sarah in nyc

B’s son’s bar-mitzvah is on the 27th. I had agreed to complete the atara in time to mail her the atara in time for her to wear it at that great event. I backed the arara with white silk, which will never be seen, and topstitched in gold. I then sewed it onto the tallit. I used a lavender rayon thread because it worked with both the orangey/pink sky colors and the blue of the ocean. One thing that irritated me about the atara that came with the tallit is that the same color thread was used in both the bobbin and the needle. The white thread was jarring and a bit cheap looking on the blue. I hope that B is happy with the result. I certainly am.

B and I attended the same Jewish day school. B was two  years ahead of me. We had never spoken. Given how small the school was, ( there were 28 in my graduating class) we certainly knew who one another was. B, now lives around he corner from my husband’s closest friend.  A couple of years ago, while visiting my husband's friend B. and I went for a long walk and had a long heart to heart about our school experiences.  Despite never having spoken during our school years, we really knew one another quite well. A few weeks ago  B. and her family hosted us for the weekend. Just before we left, B. handed me her tallit. she loved the tallit but hated the atara/neckband  pictured here.  I suggested that the new atara serve as B’s gateway into prayer and that she should think about a verse that would be that gateway. A week or so ago, B called . She had chosen the verse “ And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the water” Many of you may recognize t...