sarah in nyc

 since I last posted. Caleb and his mom came by to tie the tzitzit. Since you asked. they were both very happy with the tallit. That Shabbat I attended Caleb's bar-mitzvah at his synagogue.  Aside from being smart and a good artist, Caleb has a beautiful voice.  I had only met Caleb wearing his hat and a mask. At synagogue, he was wearing a kippah and when he was reading Torah or leading services he was unmasked.  It is only as I pulled the photos for this post that I realized why his face was so unfamiliar to me. I had never actually seen his face before. It was only after I had finished both the Torah mantle and Caleb's tallit that I could go get my second Covid booster shot and risk being laid low by a reaction to it. I am so glad that I waited because a day after my booster I had to nap for five hours in the middle of the day and then remained dragged out for a few more days. My days have been filled. I have baked several batches of bread. I have been working awa...

 I finished Caleb's tallit earlier today. I apologize in advance for the number of photos of this tallit.  Caleb's tallit has two big themes. The first is the pillars of fire and cloud that lead B'nai Yisrael through the desert. The other big theme is the character of Caleb himself who makes an appearance in his Torah portion. Below is a back view of the tallit with the sides folded up over the shoulders. Here you see a side view of the tallit on the pillar of fire side. The frame around the corner piece ( pinah ) made up of copper metallic ribbon (fire) overlaid with black Petersham ribbon (cloud) that has been embroidered with gold metallic thread (fire). I am so happy with how the black ribbon and embroidery stripes just feel so much like a traditional woven tallit. Here you can see the front view with both the cloud and fire at the same time. Below you see some photos of the cloud side of the tallit. And now the fire side. In case you don't obsessively memorize ever...