Ben – Page 29 – Ben's Tallit Shop

Kosher tefillin you can believe in

Soon after I started selling inexpensive tefillin peshutim, I stopped for a period of six months. I live in an area with a very large number of top sofrim and high-end tefillin makers (i.e. the kind of tefillin that will run you at least $1,100 if you live in the neighborhood, and a lot...

Mezuzah Scroll – Surrounded with mitzvahs

Why did I decide to sell mezuzah scrolls on a tallit and tefillin website? I was inspired by a shtikel Gemara (a passage in the Talmud) that reads as follows: "The Jewish people are cherished, for the Holy One has surrounded them with mitzvahs – tefillin on their heads and tefillin on their arms...

Sports Strings Tzitzit

Tamir Goodman, who Sports Illustrated once called "the Jewish Jordan," has launched an athletic tzitzit shirt called Sport Strings, which he describes as "revolutionary." Goodman, who retired from basketball in 2009 following injuries and now spends his time in business and Jewish activism, announced the "Sport Strings Tzitzit" at the OK Kosher Certification's 13th annual...

Made in Israel – or Not?

All of the products we sell are made in Israel – with one exception. Our standard velvet tallit bags. A few weeks ago I spoke with a distributor from one of Israel's leading Judaica companies. I asked him why almost all tallit bags are sold with a tefillin bag as well. After all, there are...

Tefillin Buyers Guide

What's inside the boxes? The box of the head tefillin (tefillin shel rosh) has four separated compartments, each with a specially prepared parchment or vellum (known as klaf) on which a different passage from the Torah is written? The arm tefillin (tefillin shel yad) has one single compartment containing a parchment with verses. How are the...

Tefillin – Know what’s inside

I just lost a sale, but I'm glad. A family in Washington D.C. wanted to buy a tallit, a set of bar mitzvah tefillin and a set of tallit and tefillin bags for their son, whose bar mitzvah is coming up soon. I referred them to my tefillin page, which explains at length why I...

The Chabad Tallis…at Hadassah Medical Center

I forgot to take my tallis with me. In fact, I forgot to take a lot of things – but that's what happens when your nine-year-old comes into the house 15 minutes before Shabbos, bleeding all over the floor with a big gash gaping open on his forehead. In fact, I'm thankful Hashem gave me...

Ramban on Tefillin

The Ramban (1194-1270) wrote a fabulous book on Jewish thought. I think it's relatively obscure, but it's one of my all-time favorites. Referred to as "Derashah" or "Drashas HaRamban," the book was originally just that: an extended sermon given before the King of Castile. This work is written in a style similar to Moreh Nevuchim...

Tzitzit tying customs: The basics

What is the most important part of a tallit? The tzitzit, of course, which are really the tallit's raison d'être. Without the tzitzit the tallit would be just a nice wool shawl for men. Yet some people don't think twice about the tzitzit when buying a tallit. Whether you plan to tie the tzitzit yourself...

Chabad Tallis: Why no atara?

Almost all tallits come with an atara (neckband), which can vary from plain white with a very subtle leaf motif to very ornate with vibrant colors. But there are two notable exceptions: the Turkish tallit and the Chabad tallis. The custom of adding an atara originated to ensure that the tallit was worn the same...

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