My Torah portion takes place in the Book of Exodus. In this part of the Torah, we hear for the first time about the weaving of the Tallis. When thinking about projects that might relate to my Torah portion, I became curious about making a Tallis myself. One day when my family was working in our yard, our neighbor, Mary, walked by. At this point, weaving a Tallis was only an idea, but Mary is a weaver, and she offered to help us find the materials needed and set us up with a loom at the Seward Weaving and Fiber Arts Collective.

This winter, Mary generously taught my mom and me how to wind the warp, dress the loom, weave, and fix broken strings. It was a three-month process, and it proved to be much more involved than we originally thought. However, it has been amazing to show up each week and see the work we have accomplished. 

The Tallis also has four corner patches for the Tzitzit and the Atarah, the part of the Tallis that goes around your neck. My mom and Grandma Barbara embroidered these pieces with the same almond pattern we used on the invitation. My Grandma Amy sewed my Tallis bag. I can't thank everyone enough!