Tallit Bag

A tallit bag is an ideal choice as a bar mitzvah gift and makes a great birthday gift for a husband who already has a nice tallit he’s attached to, but keeps it in an old or mediocre tallis bag – or none at all.

Tallit Bag with Custom Name Embroidery

If you plan to add name embroidery, a tallis bag without the word טלית (“tallit”) looks nicer in my opinion. Often a tallis bag is not sold alone, but as a tallis and tefillin bag set, which is why they are marked with the words “Tallit” and “Tefillin” respectively. In fact, sometimes custom name embroidery will clash a bit with with the existing embroidery because the thread may be a slightly different color or because more lettering doesn’t fit nicely on the tallis pouch.

If you’re shopping for a bar mitzvah gift, a tallit bag (or a tallit bag and tefillin bag set) adds a personal touch the bar mitzvah boy will remember for years to come. But be sure you ask the parents what the bar mitzvah tallit looks like to ensure you buy a tallit pouch that matches well.

Some people want to have a name embroidered on the talit itself, but the truth is there’s really no good place to embroider a name. Still, if a customer insists, I can have initials embroidered on the corner of the talit. This costs a few dollars more because the embroidery it will show up in backwards writing on the reverse side of the corner, so I have the embroiderer I work with unsew the square of cloth on the corner, do the embroidery work and then sew it back on so that it doesn’t show through on the back side.

Velvet Tallit Bag: Made in Israel…Or Made in China?

Inexpensive Tallit Bag
Made in China
Jerusalem Tallit Bag
Made in Israel

A basic tallit bag typically costs $10-$20 plus an 30% or so if you add a matching tefillin bag. This type of tallit pouch is invariably made in China. The quality of the velvet and the embroidery work is not great, but often they look quite nice and can last for years. A nicer tallit and tefillin bag set or a leather tallit bag will cost up to $50 or more, and a handwoven tallit bag or a tallit bag made of top quality velvet and superb embroidery work can cost up to $100.