Author: BenG

This week we got an inquiry from someone in Florida who wanted to place a large tallit katan order, with Ptil Tekhelet tzitzit on twelve tallit katans.

I am hoping to order PerfTzit style tallitot katanot for one adult and two youths. I want to put techeilet from Ptil Tekhelet on them. Can I order those from you? What is the most economical way to accomplish this? Who does the actual tying and what are their qualifications?

I’m posted my reply to him here, because I think other visitors might find it useful.

The children’s sizes are shown here.

You will save a considerable amount of money if you choose the “machine-spun” or “I don’t need tzitzit” options and then go here and add four sets of thick and eight sets of thin.

Toward the end of the checkout process you’ll come across a comments field. Write a note saying all of the tzitzit should be tied according to the Gra.

Our in-house tzitzit tie-er is a full-time Talmudic scholar (i.e. kollel man) who ties during his afternoon break and in the evening. His father was a tzitzit dealer so he had experience before he started working for us, and I taught him a few new things that I am nit-picky about (e.g. how close to the beged to make the first knot). His knowledge of tzitzit halacha is quite solid and his tying is superb. I’ve worked with a lot of professional tzitzit tie-ers and his work is definitely the best I’ve seen. He doesn’t do any trimming with metal (we have a pair of zirconium oxide scissors, and he now has a pair of his own at home, as well).

Sometimes wives dread the task of shopping for clothes for their husbands. “If he doesn’t know how to buy himself clothes, how am I supposed to know?”

But on the other hand if the husband just won’t go out and buy clothes there may be no alternative.

Sometimes a wife (or wife-to-be) wants to go out and buy her husband a new tallis, but doesn’t know the ins and outs.

This week we got an inquiry from a wife who had a number of astute questions. Since others may have similar tallit questions, we’re posting our answers here:

Why would someone wear 3/4 length tallit vs. full length?
Let me give you a real-life example. I’m 5’7″ and I wear a size 60. It drapes down in back on me to mid-thigh. That’s how most people like it. But some people think really long looks really elegant, so they go up a size. If I went up a size to a size 70, the tips of the tzitzit would be hovering just above the floor and I’d spend a lot of time adjusting the tallit on my shoulders.
I could also opt to go down a size to a size 55, which would hang down four inches less, to about the top of my thighs. I wouldn’t do that because I think it looks a bit skimpy, but some people have different aesthetics and want the advantage of a very manageable tallit. In fact, sometimes you even see people who wear a tallit that barely reaches their belt.

What kind of tzitzit do most people do?
Most people order thick all-white tzitzit and have them tied according to the Ashkenazi custom because, well, they’re Ashkenazi. In recent years some people have started using Ptil Tekhelet. That’s a very complicated subject and I cannot elucidate here. If you think it’s relevant, you might want to refer to our tzitzit wizard.

He likes the Yemenite Tallit. When it comes to fringes, what is the difference between netted and not netted? Is it just looks, or another significance?

Most tallits have a single row of fringes. Chassidic and Yemenite tallits often have double-knotted fringes. Some Yemenites have a custom of doing several rows of knots, which are normally referred to as “netted fringes.” If you are Yemenite, you might have a family tradition regarding the fringes. If not, it’s a matter of aesthetics. Why do the netted fringes add to the price? Because they are knotted by hand. It takes time and expertise.

What are tallit clips for?

Depending on various factors (e.g. what you wear, your build, the size of your tallit, the fabric) keeping the tallit propped up on your shoulders can be work. Using a clip in front can help. It’s a personal thing. Some people wouldn’t be caught dead with a clip, others might feel it’s a necessity. Often you see them on the shamash of the synagogue, who is busy, busy, busy, or on bar mitzvah boys, because it adds flair.

One of our return customers contacted me this week with a question on top-notch talleisim. He’s debating between the Echt Turkish and Hamefoar Prestige.

I read a few of the articles on your various talleisim offered and I’ve narrowed it down to the Echt Turkish and the Hamefoar Prestige. Just a few questions: Are they made by the same manufacturer, and how does the Echt Turkish stack up against the Hamefoar Prestige in terms of quality and the weave? I’m sure both are high end, but which would you give the edge to? Thanks, Gamliel

Gamliel asked some incisive questions here. Both the Echt Turkish and Hamefoar Prestige are made by Talitania. Mishkan Hatchelet stopped making the Echt Turkish at least a year ago (although they still have some size 60 and 80 in stock).

I don’t think you can really compare the Echt Turkish with Hamefoar Prestige, because the weave is quite different. The Echt Turkish is smooth and a bit stiff — the kind of tallis you really feel there on your shoulders — while Hamefoar is textured and supple.

With a lot of talleisim many dealers agree that Mishkan Hatchelet has an edge over Talitania in terms of quality, but there are a few talleisim where I’ve found Talitania makes a superior product.

Mishkan Hatchelet doesn’t have a real top-end tallis, which I find quite surprising. Their Pe’er Kal (which we market as Hamefoar) is quite nice and is definitely better than the Malchut (Talitania’s answer to Pe’er Kal; we sell only the white version). But I noticed that the finishing work at edge of the black striping could be a bit nicer. 

Also, I’ve always liked how the side bands on Hamefoar Prestige are made of the same fabric as the tallis, not the synthetic stripes that have always been used for tallis side bands in the past.

We get a lot of orders for Gabrieli tallits, which are quite unique, and some of our customers aren’t 100% what they are getting. This week we received an inquiry from a customer in Phoenix, Arizona looking for a royal blue Gabrieli tallit. He had a lot of good questions, so I’m going to share the questions and my answers, which may be helpful for other Gabrieli tallit buyers.

I am looking at the Royal Blue with Gray in Silk Gabrieli Tallit and have a number of questions. I am a Reform Jew so some of the specifications are a bit foreign to me:

1. I am 5’6″ and would like to go to the traditional fit as opposed to the shawl approach. Is the 50×80 the right size. I would think that the 20×80 might be too small?
2. I can include the Kippah if I want, but is a bag also included or is that extra and if it is extra how much and will it match?
3. Since this is woven silk, can clips be used or would it tear the fabric?
4. I am not sure what it is called, but frequently on the front border of the tallit there is a strip with the prayer for wearing the tallit on it. Is there anything on this Tallit?
5. The Ptil Tekhelet seems to be the way to go–but not sure if thin or thick would work best. What do you recommend? Do most people get the thick or the thin?
6. Of the choice for tying method, I never paid attention what was used on the shawl one I bought many years ago in Israel, but I am studying Mussar so the Vilna Gaon sounds like something I would want. You do attach these to the Tallit, though right?
7. Last but not least, if this has to be cleaned since it is silk, can it (should it) be dry cleaned?

Sorry for bothering you with so many question, but have not had the traditional style tallit before but would like to go to out. I saw this Gabrieli silk tallit on your website and thought it was really beautiful.

Thanks, Stephen

Stephen asked several incisive questions. Here’s what I wrote to him.

1) The first number (20″ or 50″) indicates the height of the tallit. If it’s less than about 40″ it’s not meant to be worn traditional style, draping down the back. The 50″ x 80″ should fit just fine.

2) The matching bag is included free.

3) I think clips would work fine. It’s not a thin silk, which really would be delicate, and it’s actually half cotton. They lay a cotton warp, and weave the woof in silk.

4) That’s called an atara. On Gabrieli tallits they make the atara (and corner patches) with the same striping pattern as the tallit. Sometimes we get customers who really want the blessing on the atara for some reason (although it’s printed in every Siddur), but if you ask me a striped atara looks much nicer.

5) Usually thick. Take a look at this photo to compare.

6) Yes, of course we do the tying, and the tying fee is included in the price of the tzitzit. Occasionally we get customers who prefer to do the tying themselves, to connect themselves to the mitzvah, but most people are not ready to tackle that.

7) Yes, it should be dry cleaned.

Lately we’ve gotten a flurry of orders from New Jersey, from eight towns in particular: Teaneck, West Orange, Union, Passaic, Cherry Hill, Elizabeth, Westfield and Edison.

I don’t know my way around New Jersey, so I am at a loss to conjecture what these towns have in common. But I can get a very vague picture of Jewish communities based on the tallit and tzitzit products they order.

At a glance, what I’m seeing from our customers in New Jersey are a lot of wool tzitzit (i.e. tallit katan) and a lot of blue: about half of the tallits purchased have blue striping and a lot of New Jerseyans are buying Ptil Tekhelet tzitzit.