A customer from New Rochelle, New York pointed us toward a boutique leather maker here in Israel called Mor & Sinai. Taking a glance at their website, I see that they have some nice looking products. At this point we’re not going to work with them because their price point is probably way beyond what most of our customers are looking for.
Instead, our main supplier for genuine leather tallit and tefillin bags is a company called Jerusalem Leathers. Their Israel distributors have brought their products to our attention for several years and they were groundbreakers in introducing genuine leather Judaica.
Although most of our products are made in Israel, we’re making an exception in this case, because there aren’t a lot of tanneries out that. Beyond the dairy industry, you won’t see cows roaming the hills of Israel much. On the other hand, Argentina is renown for its tanneries, and indeed Jerusalem Leathers is based not in Jerusalem, but rather Argentina.
I’ve been impressed with their product line for quite a while. In fact, when my wife wanted to get me a gift for my birthday, I told her I want a leather tallit/tefillin set. I’ve been using it for close to two years now, and it still looks good as new. So it’s the type of purchase that costs a pretty penny, but lasts, so you’re not going to have to go out and replace it after a few years.
I know that for a fact, because previously I had PU leather tallit/tefillin bags, and they didn’t last long. Also, I didn’t like the grip handle. Walking back and forth to Shacharit is about 10 minutes’ walk for me. I’ve never liked clutching bags under my arm for that long, so the grip handle is important. And the thing is most companies make grip handles that lay flat and are quite uncomfortable to grip. The Jerusalem Leathers handles are another story; they’re ergonomical and quite comfortable to grip.
Note that most Jerusalem Leathers bags are available with the hand-grips as an add-on, as well as a clip-on shoulder strap option.
A customer from New Rochelle, New York pointed us toward a boutique leather maker here in Israel called Mor & Sinai. Taking a glance at their website, I see that they have some nice looking products. At this point we’re not going to work with them because their price point is probably way beyond what most of our customers are looking for.
Instead, our main supplier for genuine leather tallit and tefillin bags is a company called Jerusalem Leathers. Their Israel distributors have brought their products to our attention for several years and they were groundbreakers in introducing genuine leather Judaica.
Although most of our products are made in Israel, we’re making an exception in this case, because there aren’t a lot of tanneries out that. Beyond the dairy industry, you won’t see cows roaming the hills of Israel much. On the other hand, Argentina is renown for its tanneries, and indeed Jerusalem Leathers is based not in Jerusalem, but rather Argentina.
I’ve been impressed with their product line for quite a while. In fact, when my wife wanted to get me a gift for my birthday, I told her I want a leather tallit/tefillin set. I’ve been using it for close to two years now, and it still looks good as new. So it’s the type of purchase that costs a pretty penny, but lasts, so you’re not going to have to go out and replace it after a few years.
I know that for a fact, because previously I had PU leather tallit/tefillin bags, and they didn’t last long. Also, I didn’t like the grip handle. Walking back and forth to Shacharit is about 10 minutes’ walk for me. I’ve never liked clutching bags under my arm for that long, so the grip handle is important. And the thing is most companies make grip handles that lay flat and are quite uncomfortable to grip. The Jerusalem Leathers handles are another story; they’re ergonomical and quite comfortable to grip.
Note that most Jerusalem Leathers bags are available with the hand-grips as an add-on, as well as a clip-on shoulder strap option.
One of the positive aspects of Operation Midnight Hammer was the acknowledgement and thanks which both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu gave publicly for G-d’s help in making it such a smashing success.
While watching their public statements, you might have been focused on Trumps face as he was flanked by Vance and Rubio and Hegseth, and then while watching Bibi, maybe your eyes were drawn to the Kotel.
Not me. I was looking at Bibi’s tallis.
Actually, it might not really be his. Maybe when he hooked up with Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch (seen flanking the Prime Minister) he brought Netanyahu a tallis. But let’s say it was his. If, like me, his tallis choice piqued your curiosity, FYI that’s a Har Efraim he’s wearing.
Here’s what he said:
“When I first took office, I participated in the March of the Living at Auschwitz. I felt a strong need to wrap myself in a tallit and said: שמע ישראל ה’ אלוקינו ה’ אחד.
“Ten days ago, just hours before launching the historic mission against the evil regime of Iran, I visited the Kotel and again felt a strong urge to wrap myself in a tallit. I prayed for the success of our heroic pilots, our soldiers and commanders, for the security of our nation, and for the peace of our people. I placed a note in the Kotel that read: הן עם כלביא יקום ‘Behold, a people rises like a lioness and lifts itself like a lion.’” The verse is Bamidbar 23:24.
One of the positive aspects of Operation Midnight Hammer was the acknowledgement and thanks which both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu gave publicly for G-d’s help in making it such a smashing success.
While watching their public statements, you might have been focused on Trumps face as he was flanked by Vance and Rubio and Hegseth, and then while watching Bibi, maybe your eyes were drawn to the Kotel.
Not me. I was looking at Bibi’s tallis.
Actually, it might not really be his. Maybe when he hooked up with Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch (seen flanking the Prime Minister) he brought Netanyahu a tallis. But let’s say it was his. If, like me, his tallis choice piqued your curiosity, FYI that’s a Har Efraim he’s wearing.
Here’s what he said:
“When I first took office, I participated in the March of the Living at Auschwitz. I felt a strong need to wrap myself in a tallit and said: שמע ישראל ה’ אלוקינו ה’ אחד.
“Ten days ago, just hours before launching the historic mission against the evil regime of Iran, I visited the Kotel and again felt a strong urge to wrap myself in a tallit. I prayed for the success of our heroic pilots, our soldiers and commanders, for the security of our nation, and for the peace of our people. I placed a note in the Kotel that read: הן עם כלביא יקום ‘Behold, a people rises like a lioness and lifts itself like a lion.’” The verse is Bamidbar 23:24.
We get questions about tzitzit laundering at least a dozen times a year, so that’s about one per month, but over the past few days we got two questions regarding tzitzit mishaps (one minor and one disastrous), so although I’m not much of an expert when it comes to laundry, I wanted to just share some anecdotes and a few basic tips.
Speaking of tips, the first question was about tzitzit strings tips:
I’m emailing you because I saw some articles you had regarding cutting tzitzis strings, and I’m hoping that maybe you can help me…
My tzitzis strings were frayed so I cut them (with ceramic scissors), and then I dipped them in nail polish to prevent them from fraying more.
This worked until next time I washed them (by leaving them to soak in warm water+some soap from a bar of soap+some fabric softener) – however, when I took them out of the basin the very end of a lot of the strings were frayed again, even though they had been dipped in nail polish and not washed since.
Do you have any solutions to keep strings, which were cut, from fraying? Thanks, Koby J.
Before tossing out any suggestions, first I asked Koby what he does to protect the strings while in the washing machine –Tuck them into the corners? Use a protective device (e.g. FringeGuard)? Use an improvised method to tuck them away (e.g. sock with a rubber band)? A laundry bag?
Koby got back to me right away:
Regarding what I do with the strings when washing them, I wash them by letting them soak for a few hours in a basin with some warm water, soap, and fabric softener, and then rinsing them off. So nothing aggressive.
Well, it doesn’t sound too aggressive, but maybe that soaking is aggressive frrom the standpoint of a dab of nail polish.
At that point, I decided to see if AI had anything to say on the subject:
Question: will soaking in soapy water help removenail polish?
Answer: Soaking nails in soapy water can help loosen gel nail polish, making it easier to remove. While it won’t dissolve the polish like acetone, it can soften the gel, allowing you to gently file or scrape it off.
Then I typed in this follow-up question:
Question: will soaking in soapy water help removesuperglue?
Answer: Yes, soakingsupergluein warm, soapy water can help to loosen the bond and make it easier to remove, especially if the glue hasn’t fully dried. This method can be effective for removingsupergluefrom skin or other materials.
So it sounds like supergluemight be pretty much the same as nail polish, and really it’s best to skip the soaking (or soak with the tips out of water).
The second inquiry really jarred me:
I received this order 2 months ago, and as of today, 17 out of the 19 tallitot I received are now useless because the strings have broken off. We have been buying from you for many years now, and this has never happened before. We usually get a year or so from each tallit before the strings start breaking off. I don’t know how to explain why this is happening.
I need to place another order, but first I need to know if anything has changed on your side. Did you change providers for the strings? Please advise.
I was floored and asked him to send pictures. He did, and the pictures showed what he had described. I’d never heard or seen anything of this sort. I wrote to him as follows:
Over the course of around 15 years selling tzitzit, I recall only one similar issue. In that case, the customer revealed that he puts them in the washing machine loose, not protecting the tzitzit in a device or wrapping them in a sock or tucking them into the corner pockets. In fact, he didn’t even use a laundry bag. So I asked if he, too, puts his tzitzit loose in the washing machine.
He replied with a laundry scenario I’d never encountered:
Thanks for your kind email.
We have always used a laundry bag and we also use the blue device to hold the strings.
The only thing that comes to mind that we changed some months ago was that we started soaking the tallitot in water with baking soda the day before washing them. Do you think that the baking soda might be affecting the strings?
Baking soda in the laundry? Never heard of such a thing. When I did some quick fact-checking online, I found that all sorts of sources sing the praised of using baking soda in the laundry. But with one caveat: it can be harsh on certain fabrics. “Excessive alkalinity could harm certain fabric types, causing discoloration or damage to delicate materials such as silk and wool. Thus, consider the fabric type before proceeding with a baking soda treatment,” advises a site called Clotheslyne.
Likewise, the Tide website tell us: “Baking soda’s high pH [around 8.4 pH] can damage natural, protein-based fibers like wool, cashmere and silk, and can fade colors over time.”
Tzitzit strings are made of wool.
So you might want to consider baking soda for some of your laundering needs – but not your tzitzit.
We get questions about tzitzit laundering at least a dozen times a year, so that’s about one per month, but over the past few days we got two questions regarding tzitzit mishaps (one minor and one disastrous), so although I’m not much of an expert when it comes to laundry, I wanted to just share some anecdotes and a few basic tips.
Speaking of tips, the first question was about tzitzit strings tips:
I’m emailing you because I saw some articles you had regarding cutting tzitzis strings, and I’m hoping that maybe you can help me…
My tzitzis strings were frayed so I cut them (with ceramic scissors), and then I dipped them in nail polish to prevent them from fraying more.
This worked until next time I washed them (by leaving them to soak in warm water+some soap from a bar of soap+some fabric softener) – however, when I took them out of the basin the very end of a lot of the strings were frayed again, even though they had been dipped in nail polish and not washed since.
Do you have any solutions to keep strings, which were cut, from fraying? Thanks, Koby J.
Before tossing out any suggestions, first I asked Koby what he does to protect the strings while in the washing machine –Tuck them into the corners? Use a protective device (e.g. FringeGuard)? Use an improvised method to tuck them away (e.g. sock with a rubber band)? A laundry bag?
Koby got back to me right away:
Regarding what I do with the strings when washing them, I wash them by letting them soak for a few hours in a basin with some warm water, soap, and fabric softener, and then rinsing them off. So nothing aggressive.
Well, it doesn’t sound too aggressive, but maybe that soaking is aggressive frrom the standpoint of a dab of nail polish.
At that point, I decided to see if AI had anything to say on the subject:
Question: will soaking in soapy water help removenail polish?
Answer: Soaking nails in soapy water can help loosen gel nail polish, making it easier to remove. While it won’t dissolve the polish like acetone, it can soften the gel, allowing you to gently file or scrape it off.
Then I typed in this follow-up question:
Question: will soaking in soapy water help removesuperglue?
Answer: Yes, soakingsupergluein warm, soapy water can help to loosen the bond and make it easier to remove, especially if the glue hasn’t fully dried. This method can be effective for removingsupergluefrom skin or other materials.
So it sounds like supergluemight be pretty much the same as nail polish, and really it’s best to skip the soaking (or soak with the tips out of water).
The second inquiry really jarred me:
I received this order 2 months ago, and as of today, 17 out of the 19 tallitot I received are now useless because the strings have broken off. We have been buying from you for many years now, and this has never happened before. We usually get a year or so from each tallit before the strings start breaking off. I don’t know how to explain why this is happening.
I need to place another order, but first I need to know if anything has changed on your side. Did you change providers for the strings? Please advise.
I was floored and asked him to send pictures. He did, and the pictures showed what he had described. I’d never heard or seen anything of this sort. I wrote to him as follows:
Over the course of around 15 years selling tzitzit, I recall only one similar issue. In that case, the customer revealed that he puts them in the washing machine loose, not protecting the tzitzit in a device or wrapping them in a sock or tucking them into the corner pockets. In fact, he didn’t even use a laundry bag. So I asked if he, too, puts his tzitzit loose in the washing machine.
He replied with a laundry scenario I’d never encountered:
Thanks for your kind email.
We have always used a laundry bag and we also use the blue device to hold the strings.
The only thing that comes to mind that we changed some months ago was that we started soaking the tallitot in water with baking soda the day before washing them. Do you think that the baking soda might be affecting the strings?
Baking soda in the laundry? Never heard of such a thing. When I did some quick fact-checking online, I found that all sorts of sources sing the praised of using baking soda in the laundry. But with one caveat: it can be harsh on certain fabrics. “Excessive alkalinity could harm certain fabric types, causing discoloration or damage to delicate materials such as silk and wool. Thus, consider the fabric type before proceeding with a baking soda treatment,” advises a site called Clotheslyne.
Likewise, the Tide website tell us: “Baking soda’s high pH [around 8.4 pH] can damage natural, protein-based fibers like wool, cashmere and silk, and can fade colors over time.”
Tzitzit strings are made of wool.
So you might want to consider baking soda for some of your laundering needs – but not your tzitzit.
