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a sketch for Hannah's tallit


Hannah is a neighbor. She went to elementary school with my youngest. The two kids acted as if they were allergic to one another, so I never got to know Hannah very well.

Hannah met with me on Monday so we could figure out her tallit. I was so impressed with her. She came on her own. usually a bat- Mitzvah kid will come for an initial meeting with me with a parent. usually the parent serves as an editor of the kid's most wild ideas.

Initially, Hanna fell in love with a silver shantung. I'm not talking about a silk with a silvery sheen, but a shantung woven with metallic threads, it looked like tin foil. It was fabulous, but also a whole lotta look. We were finalizing the design when Hanna asked " Do you think that the silve might make me look like an alien?" I answered truthfully. That in fact, it would make her look like an alien.

She quickly replaced that choice with a silver-ey lavender. It was so interesting to see her come to the correct answer without being pushed there by an adult.


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  1. AnonymousJune 18, 2009 at 5:40 PM

    Sarah, thanks for showing the layout of the tallit. I know you have described things like the neckpiece, the stripe, and the corners before. and you have shown photos, but mainly because you were showing the work detail, I haven't had a proper map (so to speak) in my head of the whole. Now I do! (that's a whole 'nother learning theory...of which I am a visual learner!)

    I like the fact that you truthfully answered the alien question!
    Sandy in the UK

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