Sunday, February 16, 2014

Tallit Sizing for Tall Men

We get a lot of inquiries about tallit sizing. We have a tallit size video for bar mitzvah boys, but we really need to put together a tallit size guide for men. For now, we have our Tallit Size Wizard. Today we received an inquiry from Laura, who lives in Los Angeles, and has ordered from our tallit webstore in the past.
Good Morning (or Erev Tov),
I have a question about Tallit Sizes. I am buying for my sons. It will be about a month or so before I can really decide what I want for them and the quality of the product I received from you keeps me shopping with you. 

My son is 6'2. 
The other is 5'9. 

I'd prefer the tallit that drapes over the back. 

Thank you for your time.
Since this question applies to a whole lot of men out there (and kallahs, wives, daughters, etc. trying to figure out how to buy a tallit for a man), I'm posting my reply in full here:
Notice that the tzitzit are hovering just
off the floor. Many men prefer to wear
their tallit a tad shorter than that.
Greetings Laura, we're glad to hear from you again. You mean a tallit that drapes down the back, right?  [See photo to the right.]
Son who is 5'9" - I estimate that a size 60 would come down to the top of his thighs in back. A size 70 would be pretty long, about like the tallit in the attached photo. If he prefers something short and manageble, he could even go with a size 55. A size 55 is four inches shorter than a size 60, and a size 70 is four inches longer.
Son who is 6'2" - Same as the above, but we'll move up a size. Let me copy/paste and edit, to make it easy for you: I estimate that a size 70 would come down to the top of his thighs in back. A size 80 would be long, about like the tallit in the attached photo. If he prefers something short and manageble, he could even go with a size 60. A size 60 is four inches shorter than a size 70, and a size 80 is eight inches longer.
If you go with a size 80, you should probably check with me before you order, because many tallitot are not available in a size 80.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Bnei Ohr Blue

The most popular modern tallits we currently sell are the Bnei Ohr Tallit and the Bnei Ohr Blue Medley Tallit. We just received the following inquiry from a grandmother looking for a bar mitzvah tallit for her grandson.
My grandson loves the B'nei Ohr Blue Medley tallis. His Bar Mitzvah is very soon. Do the sizes listed refer to length or width? Thank you! - Susie
Bnei Ohr Tallit Blue
Bnei Ohr Blue Medley Tallit
I congratulated Susie on the upcoming bar mitzvah and then explained to her that this seemingly simple tallit size question can be a bit confusing, because it depends on how the tallit is worn. 
If the bar mitzvah boy wants a tallit worn on the neck and hanging in front, then a size 24, for example, means it is 24 inches wide and 72 inches long. A size 36 is 36 inches wide and 72 inches long.
But if he plans to wear the bar mitzvah tallit traditional style, draping down the back, that's a different story. Then the size number is an indication of what some people would call the length, not width.
Confused? Take a look at our Tallit Size Wizard.
Also, this bar mitzvah tallit size video is very helpful.

Bnei Ohr Blue Medley Tallit - Details and prices>>