So you’ve finished making the main body of your tallit —or tallis, prayer shawl— and you’re ready to add the corner pieces, the square pieces of fabric that decorate the corners of the tallit and help reinforce the holes for the tzitzit strings. Does it matter how close to the edges of the tallit you … Continue reading
The autumn weather has me dreaming of figs. Warm, honey-glazed figs, specifically (the blog for Huppahs.com, Backyard Huppah, has a recipe). One of the simple pleasures of the season. Figs have long been a popular motif in Jewish design, often in combination with pomegranates and other members of the seven species — the seven fruits … Continue reading
The dove that carried an olive branch to Noah on the ark, signifying the end to the great flood, has become a symbol of peace and spiritual renewal that crosses religious boundaries. In the Torah, the dove often symbolizes the Jewish people, especially in imagery that expresses spiritual yearning or calls to God for protection. … Continue reading
Answer: Somewhere between 18″ and 24″. Question: How big is a cubit, anyway? This week’s Torah portion is the story of Noah and the ark. And as you’ll recall, when God gave Noah the instructions for building the ark, God specified the dimensions in cubits: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits tall. … Continue reading
Here’s the introduction to the tefillin bag project from Sew Jewish book. It’s one of my favorite project intros in the book, since there’s more to the simple tefillin bag than meets the eye. Tefillin Bag Set Me for a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. (Song of Songs 8:6) The … Continue reading
The pomegranate motif, around which the Jewish community has developed a world of symbolic and spiritual meaning, took root early in the history of Jewish design, even going back to the years the Israelites wandered in the dessert after leaving ancient Egypt. God specified that the High Priest’s robe be decorated with pomegranates, though commentators … Continue reading
You can’t get too far into a blog about Jewish sewing before you hit the issue of shatnez – the term for a mixture of wool and linen – and the Biblical prohibition against wearing garments that contain shatnez. In fact, we ran into the subject in our very first blog post, which explained how … Continue reading
This Shabbat most synagogues will read the Torah portion Tetzaveh, in which God tells Moses what clothes the priests should wear when serving in the Temple — a hat, trousers, tunic, and belt, and additional garments for the High Priest — and also how to make them. But the Torah doesn’t say who sewed them. … Continue reading
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