Author: BenG

We often get requests from customers to make all sorts of changes to a tallit. They like a certain tallit but want to change the striping colors, or they like a certain atara, but…

We’re not in the business of manufacturing tallits. We’re a tallit seller. We sell tallits made by a half-dozen different manufacturers. That means we do a bit of finishing work, namely tying on the tzitzit for most orders, and sometimes sewing on a special atara and adding custom letter embroidery to a tallit bag.

So when a customer says they’d like a certain tallit, just modified so-and-so, we tell them that may be doable, but we’d have to contact the manufacturer, put in an order for around 5,000 and then wait six months or so. (The one exception is our handwoven tallits, see below.)

We used to have an option for custom name embroidery on the tallit, but we no longer offer that service. Most tallit sellers just embroider straight on the tallit. I never liked that, because it means the letters show in reverse writing on the back of one of the corners, and since tallits flip around constantly that’s going to show a lot. We did come up with a solution, but it’s quite labor intensive and increases the fulfillment time considerably, so it’s not really a viable option. So for personalization, the only option we offer is name embroidery on velvet tallit bags. 

Most traditional tallits sold today are production-line wool tallits. They are made in very large batches, and cannot be customized. On the other hand, we also sell handwoven tallits. Since these are made on a hand-loom, one piece at a time, we can take a design and modify it, and can easily adjust the sizing. And we can also customize the lettering on the atara (neck band).

We often get requests from customers to make all sorts of changes to a tallit. They like a certain tallit but want to change the striping colors, or they like a certain atara, but…

We’re not in the business of manufacturing tallits. We’re a tallit seller. We sell tallits made by a half-dozen different manufacturers. That means we do a bit of finishing work, namely tying on the tzitzit for most orders, and sometimes sewing on a special atara and adding custom letter embroidery to a tallit bag.

So when a customer says they’d like a certain tallit, just modified so-and-so, we tell them that may be doable, but we’d have to contact the manufacturer, put in an order for around 5,000 and then wait six months or so. (The one exception is our handwoven tallits, see below.)

We used to have an option for custom name embroidery on the tallit, but we no longer offer that service. Most tallit sellers just embroider straight on the tallit. I never liked that, because it means the letters show in reverse writing on the back of one of the corners, and since tallits flip around constantly that’s going to show a lot. We did come up with a solution, but it’s quite labor intensive and increases the fulfillment time considerably, so it’s not really a viable option. So for personalization, the only option we offer is name embroidery on velvet tallit bags. 

Most traditional tallits sold today are production-line wool tallits. They are made in very large batches, and cannot be customized. On the other hand, we also sell handwoven tallits. Since these are made on a hand-loom, one piece at a time, we can take a design and modify it, and can easily adjust the sizing. And we can also customize the lettering on the atara (neck band).

It used to be that pretty much all atarot were made on a bright white backing. But in recent years a number of atara manufacturers have started using off-white backings as well. Sometimes they make the same model in two versions, one white and the other off-white.

Which matches the tallit better? Well, that’s a tough call.

Just about all traditional tallits are made of wool. Wool is not white, but off-white. And just about all of those tallits come with a bright white synthetic atara. So for those who opt to switch to a more ornate atara, the question arises as to which base color works better.

As we were preparing orders for shipping today, I set one tallit aside and asked an employee for her opinion. She said the bright white backing worked okay, but maybe was a bit too strong.

What do you, dear reader, think of this combination (photo at right)?

Why did this color combination suddenly pique my interest? Because this week we received two messages from customers who were not entirely pleased with how the atara color worked out. And the thing is, when I re-read their messages, I realized they were saying the opposite of one another.

Here’s the message from the first customer:

Hello sir. I have received my order, and though I am generally pleased with your products and service, this delivery requires attention. I ordered 2 (1 blue, 1 silver) crystal ataras, and the silver crystal atara is not on a white cloth but a cream off white! This will not match up well on a brand new tallis. [The photo he sent is at the right.]

And here’s the message from the second customer:

Hi. I opened the talit and noticed that the atara cloth is a bright white and the fabric is beige, not white. What’s the deal? It looks off.
Sent from my iPhone

I don’t have a photo of the tallit with the atara, which the second customer described, but you can probably put them together in your mind. The order was for this atara, sewn on this tallit.

It’s kind of ironic to say that the bright white atara backing “looks off” when sewn on a wool tallit, which is never going to be bright white, since that’s how all tallits come from the manufacturer! Go back and take another look at the tallit product page. See that white atara that comes standard? That’s how almost all traditional wool tallits are made — and have been made for decades.

The only way you’re going to have the same color for the atara and the tallit is if the tallit comes with a wool atara, like the white-on-white Beit Yosef type.

By the way, if you look at a tallit five or ten years down the road, you’ll see that the wool has started to yellow (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot), whereas the atara is still the same color white (since it’s synthetic). For those who add on a middleband, it’s a real giveaway as to the age of your tallit, because any yellowing is highly visible because of the strong contrast right in the middle of the back. 

It used to be that pretty much all atarot were made on a bright white backing. But in recent years a number of atara manufacturers have started using off-white backings as well. Sometimes they make the same model in two versions, one white and the other off-white.

Which matches the tallit better? Well, that’s a tough call.

Just about all traditional tallits are made of wool. Wool is not white, but off-white. And just about all of those tallits come with a bright white synthetic atara. So for those who opt to switch to a more ornate atara, the question arises as to which base color works better.

As we were preparing orders for shipping today, I set one tallit aside and asked an employee for her opinion. She said the bright white backing worked okay, but maybe was a bit too strong.

What do you, dear reader, think of this combination (photo at right)?

Why did this color combination suddenly pique my interest? Because this week we received two messages from customers who were not entirely pleased with how the atara color worked out. And the thing is, when I re-read their messages, I realized they were saying the opposite of one another.

Here’s the message from the first customer:

Hello sir. I have received my order, and though I am generally pleased with your products and service, this delivery requires attention. I ordered 2 (1 blue, 1 silver) crystal ataras, and the silver crystal atara is not on a white cloth but a cream off white! This will not match up well on a brand new tallis. [The photo he sent is at the right.]

And here’s the message from the second customer:

Hi. I opened the talit and noticed that the atara cloth is a bright white and the fabric is beige, not white. What’s the deal? It looks off.
Sent from my iPhone

I don’t have a photo of the tallit with the atara, which the second customer described, but you can probably put them together in your mind. The order was for this atara, sewn on this tallit.

It’s kind of ironic to say that the bright white atara backing “looks off” when sewn on a wool tallit, which is never going to be bright white, since that’s how all tallits come from the manufacturer! Go back and take another look at the tallit product page. See that white atara that comes standard? That’s how almost all traditional wool tallits are made — and have been made for decades.

The only way you’re going to have the same color for the atara and the tallit is if the tallit comes with a wool atara, like the white-on-white Beit Yosef type.

By the way, if you look at a tallit five or ten years down the road, you’ll see that the wool has started to yellow (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot), whereas the atara is still the same color white (since it’s synthetic). For those who add on a middleband, it’s a real giveaway as to the age of your tallit, because any yellowing is highly visible because of the strong contrast right in the middle of the back. 

Have you ever seen tzitzit with one string a lot shorter than the rest? I certainly have. Here’s an inquiry we received today from a customer who had tzitzit tied locally, and was disgruntled with the results he got.

I recently had my tzitzit replaced on my Talit Gadol after my local dry cleaning shop somehow destroyed them. After receiving my newly updated Tallit, I noticed there’s one string of the 8 that is significantly shorter than the others on all 4 kanfot. I’m not sure why this happened but it’s greatly disturbing me as I would have preferred that they were all at equal length or at least close to equal. Can you tell me if there is a reason why this occurred? Is this halachically permissible or do I need to purchase a new Tallit? I’ve attached a photo for your reference [scroll down to bottom]. Thanks, Moe J.

Here’s my reply to Moe:

Sorry to hear about the dry-cleaning mishap.

Well, it’s a bit hard to tell for sure from the picture [below]. Sometimes a tzitzit tie-er doesn’t wind around very tight, so he uses up more of the length of the shamash strings (when you start out on each corner, you use three regular length strings and one long string). Also, different string manufacturers have different lengths. Some are not as generous and don’t really give you much length in the shamash string; an experienced tie-er will anticipate the problem from the start – or when at least by the time he’s got it halfway tied – and will switch to another string to accommodate the shortage. But if you’re oblivious and just tie away, when you finish up suddenly you see that your shamash string didn’t go the distance.

(By the way, you should tidy up those last double knots I’m seeing in the photo you sent. One looks like a single knot, another is also a single knot which is already loosening up and a third has not double knot at all. Before you tie up those knots, say: Leshem mitzvat tzitzit, which is a declaration of intention that you’re doing the tying to fulfill the mitzvah.)

One short string certainly does not render the tzitzit not kosher. In fact, it might not even be considered “short” from a halachic standpoint. According to the more lenient opinion, 24 cm from the start of the first double knot down to the tips of the strings is long enough.

So if that one string gets past the 24 cm mark, you’re fine. If not, you’re still good to go because you have three intact strings, which is enough to be considered kosher.

Even if technically the length is okay, what about the fact that it looks skewed to have one short string? Indeed, this is mentioned in the Gemara.

ונוי תכלת שליש גדיל ושני שלישי ענף

That means the loose part should be twice the length of the tied part, to fulfill the mitzvah in an aesthetic manner. If your Hebrew is solid and you’d like to delve into the matter, there’s a good article here, and more rudimentary articles in English here and here.

Have you ever seen tzitzit with one string a lot shorter than the rest? I certainly have. Here’s an inquiry we received today from a customer who had tzitzit tied locally, and was disgruntled with the results he got.

I recently had my tzitzit replaced on my Talit Gadol after my local dry cleaning shop somehow destroyed them. After receiving my newly updated Tallit, I noticed there’s one string of the 8 that is significantly shorter than the others on all 4 kanfot. I’m not sure why this happened but it’s greatly disturbing me as I would have preferred that they were all at equal length or at least close to equal. Can you tell me if there is a reason why this occurred? Is this halachically permissible or do I need to purchase a new Tallit? I’ve attached a photo for your reference [scroll down to bottom]. Thanks, Moe J.

Here’s my reply to Moe:

Sorry to hear about the dry-cleaning mishap.

Well, it’s a bit hard to tell for sure from the picture [below]. Sometimes a tzitzit tie-er doesn’t wind around very tight, so he uses up more of the length of the shamash strings (when you start out on each corner, you use three regular length strings and one long string). Also, different string manufacturers have different lengths. Some are not as generous and don’t really give you much length in the shamash string; an experienced tie-er will anticipate the problem from the start – or when at least by the time he’s got it halfway tied – and will switch to another string to accommodate the shortage. But if you’re oblivious and just tie away, when you finish up suddenly you see that your shamash string didn’t go the distance.

(By the way, you should tidy up those last double knots I’m seeing in the photo you sent. One looks like a single knot, another is also a single knot which is already loosening up and a third has not double knot at all. Before you tie up those knots, say: Leshem mitzvat tzitzit, which is a declaration of intention that you’re doing the tying to fulfill the mitzvah.)

One short string certainly does not render the tzitzit not kosher. In fact, it might not even be considered “short” from a halachic standpoint. According to the more lenient opinion, 24 cm from the start of the first double knot down to the tips of the strings is long enough.

So if that one string gets past the 24 cm mark, you’re fine. If not, you’re still good to go because you have three intact strings, which is enough to be considered kosher.

Even if technically the length is okay, what about the fact that it looks skewed to have one short string? Indeed, this is mentioned in the Gemara.

ונוי תכלת שליש גדיל ושני שלישי ענף

That means the loose part should be twice the length of the tied part, to fulfill the mitzvah in an aesthetic manner. If your Hebrew is solid and you’d like to delve into the matter, there’s a good article here, and more rudimentary articles in English here and here.