April 2012 – Ben's Tallit Shop

What are the letters on the tallit neckband?

I get this question a lot. Often people ask me, "What is the prayer on the tallit collar?" (The correct term for the neckband on the tallit is "atara.") First of all, it's actually not a prayer, but the blessing recited just before putting the tallit on. And the blessing doesn't mention the word "tallit,"...

Custom Embroidery on Atara

Our classic wool tallits are not handmade, but we can make various modifications. For instance, last week a customer ordered a tallit that comes with a plain atara (neckband) and he asked us to put on an atara with the Tzitzit Brachah embroidered on it. And this week another customer wanted his name embroidered...

Radzyn Techelet

For those of you who would like detailed information on Radzin techelet tzitzit from a Chassidic – primarily Breslov – angle, I recommend the link at the bottom of this page, including the comments, which also offer a wealth of information. I also recently came across a question to a Modern Orthodox rabbi posed by...

The Original Yemenite Black Tallit

A black tallit was often worn by Yemenite Jews, particularly in central Yemen. According to Tamir Ratzon, a black tallit was commonly worn in Talmudic times. He cites Shabbat 147a, which discusses shaking a new black tallit on Shabbos. However, if I'm not mistaken, the word tallit in the Gemara is often a generic word...