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Entries by Ben

A Tallit in Auschwitz

Rabbi Tzvi Meisels is widely known in Chicago for his efforts to reestablish the Orthodox community on the West Side, and later in Albany Park, based on the model of Eastern Europe’s pre-World War II communities. Yet his extraordinary efforts to uphold Judaism began long before on the other side of the Atlantic – and...

Tzitzit Tying for Beginners

Although most people prefer to buy a tallit with the tzitzit already tied, some people prefer tying tzitzit themselves. This inclination should not be seen as a caprice, but as a valid inclination, especially since the Talmud states that performing a mitzvah yourself is better than having someone carry it out for you. Tying tzitzit...

The Wall is Wailing

by Rabbi Avi Shafran Neither facts nor logic have impeded champions of Nofrat Frenkel, the woman briefly detained by police at the Western Wall in November 2009. Needless to say, Ms. Frenkel's charge that she was unnecessarily manhandled by police should be responsibly investigated. Even a violator of the law has the right to be detained...

Phylacteries in Philly

Who can forget when a US Airways commuter flight made an emergency landing (January 2010) after a crew panicked at the sight of a 17-year-old laying tefillin? The young man and his sister were headed for a four-day visit with their grandmother, but instead were greeted in the City of Brotherly Love by bomb-sniffing dogs,...

Tallit: Beyond the Here and Now

A tallit (also called "tallis" or "tallis gadol") is a prayer shawl traditionally made of wool. Its most significant feature is the tzitzit (knotted tassels) attached to each of the four corners (Numbers 15:38) to remind us that those things which exist beyond the ken of what is visible and present...

Tefillin: Mind, Heart and Soul

Tefillin, also known as phylacteries, are passages from the Torah written on parchments and placed in leather battim (receptacles or “houses”), with leather straps attached. These straps are used to bind the battim on the arm and head. A Bond Between You and the Torah The source of the commandment of tefillin...

The Inside Story

A mezuzah is a public declaration of Jewish identity and faith – both inside and out. In brief, a mezuzah consists of two brief passages from the Torah written by hand on a piece of parchment. The mezuzah parchment is then rolled into a scroll, wrapped in paper or plastic, inserted into a case and...

The Blazing Mezuzah

by Brian Silvey In the midst of a fraternity party, my Jewish spark was unexpectedly ignited. The Hebrew school I attended taught me how to read Hebrew, to say Shema, and that a mezuzah is placed on the doorways of Jewish homes. I remember one Hebrew school project when I made a mezuzah by writing the...