I’m not an economist or an industrialist or an importer, so I don’t know the exact cause of the problem, but what I can tell you is that the COVID-19 whirlwind wreaked havoc in Israeli tallit production, which was already struggling to keep up with demand before coronavirus hit.

Back in the good ol’ days, when we placed wholesale orders from the two major tallit manufacturers here in Israel, Mishkan Hatchelet and Talitania, we could expect to receive at least 80% of the items we ordered. Today, we receive under 50%. 

So after we place an order, we then make a second “shopping list” of the items that were unavailable and send it to a another supplier. They’ll provide about half the items on the pared down list, and then we go to a third supplier. After all that, we still have a few items that we’re unable to procure. 

Our customers don’t have to suffer through this, because in almost all cases only tallits we have in stock can be ordered on our web store, so it’s very rare that they’ll get notified that what they ordered is out of stock.

Price updates

About once every other year we get notices from our various suppliers that the wholesale prices are going up because of increased production costs (price of wool, shipping, etc.). The same applies for shipping.

For the sake of transparency, here’s the latest news on tallit prices: Surprisingly, neither of the main tallit makers raised their prices at the start of the year. Ptil Tekhelet prices went up slightly; so far, we haven’t raised our retail price for Ptil Tekhelet. The price of all-white tzitzit strings has been rising incrementally in recent months; again, we haven’t raised our prices. Gabrieli prices went up a bit.

DHL raised it’s rates around 8%, but the rate list for Israel Post remained almost entirely the same for 2023. So we might have to raise our Express shipping rate soon, but probably not our First Class shipping.

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Update: 12 Nissan (3 Apr.)

The DHL fuel surcharge is down this month, so we’re not raising the shipping fees for DHL.

Update: 11 Iyar (2 May)

Yesterday Talitania announced a significant price increase on all of the tallits they manufacture. This is likely to impact the entire tallit market. It’s likely to take about a month until all of the tallit dealers update their retail prices. This is not likely to affect a lot of our products, since we sell a lot more tallits made by Mishkan Hatchelet, compared to Talitania.

The big question: Will Mishkan Hatchelet do the same another month or two down the road?

For most of our customers, tzitzit thickness is not such a grave concern. But for others, it’s important – or even essential.

Until around ten years ago, there were only two options: thin and thick. Then one of the tzitzit strings makers introduced medium thickness. It caught on quickly, and soon just about every tzitzit manufacturer offered medium as well. Today, even niputz lishmah is available in medium. (FYI, standard thin is 50 cm long, medium is 55 cm and thick is 60 cm.)

But the thing is, not every manufacturer’s thick is as thick as the next guy’s. Some companies make their thick just a smidge thicker than another company’s medium. And some make theirs not just thick, but super thick.

A few days ago I was shocked to hear that a tzitzit seller without scruples went and purchased a very large quantity of tzitzit strings from a fairly new, small-scale tzitzit manufacturer. He noticed that the medium was fairly thick, so he packaged and sold it as thick!

I don’t know the manufacturers’ calculations when deciding what gage to make their strings. My guess is that it’s a combination of economics and marketing strategy. The wholesale tzitzit strings market has stiff competition. On one hand, wool is expensive, while on the other hand the manufacturers know they have to keep their prices down or retailers will look elsewhere. Some are more (or less) generous in the thickness, and some are more (or less) generous in the length. Seems they are scrimping and saving on wool wherever possible.

The packages are always marked thin, medium or thick (דק or בינוני or עבה), so it’s easy to tell the difference. But what if you tossed out the package? It’s almost impossible to tell by eyeballing it. I can take a good educated guess. My tzitzit tie-ers, who have held tzitzit in their hands 2-4 hours a day or more for many years, can usually tell. But that’s only if they have it in front of them. In a photo, it’s almost impossible to know (unless you have other verified tzitzit right next to them in the photo).

Techelet tzitzit strings

All of the above applies to all-white strings. But when it comes to techelet tzitzit, it’s a bit different. First of all, they don’t make medium at all. And secondly, their thick is not very thick at all, it’s almost exactly the same as the medium most tzitzit companies make.

Recently we sent a set of Techeiles Chabura strings to a customer in Monsey. He’d ordered thick. When he got them, he was sure they were thin. Unfortunately, when I tried to explain the above to him, he was not very receptive. “No problem, just take a look at the package and check if you see the word עבה,” I suggested. But oddly enough, he said he’d thrown out the packaging. 

For years, Ptil Tekhelet’s thick strings were close to medium, but it looks like recently they’ve increased the thickness.

Extra thick tzitzit

Some customers like their tzitzit not just thick, but super thick. For years, Mishkan Hatchelet has been making their strings quite thick. Their medium is just a tad thinner than some companies’ thick. And recently we stocked strings made by a company called Chacham, which are even thicker than the Mishkan Hatchelet strings. 

Ensuring that your tallit katan meets all the requirements to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzit is not as simple as you might think. Although generally speaking, there’s sort of a general understanding that if you have a standard cotton tallis katan in Size 8 (US Size 20) or bigger, or a standard wool tallis katan in Size 5 (which is the same US Size 20), then you’re okay. 

But if you go into the halacha, you’ll find that there are numerous details and stringencies worth addressing. In fact, the Mishnah Berurah cites a common custom of not making a blessing on a tallis katan at all, but rather relying on the blessing you recite on the tallis gadol. 

Just familiarizing yourself with the issues takes some time and effort. Cotton or wool? How wide does it have to be where it rests on the shoulders? How wide can the neck opening be? How far must it come down in front? If there’s a slit in front, how do we take measurements? Does it have to be an amah wide, or is three-fourths of an amah okay? The list of questions goes on and on. And we haven’t even gotten to the strings yet!

To fulfill all of the requirements, often you will opt to go either according to the Mishnah Berurah or the Chazon Ish. (I suppose there might be a “Rav Moshe Feinstein tallis katan” as well, but here in Eretz Yisrael generally the discussion will be according to the Mishnah Berurah approach or the Chazon Ish.)

Today I came across an outline of the Chazon Ish’s approach in Shoneh Halachos, which was written by HaRav Chaim Kanievsky decades ago, and which incorporates many of the Chazon Ish’s rulings. The book seems to be unchanged for many years, so if you want to look this up, you’re likely to find it on page מ”ו, right at the end of the halachos of tzitzis, which you can access online here on Hebrew Books.

In Shoneh Halachos it’s formatted in one very long paragraph, but I’m going to do my best to translate it formatted as separate points, leaving out all of the citations. 

• The garment should be made of wool or other fabrics, but not linen.
• It should be white.
• The edges should be reinforced.
• Including the reinforcement, the measurements should be 120 cm by 60 cm.
• Those who elect to be stringent, to fulfill the Mishnah Berurah, should make it 60 cm by 60 cm beyond the bottom of the neck opening.
• In both cases, it is advisable to make it slightly larger to allow for shrinkage in the laundry.
• It should not have sleeves, there should be a neck opening in the center and one should ensure that each shoulder piece is wider than the neck opening, and the length in front and back should also exceed the neck opening.
• A square fabric reinforcement measuring three fingerbreadths by three fingerbreadths should be sewn on each corner.
• Each corner should be at a right angle, without loose threads.
• The holes should be positioned 4.5 cm from the edges, and should be reinforced, but not with threads made of the same material as the garment and not wool threads (and according to the Mishnah Berurah, ideally they should be colored threads).
• Take four wool strings which have been carded and spun and twined with mitzvah intent, by an adult.
• They should not be excessively thick or thin, they should be white and ideally they should be folded into eight.
• The strings should measure at least 30 cm beyond what is tied on the garment, and preferably longer.
• One string, which is wrapped around the others, should be longer.
• The strings should be paid in full before they are inserted into the garment.
• Before insertion, say aloud, ‘The tying and all that I do I am doing in order to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis.’
• Insert, fold in half and even out the two sides.
• Take four strings on one side and four on the other and tie a double knot.
• Wind the long string around seven times, tie a double knot, wind around eight times, tie a double knot, wind around eleven times, time a double knot, wind around thirteen times and tie a double knot.
• Make each section of equal length, with one thumb breadth from one knot to the next. Altogether the tied part should be at least 10 cm.
• If the tied section is longer than that, make sure the loose section is at least twice the length. And the loose section can be longer than that as well.
• The tzitzit should hang down alongside the tip of the garment.
• If the tips start to fray, it is advisable to make a knot at the end.
• Ensure that the strings are not tangled.
• Do not tuck the tzitzit in your pants, but rather leave them showing.
• One who buys a tallis katan and ties on tzitzis should recite Shehechiyanu once the tzitzis are tied on.
• If he possessed the garment previously, he should recite Shehechiyahu on a piece of fruit and include it in the blessing.
• It is a mitzvah to make an attractive tallis with attractive tzitzis.

You may have come across “Tefillin Found” notices after a teenager left a pair on tefillin on the bus. But what about a tallit bag restored to the rightful owner — fifty years later?

Elyashiv Gutman related the following story to renowned Israeli speaker and media personality Sivan Rahav-Meir: 

“My father, an alumnus of the Har Etzion Yeshiva, was on an army base in the Golan Heights when — in the middle of Yom Kippur prayers, while fasting — a siren sounded, sending him running to a bunker, leaving his belongings behind. The Yom Kippur War had begun.

“Months later someone found my father’s tefillin and returned them to him, but his tallit bag had vanished without a trace.

“Today my father told me that he had just received a call from someone who had been holding on to his tallit bag for fifty years. During the war, after we had re-taken the area overrun by the Syrians, the tallit bag had been discovered in a disabled Syrian armored personnel carrier, along with an IDF High Holiday prayer book, a shofar, and a few other miscellaneous items. One of the IDF officers, Uri Atzmon, gathered up these items for safekeeping. Atzmon, who lives in the village of Kfar Sirkin, would display these items every Yom Kippur on a table for public viewing.

“Atzmon had been searching for the owner of the tallit bag for years and telling the story about it everywhere, but had no leads. This year his son began displaying the tallit bag on social media, publicizing it as follows:

Uri Atzmon, battallion commander of Armored Infantry Unit 43 of Brigade 670, on the third day of the Yom Kippur War at the foot of Givat Orcha, found a small bag embroidered with the initials Yud Gimmel. The bag will gladly be returned to its owner and all are welcome to share and forward this message.

“After the message had been shared, it soon became clear that the initials Yud Gimmel were those of my father, Yitzchak Gutman.

“My father, beside himself with excitement, could hardly speak.In the many phone calls from family and old friends, he acknowledged that he always thought his tallit bag had either been burned or taken to Syria, and never imagined that he would see it again. He was delighted to learn that throughout the years his tallit bag had been such a meaningful part of the Yom Kippur experience for the residents of Kfar SIrkin.”

Courtesy of Sivan Rahav-Meir. Translation by Yehoshua Siskin

Media personality and speaker Sivan Rahav-Meir lives in Jerusalem with her husband Yedidya and their five children. She works for Israel TV news, writes a column for Yediot Aharonot and hosts a weekly radio show on Galei Tzahal. Her lectures on the weekly Torah portion are attended by hundreds, and the live broadcast draws thousands of listeners around the world.

You’ve probably heard how those dastardly Israelis extremists are at it yet again, seeking to disrupt peace throughout the Middle East by taking over Al-Aqsa. Of course there are plenty of young hotheads who are gullible enough to believe that based on Facebook/WhatsApp/Twitter rumors and could suddenly decide to put down their phone and run in search of a soldier to stab.

This crime of trying to take over Al-Aqsa is nothing new. It’s a blood libel that comes up once every few years, typically when the Palestinian street is starting to get peeved over government corruption. The pattern stretches back to the Hebron Massacre of 5689 (1929). Apparently it’s a tried-and-true method to get the people riled up. In fact, they don’t even need to get creative, but simply repeat the same claims. 

In the Arab press, the accusation is couched in stronger language. Almost invariably the reports refer to “settlers storming Al-Aqsa.” By “settlers” they mean Jews.

Take a look at this photo (right). How would you write the caption?

How about something like this: ‘Young Jewish guy prays near Temple Mount, alongside bored Border Control officers standing beneath olive trees.’ Or maybe something a bit more formal in tone: ‘Young Israeli man prays near Temple Mount with heavy Israeli security on hand.’

(If I were the one writing the caption, I’d probably mention how the tzitzit are tied, but I can’t make out the tying custom in this picture.)

The photo was tweeted by Al-Qastal News. They described the image in somewhat different terms.

In fact, it seems Al-Qastal does this often. While writing this blog post, I did a search for “Al-Qastal News” and I see that just two hours ago they tweeted, “Israeli colonial settlers storm the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Beyond the problem of referring to this guy as a colonial settler and saying that he is in the process of storming (am I missing something? maybe he’s taking a quick break from storming?) there’s another mistake here: That’s not a “prayer shawl,” it’s just a tzitzit garment commonly worn under a shirt, worn on top instead.

But you gotta kinda wonder how come the tweeter devoted 40% of a 20-word tweet to what the young man in the photo is wearing. I don’t know how to read between the lines from the perspective of the typical Arab reader, but I think the implication is that he has added insult to injury: Not only is he “defiling” Al-Aqsa with his presence, but he even has the gall to come dressed in Jewish garb.

I could be wrong about that. The veteran blogger who pens Elder of Ziyyon told me that in this tweet the term al-tallit is not used maliciously, the way Palestinian writers are wont to refer to “racist Talmudic prayers.”

A few weeks ago a co-worker sent me this message:

order 30939 – do you realize who she is?

I didn’t recognize the name. But the email address associated with the order was quite a jolt. It was a straightforward Gmail address with a household name.

Imagine you see in the order list a name you don’t recognize and this email address: barack.obama@gmail.com. That was the type of email address staring me in the face. And a quick Google search indicated that the name of the woman who placed the order was married to name in the Gmail address. 

It would probably be a big boon to my business, and to Gabrieli as well, if I were to reveal his name, but I feel obligated to respect his privacy. Suffice it to say, he’s arguably one of the most successful businessmen on earth.

The thing is, he placed the order right around Rosh Hashana and needed to receive it by the end of Sukkot. That’s about three weeks. And since we’re closed on Fridays and holidays (i.e. the eve of Rosh Hashana, Rosh Hashana, the eve of Yom Kippur, Yom Kippur, the eve of Sukkot and all of Sukkot) there were only a handful of business days at our disposal to make it happen. 

I told my colleague there’s no way we could get it to him by his target date.

“Oh, come on,” he replied. “You’ve gotta find a way. For ______ you’ve gotta find a way.”

But when I went to Gabrieli and said we had a VIP customer who ordered three tallits, and we need them right away, they said that’s a no-can-do, they have a big order backlog because of the holiday season, and they shut down for all of Sukkot as well.

So I had no alternative other than to politely explain to ________ that because of the time of year, there was just no way we could meet his target date.

He took it in stride, and said he’d manage, and just wait until they come.

I realize this blog post is not a fun read as long as I conceal the person’s identity; so be it. But I suppose I could at least show you what he ordered: