The Atarah
The Jews do not believe in making their Rabbi bless their belongings, even if these belongings are used for religious practices. This is a far cry from the practice of a number of religions, even those similar to Judaism. However, they still believe in blessing some of the religious tools and ornaments as a sign if respect for God. This is why the Jews recite a prayer or a blessing before they wear the tallis, the Jewish prayer shawl that they wear during the morning prayer and during Sabbath. The Jews take this blessing very seriously, as they recite the prayer or blessing the moment the talit is removed from the body, even accidentally.
This is where the importance of the atarah lies. The atarah is a part of the tallis that people know today. The atarah is the neckband that can be found in most tallits today. The atarah on the talit is a ribbon woven with spania (or silver/gold threads), around 24 inches long and about two to six inches in width. The atarah is sewn on the side nearest to where the head is when the tallis is worn. Embroidered in the atarah is a prayer or a blessing recited before wearing the tallit.
But the atarah is not part of the original design of the tallit; hence, not all tallits have the atarah. This is because the earlier tallits are in the form of an undergarment, called the tallit katan. A blessing is said before wearing this type of tallit, but it has no have the atarah. The atarah was only included in the design when the tallit’s style shifted from undergarment to a shawl-type piece of clothing.
Still, the atarah on the talit today is given very huge significance in the practice of wearing the prayer shawl. For one, it has the sacred blessing that should be recited before using the tallit. During the recitation of the blessing before the morning prayer, the wearer of the talit kisses the last word of the said blessing embroidered on the atarah. The wearer then kisses the beginning word of the blessing embroidered on the atarah. This gesture demonstrates the importance of the atarah and the blessing embroidered on it. Add this to the fact that the atarah is removed when the tallit or tallis is used on the dead individual during burials.
Many say that the atarah is not exactly an important part of the tallit or the prayer shawl. This criticism stems from the fact that the tallit itself is not really significant in the practice (at least according to others), since it is the tzitzit that the mitzvah requires Jews to wear and not the tallit. And unlike the tzitzit, the atarah has no symbolism; it does not represent anything in the Jewish faith (on the other hand, every part of the tzitzit has a meaning based on Jewish belief and traditions). But many Jews still use the atarah on their tallis to compliment the spiritual purpose of the tallit.
