Question: What is a Bat Mitzvah?

Source: www.about.com

Question: What is a Bat Mitzvah?

Answer: Bat Mitzvah literally translates to "daughter of commandment" and implies "responsible female."

According to Jewish Law, every Jewish girl becomes a bat mitzvah at age 12 - a year earlier than a Jewish boy becomes a bar mitzvah due to the fact that girls mature earlier than boys. As a bat mitzvah, she becomes obligated by God's commandments - as prescribed in the Torah and as interpreted by Moses, the Prophets, the Sages and the Rabbis.

A Jewish girl becomes a bat mitzvah automatically upon turning 12 years old. No ceremony is needed. The Reconstructionist Movement introduced the idea of celebrating a girl becoming a bat mitzvah in 1922. Since then, ceremonies to mark the occassion of a girl becoming a bat mitzvah have become more and more popular.

While the bat mitzvah girl can celebrate from her 12th birthday, some wait and celebrate on the girl's 13th birthday. In many Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative synagogues, the bat mitzvah may be celebrated by the girl blessing and/or reading Torah and also leading part of the prayer service. Festive meals and lavish parties in honor of a girl becoming a bat mitzvah have also become common in non-orthodox communities.

In orthodox communities, the bat mitzvah is more often marked with a family celebration than a religious ritual. If an orthodox girl wants to celebrate her bat mitzvah by reading Torah or leading a prayer service, then this is generally done in the presence of women only.

The Invitation?!
Many people feel confused when invited to a bat mitzvah. They ask what present to buy, when to give the present, how to dress... It helps to think of the bat mitzvah as a special birthday - special in that it has religious significance. Any present that is appropriate for a 12 or 13 year old girl will also work for a bat mitzvah present (jewelry, books, gift certificates, music, clothes, picture frames, ....) Dress for the religious service like you are going to a religious service (modest, formal attire), and dress for the party according to whatever party is being held. It is best to bring the present to the party (rather than the religious ceremony). Mazel Tov or congratulations are appropriate greetings. You have been invited because the bat mitzvah girl wants you to join her in celebrating her "coming of age" - so, above all, enjoy the celebration!

Gililee Silks recommends the perfect gift: a Bat Mitzva tallit from our large and varied collection.

Come to one of our online store and make your pick.

www.galileesilkjudaica.com/shop

Tallitot ON SALE you find on Galileesilks.com

A Tallit to keep you [spiritually] warm

We found a great blog which explains all about Galilee Silks most popular marketed garment:

The Talit. We especcialy liked the following post about blessing the Tallis

As read on http://mytalit.com/

The Jews do not believe in the blessing of their garments and ornaments by their Rabbi, or the Jew’s religious teacher or master. This is significantly different from other religions, particularly Catholicism, which practices the blessing of items, from those related to their religious practice (such as the Bible) to other items and material possessions. This applies to the use of their tallit or their prayer shawl. The tallitot are not blessed by the Rabbi, although Jews can get such prayer shawls at the synagogue before praying. Because of this, one can buy tallilot anywhere.
However, the Jews do believe that they themselves should bless their tallits. This is a form of their respect to this sacred garment. This practice is actually included in their mitzvah, hence the importance they place on the prayer shawl. Although it is the tzitzit (or the fringes on the prayer shawl) and not the tallit that the Jews are required to wear, it still plays a pivotal role in their religious practice. So it is not surprising that the Jews take the effort to say a prayer or a blessing before wearing the tallit or the prayer shawl.
The blessings are done every time one uses the tallit. First, one takes his or her tallit from the tallit bag, unfolds the prayer shawl carefully, and recites a blessing, which, in essence, acknowledges God who sanctifies His people with the commandments and commands them regarding the use of the tzitzit. After which, one puts the tallit or the tallis on and recites a prayer similar to the first one, although it cites the commandment of wrapping one’s selves in the tzitzit. The second prayer is written on the atarah of the tallit or tallis.
After the tallit has been worn and the prayer has been said, one should then kiss the atarah’s end (or where the last word of the said prayer is embroidered). He or she then kisses the beginning of the atarah (or where the first word of the prater is embroidered). The individual should then wrap the prayer shawl around his or her shoulders, holding the tallit over the head for a brief moment of meditation. At this point, praying a verse of the book of Psalms can be done, although this is not required.
There are a number of rules regarding the reciting of prayer after wearing the tallit. If the person removes a particular tallit and uses a new one, he is required to say the blessing again. The same applies when the person removes the tallit without the intention of praying and using the tallit again. However, if he or she removes it with the intention of putting it back on, this individual can wear the tallit without reciting the blessing.

Not to mention we warmly recommend you to visit our own online Galilee Silks stores and look at our beautiful Jewish prayer Shawls! Happy Hanukkah!!

Woman wearing talit at Kotel detained

We do not think the woman in the picture is wearing a Galilee Silks Tallit, but still we thought this event of interest for our blog. If you are a woman who wants to wear a Tallit, we have a LARGE VARIETY of Womens Tallitot in our shop...
and now to the article

This article is from the Jerusalem Post

Nov. 18, 2009Matthew Wagner , THE JERUSALEM POST
Police and Western Wall officials expelled a female prayer group from the Kotel area and arrested one of the women after they attempted Wednesday morning to read from a Torah scroll.
"We debated amongst ourselves whether or not to read from the Torah at the Kotel itself or to take the Torah to the Robinson's Arch," said Nofrat Frenkel, who was arrested and later released by police.
"In the end we decided that because nobody seemed to mind we would go ahead and read the Torah at the Kotel."
According to a compromise reached two decades ago under Supreme Court mediation, it was agreed that women who wished to wear talitot [prayer shawls] and kippot and read from the Torah would be allowed to do so at the Robinson's Arch adjacent to the Kotel and not directly in front of the Kotel so as not to offend Orthodox visitors.
On every Rosh Hodesh (beginning of the Jewish month) the Women of the Wall conduct prayers at the Kotel and at the Robinson's Arch. On Wednesday's visit there was a contingent of women from North America who are in Israel to take part in a rabbinical ordination ceremony to take place at the Reform Movement's Hebrew Union College.
Frenkel said that as the women unrolled the Torah scroll and began to prepare to read, officials from the Kotel Foundation arrived and demanded that they leave the premises.
Frenkel said that the women agreed to roll up the Torah scroll and take it to the Robinson's Arch. But on their way out Frenkel, who was wearing a talit and was carrying the Torah, was seized by police.
"I was pushed into a nearby police station and transferred to the main police station at Yaffo Gate," she said.
About 40 women who attended the prayer formed a procession and followed the police and Frenkel through the Old City to the Yaffo Gate where they congregated and sang songs until Frenkel was released.
Rabbi Felicia Sol of the post-denominational Bnei Jeshrun Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper West Side, said that the attempt to read from the Torah was an experiment with "pushing the boundaries".
"It is ridiculous that in a Jewish state that is supposedly democratic women cannot pray the way they want to and only one definition of Judaism is accepted," said Sol.
"It is sad that many secular Israelis are distanced from Judaism because in Israel religion is seen as a negative, divisive force instead of being compelling and meaningful."
Anat Hoffman, Chair of the Women of the Wall, said that the two-decade-old compromise that prevents women from reading from the Torah at the Kotel was outdated.
"Times have changed and women should be allowed to have a more central role in Jewish expression," said Hoffman.
Kotel Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz said in response that the women's actions were "a desecration of the sacred."
"They brought dissent and infighting to a place that is supposed to symbolize unity," said Rabinovitz. "And that is a desecration. They behaved like [biblical] Korah and his assembly."
Rabinovitz added that the women were motivated by a political agenda and did not want to simply pray.
However, Frenkel, who belongs to a Conservative congregation in Israel, said that her sole intention was to pray to God.
"We were not trying to cause a provocation," said Frenkel.
"I am not a political person. I come to pray and perform what is written in the Torah 'Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make tzitzit on the corners of their garments'", said Frenkel referring the biblical verse that teaches the commandment to wear a talit.
Jerusalem Police said that they arrested a woman from after she donned a talit, while praying at the Western Wall.
According to a police spokesman, the woman was approached by officers after putting the prayer shawl on, which police said caused an outcry from other worshippers.
"Police calmed the situation down, and took the woman in for questioning," a statement from the spokesman said.
Abe Selig contributed to this story
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1258489193200&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull[ Back to the Article ]

Is 13 an Adult? About Bar Mitzvah

Galilee Silks found on the web this interesting part of an article on http://www.jewfaq.org/barmitz.htm

Quote:

"Many people mock the idea that a 12 or 13 year old child is an adult, claiming that it is an outdated notion based on the needs of an agricultural society. This criticism comes from a misunderstanding of the significance of becoming a bar mitzvah.

Bar mitzvah is not about being a full adult in every sense of the word, ready to marry, go out on your own, earn a living and raise children. The Talmud makes this abundantly clear. In Pirkei Avot, it is said that while 13 is the proper age for fulfillment of the Commandments, 18 is the proper age for marriage and 20 is the proper age for earning a livelihood. Elsewhere in the Talmud, the proper age for marriage is said to be 16-24.

Bar mitzvah is simply the age when a person is held responsible for his actions and minimally qualified to marry. If you compare this to secular law, you will find that it is not so very far from our modern notions of a child's maturity. In Anglo-American common law, a child of the age of 14 is old enough to assume many of the responsibilities of an adult, including minimal criminal liability. Under United States law, 14 is the minimum age of employment for most occupations (though working hours are limited so as not to interfere with school). In many states, a fourteen year old can marry with parental consent. Children of any age are permitted to testify in court, and children over the age of 14 are permitted to have significant input into custody decisions in cases of divorce. Certainly, a 13-year-old child is capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong and of being held responsible for his actions, and that is all it really means to become a bar mitzvah. "

Then the article goes on about giving Bar Mitzvah gifts...

There is where galilee Silks comes in, we have the perfect Br Motzvah or Bat Mitsva gift: a Tallit!

Galilee Silks Tallitot are appreciated greatly by the people who obtained one. We see this from the many enthousiastic response emails we receive from grandparents or parents who sometimes together with the br Mitzvah boy or the Bat Mitzvah girl, or without them make their choice from our online shops.

Do not forget our Tallitot on SALE! We invite you warmly!

About Tallitot

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia says about the Tallit

A tallit (Hebrew: טַלִּית‎) (taleth or talet in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino) (tallis in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish) is a Jewish prayer shawl worn in the synagogue on Shabbat and holidays, and while reciting morning prayers (Shacharit), as well as afternoon (Mincha) and evening prayers (Ma'ariv) by many Sephardi Jews.

The tallit has special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four corners. The tallit can be made of any materials except a mixture of wool and linen interwoven which is strictly prohibited by the Torah. Most traditional tallitot (plural of tallit) (tallesim in Ashkenazic Hebrew) are made of wool.

Galilee Silks creates traditional classic wool tallits as well as modern tallitot in wool, silk and polyester decorated with other delicate fabrics to give the tallis extra allure.

Every tallit is made with the utmost attention and intention with eye for the smallest detail.

All of Galilee Silks prayer shawls come with a matching tallis bag and kippa.

Have a look on our website store and subscribe to our blog to keep updated!

Make sure to check out our Special Tallitot ON SALE at very attractive pricing!

Tallit on Knol

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 every day garment.
Read more on the Google Knol project

Unique Galilee Silks Judaica gifts and Tallitot ON SALE

Galilee Silks added to the online Judaica store beaufitul Voile Womens Tallitot with lovely silk apllications price: $130.

We continue our Mens & Womens Tallitot ON SALE... and offcourse we recommend to view all our products in our Judiaca online store.

Come browse around & order now your beautiful unique gifts from Eretz Israel, in time for the High Holy Days!

Deals Deals!! Now Tallitot ON SALE!!

Galilee Silks offers now special Tallitot on sale!! Visit our online Judaica store by clicking the promo. Get your Tallit deal now, Limited amount of Tallitot available!

Celebrate the Days of Awe

Order now for the High Holy Days your Tallit from our new Galilee Silks Judaica Gift store with more than 150 Tallitot for Men and boys, women and girls!

Classic or modern Tallitot from the Land of Israel, a beautiful gift for family and loved ones.

New Judaica Gift Store

We are working very hard to get our new Galilee Silks Judaica Gift store online.
At the moment we are busy listing our more than 80 different woman's tallitot! Come have a sneak peek at our lovely Judaica textiles which are very popular as Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah gifts and make a beautiful present for Jewish weddings. In the coming days our new Judaica store will be linked from the home page, but if you like, you can buy right now!

Practical Silk Information, for Judaica too!

Who said you cannot get a stain on your Tallit? No one right?
And the same counts for a challah cover as one of our customers emails us, when your friend puts the Shabbat candles on them accidently. You end up with big oily stains, what then?

Well, the good news is is some practical stain removal info on this nice informative community website.
Its all about corn starch, who would guess..
We cannot use the content of this article but are allowed a link to it, so just click the following link:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2305908_remove-grease-stains-from-silk.html

Good luck!

New Judaica store

Dear readers, It has been a while on the Judaica blog but we are busy setting up a new store with the unique Tallitot and other Judaica textiles by Galilee Silks.

For now go to our existing Galilee Silks Judaica store. We keep you updated!

Galilee Silks News

Galilee Silks Very own Newsletter with recommendations about our Judaica Gifts for example out tallitot for Men and Women. Also New additions for our silk product lines. Check it out and Sign up for this brand new "What's new from Galilee Silks!

Happy 60th Independance Day

Galilee Silks wishes all of Israel Happy Independance Day!
We hope to see you in one of our online stores for unique fashionable and religious authentic gifts from Galilee Israel.

Visit www.galileesilks.com for our Judaica Lines

Galilee Silks supplies to vendors at attractive prices and we are open for customized orders and ideas.

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