Tallit

The Tallit - Jewish prayer shawl - is a commemoration of a kind of wrap that was worn by our forefathers. After the Exile, they adopted the custom of the neighboring Bedouins of wearing it as protection from the sun, and the Tallit became an everyday garment.

In the Book of Numbers (15:37-38) it is said:

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying: speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes on the borders of their garments throughout their generations and that they put with the fringe the borders a ribband of blue.

The fringes serve as a reminder of God’s commandments.

The Tallith is made of wool, cotton or silk, in which worshipers enwrap during prayer or when observing the Commandment of Tzitzith (fringes). Men wear a Tallith Katan (“small Tallith), which is also called Arba Kanfoth (four corners), during the day, but enwrap in a Tallith during Morning and Musaf Prayers. On Yom Kippur they enwrap in a Tallith during the entire day.

The custom of wearing a Talit varies from one ethnic community to another: Ashkenazi bar mitzvah boys wear a Talit when they are called up to read from the Torah in the synagogue, whereas in the Sephardi community only married men wear a Talit. In some communities the bridegroom wears a Talit during the chuppah marriage ceremony, and it is also customary to enshroud the deceased with a Tallit.

A Talis is made of white wool and strict observers ensure their Talis is made of the white wool of sheep from Eretz Israel. The atara (decoration) made of silver thread has been added for adornment to the upper part of the Talis. The stripes are possibly a symbol of royalty in ancient Egypt, and perhaps even a commemoration of Joseph’s coat of many colors.

When a man enwraps in a Tallis he recites the blessing:

…who has sanctified us by thy commandments, and hast commanded us to enwrap ourselves in the fringed garment.

Tallitot and the Tefillin (phylacteries) have unquestionably become the most important of Jewish symbols.

Nowadays, bat mitzvah girls who wish to be called up to read from the Torah in the synagogue, and learn the portion of the week from the Bible and the Haftarah portion of the Prophets, enwrap in a Tallit and cover their heads when they are called up to read from the Torah. Adult women returning to their roots, too, celebrate bat mitzvah and enwrap in a Tallit when they are called up to read from the Torah. Bat mitzvah girls choose a kosher bat mitzvah Tallit that has fringes in accordance with Jewish religious laws, and an atarah, and has some fashionable features as well. Adult women choose a Tallit that has been specially designed for women and are called Tallit Nashim or women’s Tallitot.

Galilee Silks Tallitot are very renowned and of high quality, com check out our online main store

Whole Sale Judaica

Galilee Silks is actively expanding the markets. We seek vendors in the USA and Europe who will establish business relations with us and will obtain our Jewish Prayer Shawls - Tallitot [Tallis] at attractive whole sale pricing.

Our Judaica line includes:
Mens tallitot, classic and modern
Womens tallitot, stunning in beauty and fabrics
All Tallis come with a matching Kippah and Tallis bag
Jewish wedding canopies [ Chuppah]
Beautiful shofar bags

As for Passover:

Lovely table linens in beautiful arrangments which will give class and festivity to your Passover Seder table
Matzah covers and Afikomen Bags

Come see for yourself at www.galileesilks.com

Shopping for a Ketubah

We like to give some attention to the Ketubah and indeed to some very special ketubot!
Dorit Jordan Dotan is a modern ketubah artist from Haifa, Israel.
She owns a very fine website with online Ketubah store where her hand drawn an beautiful printed ketubot are for sale.
The store name is Shop-Ketubah.com. The ketubot of Dorit are very colorful, lively and all have various symbols of the land of Israel andJewish motifs. Some are contemporary expressions of ancient ketubot found in Jewish kehilot in the Diaspora.

I warmly recommend to have a look and pass on the link to family and friends in need of a beautiful Jewish artwork and affirmation of love: the ketubah!

Also available in Shop-Ketubah.com: Blessings and Chamsot.

Check it out!

B'Shalom,
Silky

Purim this week!

I found this Dr Seuss style Purim Shpiel on the web .
by Dana Baruch and Robbi Sherwin

Warning; loooooooong post

Sh’ma yeladim and hear us well
For now is the story of Purim to tell.
It took place in Shushan so long, long ago.
Now off to Persia we all will go.
In this beautiful kingdom ruled a king
A king with no brain, who’d think such a thing?
He spent all his days and his nights having fun
Parading his wealth in the warm Persian sun.
A queen named Vashti was his loyal wife
She promised to love him all of her life.
She promised, that is, until he did ask
For her to perform an unthinkable task.
At his grandest of parties the king did command
Queen Vashti dance for royal men of the land.
"I am Not your servant, and dance I will Not!"
Vashti refused the king’s sexist plot.
For Vashti, you see, was not known as a fibber
She was, in fact, history’s first women’s libber.
Vashti was banished - away she did go.
Where did she go? That we do not know.
In this fair kingdom lived also the Jews
Who could not practice the religion they choosed
No Torah, no Challah, no Matzah Ball soup
For a villain named Haman had started a coup.
"Bow down to me now", cruel Haman did say
"For I am an important man of the day."
"I’m the King’s right-hand man - I rule all that I see
If you don’t bow down now, you will cease to be!!!"
Meanwhile back at the palace grand
An announcement went out throughout the land
A new queen to be chosen in an unusual way
In a beauty contest held the very next day.

All the maidens of the land were forced to appear
From near and from far, from far and from near
Be them skinny or zaftig, quite brilliant or dumb
From near and far they were ordered to come.
One such maiden had brains and had grace
Esther was her name…Such a pretty face!
A Jewess of humble origins and needs
With the kind of bod that would make a heart bleed!
Encouraged by her Uncle (or was it cousin?) Mordechai
"I beg you dear Esther, this you MUST try"
"With your brains and your beauty YOU he would choose
"Go, go, go, go! "Comb your hair. Wear nice shoes!"
"Besides that my dear,
With your grace and your charm
You will blow them away.
You’ll be on King Achashverosh’s arm!"
Unsure of herself but willing to go
Because she loved her Morty so
She entered the contest
But said, "Uncle dear
Promise me that you’ll always stay near."
Mordy did promise and promise he did:
“You betcha – I’ll always be here, Kid.”
The contest was held - They came one and all
And Esther of course was the Queen of the ball.
Chosen for her beauty in a contest quite shallow
Esther learned to love this not-quite-clever fellow
Though Achashverosh chose her
And she was now queen
There was one rotten rule
She had not foreseen.
Under penalty of death she had to obey
The following rule in an unbending way:
Her new husband commanded she could only see him
When HE chose to see her - and on HIS whim
So now back to Haman, that cruel crusty fellow

At the top of his lungs he continued to bellow:
"Bow down, bow down NOW I command!
Or great harm will come to you in this land."
Mordechai, of course, refused to obey
"I bow only to G-D to my last dying day!"
Haman’s face turned red with anger and hate
"I’ll get you my pretty If it’s the last breath I take!!" (Cackle cackle cackle)
Mordechai turned his back, and the Jews they did follow
As for Haman, well, his pride he had to swallow
“That Jew, Mordechai has ruined my heinous plot
Because of this affront I will have to draw lots
The straw that I pick, the one that comes nigh
Is the day that the Jews of Persia shall die!”
Into his three-cornered hat - he did cast
All of the dates - the future, the past
The lot that he picked was the 13th of Adar
"Make ready the gallows! Adar is not far!"
Right after Haman he did pester
Went Mordechai to see Queen Esther.
‘Cos at the palace gate, two eunich guards he did broach
Bigthan and Teresh were to kill Achashverosh!
Brave Mordy protected his king and his land
By revealing the plot in the palace grand
His loyalty and his brains gave him the upper hand.
The king in his chamber that evening did read
Of Mordechai’s loyalty in the Book of Good Deeds
With the smallest of brains, the king thinked and he thinked
"Who is this Mordechai who saved me from the brink?
“Who, who, WHO is this man who foiled the guards’ plan?
I must reward him - send for Haman!"
A question to Haman, Achashverosh did pose:
"How should I honor a man who has been on his toes
Who has saved my kingdom through heroic deeds
Without a single thought to his own needs?"
Haman, thinking this hero was he
For saving the kingdom from the Jews for the king

Pompously swelled with excitement and greed
He knew the king would his words heed:
"I think my dear king no reward is too great
Give him diamonds and jewels—a house by the lake"
"Fabulous clothing and all of the best
Let him ride the king’s horse on your next birthday fest!"
"Make it so, dear Haman, loyal right hand man
Bring forth Mordechai the Jew…this is my command!"
"Instruct all my tailors, my jewelers my builders
To spare no sheckles, no rubles, or guilders
Call all the king’s horses and all the king’s men
To honor this Jew again and again!
Haman astounded, speechless at best
Felt his anger spread from his feet to his chest
Could it be that this man who refused to bow down
Must now be honored all through the town?
Seizing the moment, the opportunity here,
Mordechai to Esther did appear
Using his Wits and Oh, so clever Brain
Mordy made history, now Esther has fame.
"You must risk your life and go to the king
And tell him about this heinous thing
That Haman is planning the Jews will all die
You must go brave Esther…this you MUST try.
"But cousin (or Uncle)," she said - trembling with fear
“Without his permission, I cannot go near
It could be my life - I am so afraid.”
But Morty replied: "You can do this, BABE."
"Use your brains and your charm and your prettiest skirt
And your shaina punim…What could that hurt?"
So, Esther swallowed her fear,
And she calmed her nerves
She went after this task
With Vim and with Verve
At a party given that very same night
She walked into the banquet, trembling with fright.
Although shocked to see her, the King did beckon

"I’ll see her, I’ll see her…It’s fine, I reckon."
"Dear husband." she said, "I’ve gotten some news
So horribly horrible that I did choose
To come un-summoned to be by your side
You must listen to me - After all, I’m your bride!!"
Risking her life Esther told him the story
Of Haman’s dastardly plan—Evil and Hoary
Esther, still trembling explained to her mate:
"My lord, at the risk of sealing my fate
I must tell you something that to you may be news…
Someone is planning to kill all the Jews!"
“This includes Mordechai, And all of his kin
And in this category, you must put me in.
For you see, I am Jewish, but so loyal to you
Please don’t hurt my people…Please don’t hurt the Jews.
I fear my dear husband,
Unless you act with your heart
I too will die on the 13th of Adar.”
Thinking the thoughts a king would sure think
(That his loyal wife deserveth a mink)
He called for his henchman…His Number Two
To question again—what should he do
In order to save his wife and her kin
Haman of course, slunk right in.
"Esther, dear Esther, tell Haman your fear
Don’t be afraid—Tell him my dear."
"Okay, here goes nothing," said Esther inside.
She looked straight at Haman, and summoned her pride
"You wicked wicked man…How dare you pretend
That you are loyal to my king to the end?
You who did plot to destroy all the Jews
Also will kill ME Whom the king did choose!
For I too am Jewish, you hateful old coot!"
"Turn around," said the king…”I give you the boot!
I sentence you now to the gallows you built
Not a single drop of Jewish blood shall be spilt!
Pack up your belongings but don’t go far

On the gallows you’ll be swinging on the 13th of Adar!!!"
The moral of the story, Yeladim, you now know
Is to honor G-D and all people wherever you go.
To stand up and speak out for all that is right
And to you Chag Sameach…Laila Tov, and good night.

Funny Judaica

Say-A-Blessing Keychain from PopJudaica
This is pretty funny and ... handy..
Baruch ata adonoi...?
Perhaps you dropped out of Hebrew school a little too soon or are learning Hebrew for the very first time. With just a touch of the button, this pocket sized keychain recites one of 10 blessings of your choice including the blessings over challah, wine, and washing of the hands. Also included are the prayers of "Modeh Ani" and the "Shema." The blessing is first stated in Hebrew and then translated into English, leaving you enough time after each word to repeat the blessing.

Modern Tallit for a Women

Nowadays, Bat Mitzvah girls who wish to be called up to read from the Torah in the synagogue, and learn the portion of the week from the Bible and the Haftarah portion of the Prophets, enwrap in a Tallit and cover their heads when they are called up to read from the Torah.

Adult women returning to their roots, too, celebrate Bat Mitzvah and enwrap in a Tallit when they are called up to read from the Torah.

Bat mitzvah girls choose a kosher bat mitzvah Tallit that has fringes in accordance with Jewish religious laws, and an atarah, and has some fashionable features as well.

Adult women choose a Tallit that has been specially designed for women and are called Tallit Nashim or women’s Tallitot.

In our studio at Galilee Silks we create the most beautiful women's Tallis in a variety of the finest fabrics and color combinations, decorated with lovely trims and ribbons. The Atara - the neckpiece of the tallit is embroidered or printed with the Bracha. Each Tallit comes with a matching Tallis bag and Kippah.

Silk & Honey Production on the Ancient Israeli Silk Road

On Gems in Israel
Spotlighting Israel's Lesser Known Tourist Attractions and Travel Sites, the Gems

we found this nice article which touches upon the doings in our studio Galilee Silks

Silk & Honey Production on the Ancient Israeli Silk Road
Dvorat Hatavor
Where in Israel did the ancient Silk Road pass? Answers to these and many other interesting questions will all be part of your visit to Dvorat Hatavor, a unique rural tourist attraction, just minutes away from Mt. Tabor and the Sea of Galilee.

The Ben Zeev family created this attraction, which focuses on the production of honey and silk, from, biblical to modern times. To put it in his own words, Jigal Ben Zeev is, “an educated farmer”. In fact – he is an agronomist with a specialty in sheep herding. In 1967- 1968 he worked in Iran. He says that while he taught the locals how to grow sheep – they taught him how to grow silkworms. Ten years ago, he and his wife Malka, established Dvorat Hatavor in Moshav Shadmot Devora.

A visit to Dvorat Hatavor entails a guided tour that lasts roughly an hour and a half. Visitors advance from one ‘station’ to the next – receiving detailed explanations at each stop. Your tour will include a demonstration of honey bread removal, an up close and personal look at bee hives (behind a well fenced-in area - to ensure that you won’t be stung by the bees) as well as a detailed explanation about silk making and the related mulberry trees.

In the silkworm building, you’ll see how silkworms are grown and find out all about making silk and other products (such as paper). Children will have the opportunity to make their own beeswax candle and prepare a small magnet in a special area that is set aside for these creative activities.

Dvorat Hatavor is located very close to Mt. Tabor, which was on the Israeli part of the ancient Silk Road.

Tallit: To be Covered by a Unique Spirit

Tallit (talit, tallis), the Jewish prayer shawl, is a significant part in the lives of all Jewish men, and some Jewish women as well. During prayer a tallit bestows a sense of spirituality and elation on the person praying. The Tallit is a classic Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah gift. The Tallit is traditionally woven of wool — especially amongst Ashkenazim. Some Spanish and Portuguese Jews, however, have the tradition to use silk talletot, and cotton or linen are also traditional choices. In our days, other materials are also used — including synthetic materials like rayon, polyester and acrylic. Talletot may be of any colour, but are typically white, and usually with black, blue or white stripes along the lateral sides (see Historical Origins above for stripe explanation). Sizes of talletot vary greatly. The silk and synthetic ones vary in size. The woolen tallit is proportionately larger (sometimes reaching to the ankle), conforming to the Halakha that the tallit should be large enough to be full-body apparel and not just scarf-like. A ribbon, or a band artistically woven with silver or gold threads (called "spania") may be sewn on the side of the tallit that is nearest to the head, and is called the atarah, or ‘crown’. From the four corners of the tallit hang fringes called tzitzit, in compliance with the laws in the Torah (Book of Numbers 15:38).

All our tallitot come in a choice of pure wool and polyester . The Atara can be printed or embroidered. Each tallit comes with matching bag and kippa.

Spring Time is here!

Today we "enjoy" the chamsien, the hot dry desert wind from the South East. It brings flocks of storks and other migrating birds on their way from Africa to northern countries.

Flowers are blooming and this is a wonderful season, allthough we could do with some more rain.

In Galilee Silks studio we create inspired by the elements, the delicate wildflowers and lush foliage of spring time in Galilee.

Welcome to Galilee Silks Judaica

Our love for the land and Galilee where we create and live, comes to expression in our unique collection of Judaica, the beautiful items related to Jewish holidays, customs and tradition.

Our Judaica line includes beautiful gift ideas for bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, weddings and Jewish Holidays, such as Tallit for men, tallit for woman,tallis, Kippah, Yarmulke, Kipot, Challa covers, Afikoman bags and, more.

Please visit us at GalileeSilks.com