Prayer for a Newborn Child
We are humbled by the awesome power of this moment.
From our lives we have brought forth life.
Through our love we have fashioned a child of love.
May our child be a blessing to all he meets.
And may he count us among his blessings as well.
- Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro
NoteAccording to Rabbi Scheinerman's "Tallit Talk," the tallit (also pronounced tallis) is the most authentic Jewish garment. It is a rectangular-shaped piece of linen or wool (and sometimes, now, polyester or silk) with special fringes called Tzitzit on each of the four corners. The purpose of the garment is to hold the Tzitzit. The purpose of the Tzitzit is to remind its wearers of God's commandments.
The Tzitzit is tied in what Scheinerman calls a form of macrame. When done correctly, the Tzitzit will have 7-8-11-13 winds between double knots. The numbers have various interpretations, one of which is that they spell out the Tetragrammaton, God's name. The four windings together can be interpreted to say, "God is one."
The gold-colored neckband, called the Atarah, is emboidered with the blessing one recites when donning the tallit.
Labels: Newborn Child
posted by Himself at 4:06 PM
2 Comments:
seeing a posting on the jitw listserv where someone allergic to wool was gifting his rainbow tallit reminded me that folks might be interested to hear the story of where these tallitot came from.
The tallit – Jewish prayer shawl – is a commemoration of a kind of wrap that was worn by our forefathers. After the Exile from Israel, they adopted the custom of the neighboring Bedouins of wearing the tallit as protection from the sun, and in this way the Tallit became an everyday garment.
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