Author: BenG

In most countries we ship to, import taxes is definitely a salient issue for web shoppers. Sometimes customers will send a request, either before or after placing an order, asking us to modify the invoice and the customs declaration affixed to the parcel. 

I know of a tallit seller whose customers are almost all in Europe. He told me he always declares a value under €22, because he “knows that’s what his customers want.” (By the way, those days are now over, because as of 1 Jul. 2021, no shipments to the European Union are exempt from VAT, even if the value is €1.)

Likewise, I know of a tefillin dealer who routinely lists the value at about 30% of the real value. He is also convinced that this is what his customers want and expect.

And indeed they may be right. However, our understanding is that this practice is quite problematic not only from a legal standpoint, but from a halachic standpoint as well.

Recently we received an inquiry from a customer in Belgium. His wife was set to travel from Israel back home to Belgium in a few days, and he asked if we could get tefillin made and shipped to her in Israel before she left the country. We were unable to make that happen, given the short notice. He then asked, if we were to ship the order to Europe, whether it would be possible to declare a low value on the tefillin, given the steep import taxes he would invariably have to pay in Belgium. 

We consulted a prominent rabbi here in Modi’in Illit. The following is a list of issues that applied:

1. Is the customs declaration a problem in terms of מדבר שקר תרחק (i.e. for the sender, not the recipient)?
2. Do we need to be concerned for דינא דמלכותא דינא (i.e. in Belgium)
3. If so, could the tefillin be considered גזול if the full VAT and customs is not paid?
4. Do we need to be concerned regarding חשש חילול השם since occasionally a customs official may go into great detail?

All of the above are serious concerns. The bottom line was that he said he was unaware of a הוראת התר that would resolve all of the above issues. We urged the customer to discuss the above issues with a qualified rabbi in Belgium.

For many years I was content to just stroll into shul and take just about any siddur off the shelf and get started, but over the years it seems I’ve become more and more picky.

At one point I decided to get a pocket weekday siddur. It’s great knowing you’re always prepared, and if you really do keep it in your pocket, it doesn’t make sense to carry around all the extra bulk of a complete siddur, where about half the pages are for prayers that come along once in a blue moon.

Recently a few publishers, such as Miller and Simchonim, came out with a smallish (I wouldn’t call it “pocket size”) soft-leather bound siddur for weekday Shacharit only, which is handy because you always keep it with your tallit and tefillin, and again, it doesn’t take up too much space or add extra weight.

My son really likes having a pocket Shabbos siddur as well.

For many years, I was almost never the Chazan, but when my father passed away I suddenly found myself in the limelight as Chazan all the time. Since I’m not the type who feels especially at ease in front of a crowd, I need to be sure I’m not going to get confused during davening. So I started coming a minute or two earlier and carefully vetting the siddurim available to avoid the possibility of missing or torn pages, as well as siddurim that can leave room for confusion, such as those which combine Minchah and Maariv on the same page, which means you have to look a bit more carefully after Shmoneh Esreh to make sure you’re saying the right Kaddish, etc.

After a few days of siddur selection, I decided it makes sense to buy a siddur that I like, so that the tefillah flows easily, without having to engage in technical tasks as I recite the prayers. And since I’m often the Chazan, it’s important that the print is very clear and plenty large.

But it also occurred to me that making the tefillah flow easily, without having to look around the page, is beneficial even to those who do not step forward as Shaliach Tzibbur, but simply want to be focused on their davening. 

Buy Siddur

Today was the big day of my semi-annual laundering of my wool tallit katan. As a preface, let me make it clear that I am writing this neither as a tzitzit professional per-se, nor as a launderer, but rather just as a fellow wool tallit katan wearer.

It’s probably been several months since my tallit katan was last washed, but it had no smell at all – one of the advantages of wool. I removed the tzitzit and washed it by hand, the same way you wash any wool garment. I’ve often seen wool tallit katans that have a very different look because they were put in the washing machine. The fabric is altered and the fringes (assuming it has fringes) get balled up. I used to try to get my wife to hand wash my tzitzit, but eventually I realized she was really not up to it, so I learned to do it myself. 

It’s now hanging up outside to dry, and tomorrow (if I get around to it) I’ll tie on new tzitzit strings, and it’ll be good as new. If your tzitzit strings are not too frayed or dingy, it should be no problem just leaving them on when you handwash, but you need to make sure they don’t get too tangled up, and I wouldn’t leave is soaking for long.

I have two wool tallit katans, one for Shabbos and one for the weekdays. This one was the shabbier of the two, so it was for weekday use, but with the new tzitzit it will surpass my Shabbos one, which will be downgraded to weekday wear.

I wear wool in warm weather, but I also have some cotton tallit katans that I wear when it gets blazing hot. The laundering process is a bit different with those.

Many customers are hesitant, for a variety of reasons, to stretch their budget to buy good quality tefillin gassot. Here’s an inquiry we received recently.

My daughter married a Goy, so I, the Jewish grandfather, am the male voice of Judaism for my grandson. My daughter has kept Shabbat in the home.I am Orthodox but unfortunately Hashem has not blessed me with great wealth. His Bar Mitzvah is coming up soon. I would love to get him your Tefillin Gassot, but can only afford $500 American dollars. Do you think you could see your way to selling me these Tefillin? You should both have much Nachas in your lives and good health.    Sincerely Ron S.

Here’s our reply to Ron:

Thank you for your inquiry and congratulations on the upcoming bar mitzvah. I understand your sentiments, but we cannot afford to discount tefillin at all. We work very hard to provide top value for tefillin by carefully vetting our suppliers, and we’re aware that very few people who buy tefillin online are willing to pay $1,000. So we set the pricing as low as we can. I’m convinced, based on my years of experience selling online, that Tefillin Gassot you may find online for $500 to $600 can be quite problematic.

In general, we recommend that our customers opt for Gassot rather than Peshutim, even if it means stretching their budget. However, in your case, Peshutim may be the way to go. Most sellers put lower quality parchments in their Peshutim, but we don’t. To maintain acceptable levels of quality, we use the same parchments in the Peshutim that we put in the Gassot.

About once a month we get an inquiry from someone looking for a lightweight tallit (and sometimes for a heavy tallit). Here’s an example:

Advise please: Tallit. Prefer less fabric as in a 36″ width because I have thin shoulders, humid climate in New Zealand. Prefer lighter physical weight, less formal. I do love your Tashbetz Black-Striped Nonslip Tallit because it’s non-slip, elegant and non-yellow (whiter color) but concerned about the heavy drape of fabric.
Thanks, Clive

I’ve never understood this so well. Places with a hot climate typically blast the air conditioner all summer, to the point where some people bring a sweater to shul.

For a few years I davened Shacharis in a an early-morning minyan where the gabbaim didn’t set the air conditioner to come on, because they figured it couldn’t be too warm at 6:00 am. Well, it was. I suffered throughout the summer and dreaded pulling my Tallit over my head. So I “bought” (from myself) a Prima Lite tallit, which is marketed outside of Israel under the name Feather Lite Edition Tallit.

I was quite happy with (still have it, in fact) because the lightweight fabric really was cooler in the heat. It also does a good job of staying in place on my shoulders since the thin material contours well. And finally, I liked how it folds up very compactly.

The most popular tallit in the Mishkan Hatchelet product line is what we call Hamefoar, which is marketed in Israel under the name המפואר קל. The “Kal” in the name means lightweight. But probably it’s popularity comes primarily from the textured fabric designed to minimize slipping.

Medium weight tallit

Which tallits are considered medium weight? I’d say the Prima, Keter, Tashbetz and all of the standard wool tallits. So are the Chabad and Yemenite tallits. 

Heavy weight tallit

A customer recently wrote to us: “As I live in a rather cold country I’m looking for a woolen tallit, preferably heavy and durable quality.” The talleisim that immediately come to mind are the Echt Turkish (aka Tunis), the Kmo Turkish and Hamefoar Prestige.

Echt Turkish – extra heavy, fabric is about 20%-30% heavier than standard tallit + lining adds a bit of weight
Hamefoar Prestige – slightly heavier than standard tallit + lining adds a bit of weight
Kmo Turkish – also slightly heavier than standard tallit + lining adds a bit of weight; smooth weave instead of slightly textured weave of Hamefoar Prestige

I have a hunch the man in the photo below, taken at the Kotel at dawn on 6 Adar 5781 (18 Feb. 2018), would also appreciate having a thick tallit in his wardrobe.

Baruch Sterman and Judy Taubes Sterman of the Ptil Tekhelet Association just published a fascinating article in Traditional on new archaelogical discoveries related to Murex trunculus. The article discusses a recent dig in Timna Valley (known as the site of King Solomon’s Pillars) under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority aimed at gleaning insights into ancient dyeing technologies. The finds include the oldest known dyed textiles from the Southern Levant.

Archeological finds of dyed textiles are rare, the Stermans note, and those from the Timna Valley find are now the oldest known Murex-dyed fabrics in the region, enduring three millenia in part due to the arid climate.

According to the Gemara, once the dyeing is finished and the color set, tekhelet will not change or fade. The Rambam’s remarks that it is “steadfast in its beauty and will never alter” (Hilkhot Tzitzit 2:1), are certainly attested to by the rich hue seen in these newly rediscovered, 3,000 year-old samples.

The Sterman essay explains that the Jewish approach to various esteemed “high fashion” clothing items in the ancient world, differed somewhat from their non-Jewish contemporaries.

While in Rome the blue and purple clothes became a way to exclude the commoner from elite society, the Torah calls upon the entire community to step up and join the religious aristocracy. The Kohen Gadol in the Beit HaMikdash dressed in a robe of pure, striking blue, the lay priest in an all blue sash, and each individual is told to attach one thread of tekhelet to the corners of his own garment, so that the Jewish people literally become “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Shemos 19:6). 

The tzitzit, Professor Jacob Milgrom suggests, illustrate “the epitome of the democratic thrust within Judaism which equalizes not by leveling but by elevating: all of Israel is enjoined to become a nation of priests.”

Though purple was prized above all other colors by the ancient cultures surrounding Israel, the Jews esteemed the sky blue tekhelet as the most cherished and holiest of all colored fabrics. Purple, though beautiful, is raw and earthy, but tekhelet, like the deep, fathomless ocean, and the vast, soaring sky, reaches out to infinity. “Why is tekhelet singled out from all the colors?” Rabbi Meir asks, “Because tekhelet is similar to the sea, and the sea is similar to the sky, and the sky is similar to the Holy Throne” (Sota 17a). 

Along the same lines, though from an entirely different milieu, the great Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky, who had the fascinating neurological condition known as synesthesia, where he experienced color not only visually but also audially, writes, “The deeper the blue, the more it beckons man into the infinite, arousing a longing for purity and the supersensuous. It is the color of the heavens just as we imagine it.” 

Gazing upon the color of tekhelet – as the Torah enjoins us to do with the tzitzit strings, “and you shall look at it” (Bamidbar 15:39) – inspires us to lofty, transcendent contemplation.

To read the entire article, click here>>