Ben – Page 7 – Ben's Tallit Shop

Tallit Shops in Tel Aviv

We frequently receive inquiries from people who are impressed with our web store and want to drop by when they come for a visit to Israel, thinking we have a brick-and-mortar shop somewhere in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. But the truth is we are located off the beaten path in Modi'in Illit, which is a 45-minute drive from Tel Aviv, and we are...

Tzitzit as an emblem for the servant to remember his Master

Hashem commanded Bnei Yisrael to tie tzitzit to the corners of their four-cornered garments as a reminder to fulfill the mitzvos and not stray after the desires of their hearts and eyes. The mitzvah consists of a tassel — a group of threads known collectively as “tzitzit” — to four corners of any garment that...

Do you need a second tallis for Shabbos?

You have a decent tallis you wear seven days a week. It's not old or schmutzy. Should you still try to buy a tallis just for Shabbos? In a word, yes. Let's start with the verse in Yeshayahu (58:13): אם תשיב משבת רגלך עשות חפצך ביום קדשי וקראת לשבת ענג לקדוש ה' מכבד וכבדתו מעשות דרכיך...

Tallit & tefillin bags: Can you manage without the vinyl covers?

If you are shopping for tallis and tefillin bags, take a look here. This post is not about the bags themselves, but how to use them. Personally, I prefer keeping my tallit and tefillin bags sans plastic. To explain why, first I have to take you back nearly 40 years to my aunt's living room...

Mezuzah scroll: The bigger the better?

Mezuzah scrolls come in standard sizes. It used to be that the most common size was 10 cm and some people who wanted a bigger mezuzah bought a 12-cm scroll. But in recent years sizes went up a notch: 12 cm is very common and those who want bigger move up to 15 cm. World's...

Which is more important: tallis or tefillin?

Toward the very beginning of the Gemara is a well-known breisa: אמר רבי יוחנן הרוצה לקבל עליו עול מלכות שמים שלימה יפנה ויטול ידיו ויניח תפילין ויתפלל Translation: "R' Yochanan said one who seeks to accept upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven in a complete manner should empty his bowels, do the...

Cotton Tallit

This week we had a customer who had decided to go with a hand-woven Gabrieli tallit, but kept debating between cotton and wool. At first she ordered it in wool, but then had second thoughts: I have a question about wool vs. cotton. I saw a tallit today in our synagogue gift shop and it was...

Can blue tzitzit strings be used as a charm?

Sometimes you run across odd uses for tzitzit strings. This week we received an inquiry from a young woman from Germany, suffering from an ailment and hoping that blue tzitzit strings (techelet) have curative powers. Shalom. One quick question: I am girl. Can I put tzitzit blue to my neck pendant with Hebrew letter chai?...

Tallit Comparison: Lightweight, medium weight and heavy

We often get customers looking for a tallit with a certain weight or thickness. Many are shopping for a lightweight tallit, explaining that they live in Florida or Arizona and don't want to be sweating away in shul. (I always thought the hotter the climate, the better the air conditioning, but I could be wrong.) Others...

Why a tallit slips or stays put

A significant number of our customers are looking for a "nonslip" tallit. Here's a recent inquiry: Please help, my Tallis keeps slipping. I have bought some non-slip fabric, are you aware of any halachic impediments to sewing in to the inside? - Motty Motty certainly has an interesting idea. I can't think of any halachic problems...

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