Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Tzitzit with Blue String

A large portion of our customers choose tzitzit with a blue string.
I am Ashkenazi, I would like tzitzit with a blue string on the corners as the Torah commands, along with the white ones. Also, I wear a 1XL shirt. What size do I need?
We offer techelet, i.e. blue tzitzit options on every tallit katan we sell. First you'll need to decide which type of blue tzitzit you intend to order, Ptil Tekhelet or Radzin. We have an introduction to both here.

Then you'll have to decide whether you would like the tallit katan garment to be wool or cotton. You'll see both categories here.
And finally, you choose whether you would like the traditional style or shirt style.
Almost every tallit katan has a different sizing. On each product page, scroll down and you should see detailed sizing information for that specific tallit katan.

And you'll find a lot of other useful resources on the top navigation bar of our webstore.

Go to Tallit Katan/Tzitzit page>>

How to Buy a Chabad Tallit

We recently received the following email inquiry from a customer asking how to buy a Chabad tallit.
I currently live in Western Canada.  I would like to order a Chabad tallit, size 70. Does the tallit come with tzitzit already fastened to the tallit?
Chabad Tallit
Thank you for your inquiry. To order a Chabad tallit go to our Chabad tallit and tzitzit page. The only difference between the two tallitot you'll see there is the type of fabric. One is smooth, and the other is textured. Be sure to try zooming in on all of the images for each to discern the difference.
When you select the size and tzitzit, you will see the price shown changes automatically, based on your selection.
The tzitzit will be tied on, unless you leave a note asking us to just include tzitzit strings for you to tie yourself.

The opposite applies to the atara (neckband). The custom in Chabad is not to have any atara at all. Therefore our Chabad tallits come without an atara. For those who do not strictly to adhere to all Lubavitch traditions, we also enable you to select the atara of your choice from our Atara page.


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Orthodox Tallit or Conservative Tallit?

Choosing and buying a tallit can be a fairly personal decision, so sometimes our customers...get personal.
I'd like some help on choosing a Tallit, as I am a recent convert. Probably traditional, but I need advice about options. On the Orthodox end of Conservative, but attend a Conservative shul. Ashkenazi design, but I could be tempted to something more modern if it includes a depiction of the Montefiore Windmill? Thanks, John W.
In strictly traditional Orthodox Ashkenazi congregations just about everyone wears a black-striped tallit. In a Sephardic congregation a lot of people have a custom to wear a white-striped tallit.

In a Modern Orthodox congregation you see a fair amount of variety. A blue-striped tallit is not going to stand out at all. And sometimes you'll encounter fairly colorful designs.
In a Conservative congregation the tallit designs tend to be -- I guess you'd have to say less conservative -- on the more modern end of the spectrum and some of the congregants will wear the narrow type of tallit (sizes 18, 24 and 36) that does not cover the back.
The closest we could come to the Montefiore Windmill would be this atara (neckband), which we could add to just about any tallit we sell.

Go to Classic Tallits>>
Go to Modern Tallits>>
 

Monday, March 24, 2014

Custom Tallit Bag

I'm often surprised at how few of our customers are willing to pay $30 or $40 for a nice tallit bag, opting instead for a $15 tallit bag. 

Part of the problem is that when looking at photos on a website, even if they are high quality, high resolution images, it's hard to appreciate quality fabric.

An inexpensive tallit bag. Made in China.
Our $15 tallit bags are made in China, using inexpensive velvet. They look fine, they do the job and they generally last well, but when you go up in price you get a lot more tallit bag for your money.

Our Invei HaGefen and Magen David tallit bags, for example, are made by hand in Israel from start to finish, using high quality velvet. (Here in Israel they refer to this type of velvet as ketifah germanit or "German velvet," but I have a feeling there's another term for this in English. I've been trying to figure out the correct translation for about two years now.)

Likewise our tallit bags made by Rikmat Elimelech, Weaving Creation and Kedma also feature high quality materials and unique designs and are made in Israel.

Go to Tallit Bag page>>

Handwoven Tallit: Hand-tied, machine-spun tzitzit

There's a bit of confusion surrounding the term "machine-spun tzitzit." Sometimes I get customers (even seasoned yeshiva students) who want me to assure them the tzitzit are tied by hand. "You mean hand-spun, right?" They may nod, but in their eyes I detect some perplexity. 

This week we received the following email from a woman in New York interested in a handwoven tallit for her son's bar mitzvah.
I need to make sure that the machine spun tzitzit threads are still hand tied...Also, his Bar Mitzvah is May 17. I'd like to make sure it will get here on time. Thank you. Nancy N.
Dear Nancy,
Thank you for your order and congratulations on the upcoming bar mitzvah.
I've asked the weaving studio to try to have it ready by Pesach. I can't guarantee that will happen, but if not there are steps we can take to expedite both the final preparation and the shipping.
Tzitzit strings spun by hand
As for the tzitzit, the truth is there is no such thing as a machine that can tie tzitzit. All tzitzit are hand tied. The question is whether the t'via stage (twining or plying) is done by an automated machine or by a hand-operated machine. (From a halachic perspective this is parallel to the issue of machine matzahs vs. hand matzahs.) Many people are unclear on this point. Tzitzit that are spun by hand are referred to as "hand-spun tzitzit" or "tzitzis avodas yad."

Unlike most of the tallit makers we work with, the handwoven tallit maker you are referring to is run by non-observant management. But from a halachic standpoint, it's fairly hard to render the tzitzit not kosher during the tying process. The halacha states that tzitzit have to be tied by an adult Jew and they must be tied with the intention to do the mitzvah. (They also have to be positioned properly, but obviously that's very easy for us to confirm.) There is also a custom to have them tied by a man, not a woman, but according to all opinions, if the tzitzit are tied by a woman they are kosher.
Many of our customers choose a tzitzit option (e.g. Ptil Tekhelet or handspun or tzitzit or Sephardic tying, etc.) that requires us to retie the tzitzit, so the issue of the tying setup does not apply.
As for those orders for tallits from this particular tallit maker with machine-spun tzitzit and Ashkenazi tying -- which is what comes standard from their weaving studio -- I'm undecided as to whether we should retie the tzitzit. I plan to ask a qualified rav for guidance on this as soon as possible.
You're welcome to ask your own rav, as well, and we will abide by your request if possible.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Chabad Tzitzit on a Cotton or Undershirt-Style Tallit Katan?

We once had a customer who wanted to order our Cotton Comfort and Wool Comfort tallit katan items and asked me if they were available with two holes, but the truth is that none of the tallit katan manufacturers make an undershirt-type tallit katan with Chabad holes (or Chassidic holes). 

There are various levels of adherence to Chabad customs. Strictly speaking, there is only one type of tallit katan for Lubavitch chassidim: wool, round neck, straight bottom hem, silk corners and diagonally aligned holes. Apparently because some people really find it hard to wear wool, there is also a cotton version, but again, people who adhere closely to Chabad customs will stick with wool. 

Also note that we describe the tzitzit tying as "Arizal/Chabad." Chabad holds that there should be two holes in the corner, the Arizal does not. Chabad adopted the Arizal's method of tying tzitzit with chulyot. The holes on the beged and the way the tzitzis are tied are really two separate issues. The concept of two holes is similar to the two horizontally aligned holes you find by other Chassidim, who do not tie in accordance with the Arizal.

We aim to provide talleisim and tzitzis to Jews of every description, therefore we get all sorts of orders: a Yemenite tallit with Ashkenazi tzitzit, a modern tallit with Yemenite tying, etc. We have had at least two customers who repeatedly ordered the Cotton Comfort with Yemenite tzitzit. The Rambam writes that you need a wool garment for tzitzit, so it doesn't make sense for customers to order this, but they do. 

Recently I had a customer who ordered this tallit katan and asked us to make it super long, because he wanted to follow the tradition of the Vilna Gaon to have a tallit katan down to the knees. He ordered niputz lishmah tzitzit on it. And he lives in Singapore. Putting these elements together is very incongruous, but I don't impose my opinion on my customers.

To help make matters clear to Chabad customers, we organized strictly Chabad products in a separate category called "Chabad."

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tefillin: Why are some more expensive than others?

This week we received an inquiry from a grandmother in Georgia trying to buy a good set of tefillin for her almost-13-year-old grandson.
I am in search of Tefillin and was directed to [name of webstore deleted]. I am wondering as to the difference in cost for seemingly the same items. Please advise me by providing a comparison between their basic kosher Tefillin Peshutim and your Tefillin Peshutim if you can. Thanks
"Buying a decent set of tefillin is not easy," I wrote her, "so if you're feeling a bit bewildered, you're not alone."
I get the impression that [the webstore in question] is a reputable dealer, but there is really no useful information on their tefillin product pages.

I cannot tell who makes the tefillin or the size of the boxes. But the truth is, even if that information were listed, it wouldn't help that much. When you buy tefillin, especially in the $200-$400 range, you have to be certain the tefillin you are receiving are really kosher.
 
A lot of small details in the production process can render a set of tefillin not kosher. Probably the main issue is the writing of the parchments inside. 

Just about every tefillin dealer out there will assure you all of the tefillin he sells are "100% kosher." So you have to have confidence in the tefillin dealer you buy from. 

I really can't say why that webstore prices their tefillin peshutim so much higher than our tefillin. It could be that their supplier is located in the U.S. and charges much more than our Israeli supplier. Or it could be that they have a large profit margin on their tefillin. We have a very low profit margin on our tefillin, because we've found that a lot of people buying tefillin online want to spend under $250 for tefillin peshutim and under $450 for tefillin gassot.

In general, you should buy the best tefillin you can afford, because upgrading is not just a matter of aesthetics.

Also, keep in mind that if you expect the recipient to wrap tefillin every day, you should try to buy tefillin gassot. Tefillin peshutim and tefillin dakkot are made of relatively thin leather, so they are prone to damage, and if they do get damaged or lose their shape over time, it's often impossible to fix them.
 
Tefillin gassot, on the other hand, can easily last 20 or 30 years. I bought my last set of tefillin (tefillin gassot) just before my wedding 17 years ago. A year or two I had the straps replaced, and some light reshaping, and they were pretty much as good as new.

Go to tallit, tzitzit and tefillin webstore>>