Nineteenth Century Tallit


Some of our customers looking for just the right tallit want to hearken back to their family roots several generations ago. This week we received the following such inquiry: Could you tell me what kind of Tallit would have been worn in Russia and Eastern Europe in the 1800s? Also, they would not have had...

Nonslip tallit buyers and users guide


Probably the majority of classic wool tallits sold today fall under the rubric of "nonslip." But there's a pseudo-science behind the concept of nonslip, that doesn't begin and end with the tallit fabric alone. We received the following question from a prospective customer this week: Dear Sir,I need a new tallit.  Mine has begun tearing at...

Traditional tallits: What qualifies?


I've often scratched my head wondering exactly which tallits should be categorized as traditional, and which should not. In practice, all of our black-striped, white-on-white, blue-striped, nonslip, chassid and Yemenite tallits are categorized under a parent category called "Classic Tallit." So what does that leave? The only other tallit categories we list are "Modern" and...

Fairtrade Tallit


Okay, I admit it, fair trade is new to me. And I don't really get it. Today I came across hand-woven challah covers on a website called Fair Trade Judaica, and over the years I've come across fair trade tallits and challah covers sold by a Chicago-based distributor called MayaWorks (a few years ago MayaWorks...

Pitum Hak’toret


Many people have a custom to read the Pitum Haketoret passage, hand-written by a scribe in Torah script on leather parchment. According to Seder Hayom, "One who fears for himself and for his soul should put great effort into this matter, namely to write the entire text of the ketoret on kosher parchment in ktav ashurit...