I am inspired by Franklin's recently completed fabulous shawl. Would it be appropriate for a goy to knit a tallit for my BFF's son's bar mitzvah?
If such a garment would not be an abomination (no mixing of wool and linen, of course), would any of you care to tell me how to make the tzitziot? And what a nice blessing would be for the top? (Any Jewish knitters know of a Hebrew lace alphabet?)
That is all. Thank you.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
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AP: There is no reason a tallit cannot be knit -- as long as you take shatnez (the wool and linen thing) into consideration. Also, in designing the tallit, I would plan to keep 2.5 inches square in each corner solid, as you will want to sew over them squares of reinforcing material to hold the tzitzit -- the ritual fringes.
The tzitzit are where I get nervous and chicken out. The tzitzit have to be made a certain way and then TIED in specific manner so that there end up being 613 loops and knots (or some such). A frined of mine who weaves tallitot ties her own and says it is very easy. You can purchase the tzitzit here: http://www.alljudaica.com/detail.asp?bid=4155
I'd love to hear more about your fiber choice and the design process.
Thanks, Aidan. I wasn't worried overmuch about the knit part, because I know that the tallit itself isn't so special, except to hold the tzitziot. I was worried about a goy-manufactured tallit. That's okay?
I was thinking about the blessing all morning. The tallit blessing is too long to knit in lace, so I could use either a part of the blessing ("Blessed are you, Lord"), a different blessing, or embroider the full blessing on a stockinette stich background.
Eventually, before I commit myself, I suppose I should get the blessing of my BFF.
Modeh ani l'fanecha -- In Your presence I give thanks.
http://www.akhlah.com/cybersiddur/blessings/blessing_awakening.php
It is just the first three words (not the parenthetical) of the morning blessing.
If your friends are Orthodox, it is better to ask them what they think about a gentile making a tallit. I am ReServOdox, so it would be fine by me.
Thanks, Aidan. She's not Orthodox, but I will ask before I go much further. And that's a lovely blessing.
How about giving the tallit (with reinforced holes in the 2.5 inch solid squares in the corners) without the tzitzit and letting the Bar Mitzvah boy attach and knot them himself? You can purchase kits with the right numbers, lengths and colors of strings for kosher tzitzit. I know of several congregations where this is a lovely custom among the seventh graders. This way you don't have to worry about possibly making a mistake with them, while he gets the opportunity to really make the tallit his own.
It doesn't matter who makes it the shawl itself (goy or otherwise.) This one (the one I was distracted by) was actually made in Brazil and converted into a tallit by the family.
Whether you do it or not, I'm deeply flattered that you found the shawl inspiring.
Of course, now I'm thinking...gee...I could mixed in Hebrew with the Latin...and maybe some Sanskrit...
Time for another shawl.
I believe they sell ugly premade blessing-embroidered-strips, but in fact it's a fine tallis without anything in the neck. Good for reinforcement though.
And I'm sure most commercial tallitot are made in China!
Sounds like an absolutely lovely gift.
Ha! BFF is pleased with this idea. Now I get to start thinking about design. I'll let you know what I come up with.
Another question: rather than sewing a reinforcing fabric in the corner, could I add a reinforcing thread like you might do for the heel of a sock? (That way I could just knit in an eyelet rather than sew a buttonhole. I sew very bad buttonholes.)
I think that would be fine. You might consider using a sturdy stich for the corner panels, as well. Maybe seed stitch. Something that doesn't pull out of shape when tugged -- invariably I sit on my tzitzit (don't let your mind wander -- you'll go blind) and I think that is what the corner reinforcement is for. I bet a yarnover or a double yarnover would give you a big enough space for the tzitzit, depending on your guage.
Also, there are some old jewish needlework books out there that might have a lace alef-bet. I don't own any, but you might look at your local library. Oh, if only I was on Ravelry already. Someone there would know!
My lovely wife, Myfanwe, and I were married under my tallit -- you probably didn't know that they also double as chuppahs! So you might want to take that into consideration when you design it.
Now I'm thinking I might have to knit one for my Norbert. I have 2 years...hmmm.
There's no reason it needs a reinforcing panel, as long as the buttonhole-bit is sturdy enough. It's usually what goes first.
Very interesting post!
I would think that other than the wool-linen thing, and reinforcing the corners for the tzit-tzit... the only thing you could also do prior to the bar mitzvah would be to imerse it in a mikveh and bless it as one would kasher any household item prior to use. This could be done, and the craftsperson creating the tallit could re-block it for you in your home, and I think it would be okay, both structurally for the tallit as well as hallachically appropriate.
But what do I know? I was raised a WASP, converted to a SHEbrew, and now I'm a non-observant WASP on the verge of going down the path to being a convinced Quaker.
Shalom, yo'.
PS: My vision just blurred out... I thought my word verification said Abakuk... is that a biblical reference? Weird!
I had to find a knitting post so I could post this link. Check out the Dalek socks.
http://web.utanet.at/hallerc4/dasock.htm
Angry Professor! You MUST be the only other person on the face of this earth that (is)/has knitt(ing)/ed. Please help me... I beg of you from one goy(ish) to a goy. Let me know how your (is)/has turn (ing)/ed out. Any suggestions?
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