Ben – Page 18 – Ben's Tallit Shop

How much does a Megilas Esther cost?

This post is way off the topic of our tallit, tzitzit and tefillin blog, but I thought I'd write up a short informational post as a public service at this time of year. Have you been toying with the idea of buying a Megillas Esther for years and want to know how much it...

Ptil Tekhelet Tzitzit: Sephardic Tying

A fairly significant number of our tallit and tallit katan customers who select Ptil Tekhelet tzitzit want us to tie them according to the Sephardic custom. For example, this week we received the following inquiry from a prospective techelet buyer in the US: I am looking at new Tallit Gadol. In the past I have...

Nonslip Tallit: Comparing the Options

Recently we had a customer from Vancouver who ordered a Tashbetz Tallit with Ptil Tekhelet tzitzit. He was quite pleased with it, and decided to buy another tallit. I love the white-on-white Tashbetz Tallis and the Rambam techelet tzizit, thank you! It's a long story, but now I'm interested in buying a traditional black-striped non-slip tallis...

Techelet Debate: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan chimes in 3 decades ago

When it comes to the raging debate over whether Murex trunculus is the real techelet mentioned in the Torah, it's hard to find someone who is really objective on the issue. Many people, including some rabbanim, seem to have made up their minds for the most part, before they start "investigating" the matter. For example,...

Why are tefillin called “tefillin”?

At the end of Parshas Bo, the Torah mentions tefillin twice. The first time the Torah commands us: והיה לך לאות על-ידך ולזכרון בין עיניך Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan zt"l translates this verse, " must also be a sign on your arm and a reminder in the center of your head" (Shemos 13:9). A few verses later, the...

Tekhelet Research Conference in Jerusalem

Some 350 participants and 20 speakers are expected to take part in an international conference on techelet research on December 30 at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. Rabbi Yitzchak Halevi Herzog The conference was initiated to mark the centennial of the late Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Halevi Herzog's ground-breaking doctoral dissertation, "The Dyeing...

Bar Mitzvah Sets

To tell you the truth, we avoid using the term bar mitzvah set because it can mean different things to different people. Often a bar mitzvah set consists of a tallit, matching bag and matching kippah. In other cases a bar mitzvah set revolves around a set of tefillin and often includes a siddur...

Maaseh Oreg: Spectacular handwoven tallit at an affordable price

Maaseh Oreg has been weaving fantastic tallits for many years, but is not widely known. The work is done on handlooms in a small Negev community, but you may have passed by their shop in the Old City, just off the Cardo. Although the designs are not as eye-catching at those by other handwoven...

Quality Tefillin

It's quite common for people to dig out a set of tefillin abandoned in a closet for years, have it checked and get back a report that the tefillin are not kosher. Recently a customer who bought a tallit from me consulted me on his tefillin problem: Shalom. Well, I just heard back from the...

Beginner’s Tefillin: Tips for First-Time Buyers

Often our tefillin customers are buying tefillin for their first time. For example, this week we received the following inquiry from a young Britain named Jacob: I am looking at buying my first pair of Tefillin. At my Synagogue congregants don't use them. Well, actually some do, but it's not the done thing. What type...

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