shoulders.

After the 13th century CE, Tzitzit began to be worn on new inner garments, known as Arba Kanfos, rather than the outer garments. This inner garment was a 3ft by 1ft rectangle, with a hole in the center for the head to pass through; the modern Tallit evolved from this medieval item. By modern times, the four-cornered sheet-like cloth fell out of fashion, and became regarded as impractical compared with alternatives; since most modern western clothing does not have four clear corners, the rule essentially became obsolete in daily life.

However, traditional Jews began to voluntarily wear a small tallit in ordinary life, in order to explicitely fulfill the commandment to wear Tzitzit; some Jewish commentators argue that it is a transgression to miss a commandment that one is able to fulfill. Tallit are also often worn during prayer for this reason, and this is practiced by a wider group of Jews. A tallit is often used as a Chuppah in Jewish wedding ceremonies.

Source: Wikipedia

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Judaism, one of the world’s oldest religions being practiced today, has several traditions, most of them stemming from text and prescriptions in the Hebrew Bible. One of their important traditions is the use of the tallit, or the Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is one of the most iconic Jewish symbols, considered by many as one of the most authentic Jewish garments. The use of tallit further proves that the Jewish indeed has a deep faith and respect for their religious tradition.

The tallit is mainly used today as a prayer shawl, used normally by men when they recite the Shacharit, or their morning prayers. Jewish men also use tallits during Sabbath (or their day of praise) and during religious holidays. While not practiced by all Jewish communities, the talit is usually given by the father as a gift to the son, or by the teacher as a gift to the student, during the Bar Mitzvah. The tallilot is worn once the man reaches the age of 13, the age when a Jewish male is considered to have come of age and when they celebrate their Bar Mitzvah. At the age of 13, the Jewish male is respected to be responsible for their actions, and one of the implications here is the use of the tallit, which represents their awareness of the Jewish commandments.

This is because, basically, the tallit is worn as a reminder of their commandments. This is in accordance to one of the verses in the book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, saying the Israelites (who are Jewish) should wear fringes on their clothes’ corners. These fringes, according to the verse, shall by the reminder that they should observe the commandments so they should not follow their heart and eyes due to lustful urges.

These fringes are called the tzitzit. Before, they were placed, as the verse said, on the corners of everyday clothes. However, today, that is no longer possible; clothes today no longer have four corners. So as time progressed, the tzitzit was placed on the tallit. The tzitzit can also be found in other pieces of clothing, such as the tallit katan, which is a Jewish undergarment.

The tallit as it is known today is only used during the day, in accordance to the verse that the wearer of the talit should be able to see the fringes. This has been interpreted as one should only use it when the tzitzit is seen with the light of the day. Tallits are also personal by the Jewish. When a non-Jewish visitor goes to a Jewish temple, they are asked to wear prayer shawls. However, these shawls are not tallits, since the use of tallits are considered sacred, saved only for men who have reached the proper age.

As with tradition, however, the use of the tallit or the tallis can change according to communities, among other factors. For one, while majority of the Jewish wear tallits when they reach 13, some wear it in a much later date. Some communities also do not allow women to wear the talis, while some do. Nonetheless, the use of the tallis remains to be a precious tradition for the Jews.

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