#tallit

"I must never avoid being visibly jewish in public or the antisemites win"

or

Today is the first day of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Here, Nathan Cohen, 82, Abraham Pollock, 81, and Harry Brown, 88, as Pollock blew the shofar (ram's horn) betokening the beginning Yom Kippur, Sept. 20, 1942, at the Daughters of Jacob Home at 167th St.

Why do some tallitot have black stripes, some have blue, and some none at all?

The stripes are often symbolic — many believe they echo the ancient tekhelet (blue thread) once commanded in the Torah. Blue-striped tallitot recall this lost tradition, while black stripes (especially among Ashkenazi Jews) often represent mourning, humility, and memory.

At the center of it all are the tzitzit — ritual fringes tied with deep intention. Their knots and windings symbolize God’s oneness, the 613 mitzvot, and our eternal bond with the Divine.