My custom tallitot are made in accordance with Talmudic and Rabbinical Law. Each tallit is composed of one or several of the following: artist dyed and vintage silks, batiks, and my own hand dyed cottons. Surface design techniques include applique, machine piecing, and hand guided machine embroidery.
The embroidered Atarah contains either the prayer for the wearing of a tallit, a Hebrew name, or one of the traditional blessings, such as: "May God make me like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah".
From the Mekhilta, a legal midrash on the Book of Exodus, we find that "hiddur mitzvah" is the practice of embellishing a mitzvah to make it as beautiful and extensive as possible. Exodus 15.2: "This is my God Whom I will beautify." A person can not make God beautiful, but s/he can make him or herself beautiful to God through the commandments. "I will make myself a beautiful sukkah, a beautiful lulav, a beautiful tallit..." These special "worship" tallitot are my expression of this idea.
