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.