Yesterday we had four separate Chabad tallis orders on our hands. It got quite confusing:
- a size 70, regular fabric, with cotton lining and no atara
- a size 60, nonslip fabric, silk lining, white atara
- a size 60, regular fabric, cotton lining, no atara
- a size 80, nonslip fabric, silk lining, no atara, techelet tzitzit
We managed to get all the orders sorted out, but afterwards I realized that if I found that a bit confusing, some of our customers may need a bit of help keeping all those options straight. So here’s a bit of Chabad tallis info.
Our regular Chabad Tallis and the Prestige Chabad Tallis are identical, except for the type of weave. The Prestige features a somewhat textured weave to help keep the tallis in place on your shoulders.
The true Lubavitch custom is to attach a silk lining to the tallis, however, since silk is prone to tear over time and because it tends to make the tallit more slippery, many people opt for a cotton lining instead. Likewise, the Lubavitch custom is to have no atara at all (see Chabad Tallis: Why no atara?). However, some people just can’t get used to the idea of a tallit without an atara, so we offer options to sew one on.
The vast majority of Chabad tallis buyers will opt for thick hand-spun tzitzis with Chabad tying. Occasionally we get an order for a Chabad tallis with techelet tzitzis.
And finally, as for the size, Chabad talleisim are generally available only in sizes 60 (M), 70 (L) and 80 (XL). Generally we are able to procure a size 90, but sizes 50 and 55 are not available with all of the Chabad features.
