Entries by Ben
‘I will not stop wearing my yarmulke or my tzitzits’
The following is an excerpt from an inspiring letter by a student at the University of Virginia to Dean Allen Groves:
Despite the insistence of many, anti-Semitism is not a relic of the past. Of this I am sure. Yet, to find it expressed so unabashedly at the university founded by Thomas Jefferson, author of...
Gathering Information on Techelet
Mishmar Hamesora has announced it is compilation information in Hebrew to be used by rabbis in providing halachic guidance regarding the use of techelet tzitzits. The organization, which is based in Tifrach, Israel, has issued a call for material, both in favor and against, placing an emphasis on opinions set forth by leading halacha...
Dyeing to Be Holy: Techelet Marine Expedition
by Nathan Jeffay
Dor Beach — Bathers on a northern Israel beach witnessed a strange spectacle in late September, when a group of Orthodox Jews arrived, discussed a number of Talmudic passages, and waded into the water, wearing snorkels, to unravel a biblical mystery.
As well as demanding that “the Children of Israel make tzitzit on...
Tefillin and 9/11
The Color Techelet
by Jonah Mandel
The Jerusalem Post
Not quite azure, more of a midnight blue. That is apparently the actual color of the biblical techelet, according to Prof. Zvi Koren, who spoke this week at the Shenkar College’s International Edelstein Color Symposium.
Techelet: Color of a Clear Blue Sky
Techelet is the color that was used to dye the...
Tying Tzitzits at Night
by Rabbi Ari Enkin
Although many things can be done by machine, tying tzitzit strings is still not one of them. In order to render a tallit usable, the tzitzit strings must be hand tied by a God-fearing individual. What is amusing, however, is the largely mistaken belief that it is forbidden to tie the...
Sudilkov: The Tallis Shtetl
Sudilkov, a small town in Ukraine, is reportedly the shtetl Stephen Spielberg's family hail from. It has a history of Jewish settlement reaching back to the 17th century, but today there are no Jews there and almost no trace of the Jewish presence remains.
The Jews of Sudilkov were renown for the tallits they made.
"Talleisim...
The History of the Chabad Tallit
During a visit to Eretz Yisrael, the previous Chabad Rebbe came across a striping pattern in which the second stripe was wider, rather than the third stripe as in typical talleisim. He liked the pattern, bought the tallit and gradually many Lubavitch Chassidim followed suit and this design came to be known as the...
B’nei Or Tallis: From 1950s Vision to Modern Reality
Interview by Rabbi Yonassan Gershom
Over the years, I have met many Jews who bought a B'nei Or tallis simply because it is beautiful, without realizing that there is a 'legend in the making" behind this robe of rainbow light.
The story of the Bnei Or Tallit
The story begins many years ago, when Reb Zalman was...