November 2010 – Ben's Tallit Shop

Tallit Gadol Buyers Guide

People often feel a special attachment to their tallit gadol, as indeed they should, since it is a garment used to carry out the mitzvah of tzitzit and to create a personal “space” for prayer. Color is a matter of taste, therefore in many cases it may be the most important factor in shopping...

Seeing Tzitzit

The Torah clearly instructs us to see the tzitzit in order to recall all of the mitzvahs and to avoid straying off the correct path. Make Tzitzit for All Generations "God spoke to Moses, telling him to speak to the Israelites and have them make tzitzit on the corners of their garments for all ...

Tzitzit Tucked In or Showing?

Although some Jews have a custom to wear their tzitzit tucked in to their pants, the origins of that custom remain somewhat obscure. The mitzvah is to see them and keep all of the mitzvahs in mind. Tzitzit Tucked in or Showing? Rabbi Eli Mansour notes that twice in his presentation of the laws of tzitzit...

Tefillin Buyers Guide

What's inside the boxes? The box of the head tefillin (tefillin shel rosh) has four separated compartments, each with a specially prepared parchment or vellum (known as klaf) on which a different passage from the Torah is written? The arm tefillin (tefillin shel yad) has one single compartment containing a parchment with verses. How are the...

Mezuza Q&A

Does a mezuza have to contain a parchment handwritten by a scribe, or is a printed scroll also acceptable? A printed scroll, in this case, is hardly worth the paper it's written on! A mezuza definitely must be written on specially prepared parchment by a trained scribe. For a fuller answer, see "The Inside Story." Is...