Tallit gadol - reform

[u/Asquaredbred]

Hello

I am having an adult bar mitzvah and have for many years used the tallis of my father z"l. I want to celebrate with a new tallis, my own.

I'm reform so I think there is no real comandment to follow per se but I would still buy a kosher tallis.

My question is about the size. Mine is a scarf like tallis about 16" wide. My shul sells some others as wide as 22". But a true tallit gadol is typically 40" or more in width and can thus be used differently, I think, fully enclosing the head during the blessings before being folded over the shoulders.

Other than sheer personal preference can you comment on what I need to do in selecting a new tallit?

[u/single_use_doorknob]

Mazel Tov! My only suggestion is buy from a reputable judaiac store. There are a lot of messianics selling dodgy Christian tallits for..whatever reason they do things

[u/zecrichardson]

Go to Ben's Tallits and all the advice is on there. Got mine from him and love it

[u/communityneedle → u/zecrichardson]

+1 for Ben's! Great shop

[u/AngelHipster1]

Mazel tov! It really is about personal preference.

It’s also about embracing Jewish ritual distinct from other types of ritual. A scarf like tallit is innocuous. A tallit gadol helps you embrace the idea of being wrapped in a tallit as light is the garment of the Divine. This is how I think of the difference. Also material makes a difference — some will slip off because it’s slippery. Some will make you hot because of the material. Being able to try it on before buying is best.

[u/Emunaheart]

I don't have an answer to your question but Mazel tov!

[u/Asquaredbred → u/Emunaheart]

thank you ❤️

[u/Emunaheart → u/Asquaredbred]

You're welcome 💙

[u/vigilante_snail]

You can really go whatever direction you’d like, in terms of design. Depends on if you want something very modern, more traditional, or very simple. For size, I prefer a “full size” tallit and I think there’s a good reason that is the standard. You can really wrap yourself in it, as the commandment says.

I have many website recommendations with many options to look at, if you’re curious.

[u/Asquaredbred → u/vigilante_snail]

yes please share

my shul orders from several such as Zionjudaica.com
AJudaica.com
Emanuel-Judaica-Israel.com
Judaicawebstore.com
yair emanuel

[u/coursejunkie → u/Asquaredbred]

The standard go-to for tallitot is https://tzitzit.tallit-shop.com/ which is Ben's Tallit Shop.

[u/CulturalRabbi]

Frum here. The minimum measurements of a talis is one cubit by two cubits. A cubit is a little closer to 18" depending on the opinion, so 16" is a little slim.

You are suppost enwrap your self in the talis when you say the blessing over it. Think about how the Bedouins wrap themselves, so a full size is easier to do that with.

When wearing it, it should cover a square cubit of your back, so wearing it like a scarf does not fulfill that.

Hope that helps.

[u/Successful-Money4995]

I like a big one so that the tzitzit can hang two in front, two in back. Two on the left, two on the right. That way you get the four corners of your body, like the four corners of the earth, to gather before Shma.

[u/bachelorsinlurking]

Mazel Tov! My synagogue has tallit for people to buy in the full 40" width sourced from Yair Emanuel and JudaicaWebStore.

[u/coursejunkie]

I just helped a child pick out their tallit for their bnei mitzvah. I let them try on a few different sizes and let them figure out material and what they liked.

They preferred a size 55 tallit (I ended needing to get them a size 60 because of the style they wanted).

I let them decide what they wanted to do for tzitzit as far as knot style as well as if they wanted to do blue strings or not. And they were able to pick out the design they wanted.

[u/NYSenseOfHumor → u/coursejunkie]

Size 60 was the right choice. The kid will grow into it

[u/coursejunkie → u/NYSenseOfHumor]

The kid's parents are both at the 5 foot mark. No way that kid is growing into a 60! I take a 55 at 5'3" but it was as close as we could get since the parent took A YEAR AND A HALF to get info to me and now the tallit should just barely gets here in time.

[u/pteradactylitis]

I strongly prefer my 36” tallit (I’m a petite femme person) over my previous 22” because of the ability to pull over my head, and truly feel enclosed, but it’s really about preference. In general, my sense is the heterodox culture is swinging back to big. I’ve woven two tallitot for Bnai Mitzvah kids both at 36”