The Tallis

The tallis, or prayer shawl, was worn daily at morning prayers, on the Sabbath, and on holidays. In Europe, when a boy reached the age of three, his father wrapped a tallis around him and carried him to the cheder (Hebrew school) for the first time. A man was given his own prayer shawl when he got married.

My father had a large woolen tallis with a wide silverhead strip. When the tzitzis (fringes) had worn out from daily use, Father replaced them with new woolen tzitzis he knotted himself.