DONE!

My new tallis is done! Finished, except for the tzitziot, for which I need my father's hlep. Tomorrow I will make the bag.

Tallis Update Number Three

My new talliis now has holes for the tzitziot! Four of them, with finished edges and everything!

Another Tallis Update

My tallis has stripes now! One stripe of off-white ribbon on each end. 2 stripes times 2 edges times 2 feet long equals 8 feet of whipstitch. At this rate I'll be done by tomorrow.

Tallis Update

I am done hemming my tallis! That is nine and a half feet of hand hemming! Whoo-hoo! At this rate I can finish it this week.

Making a Tallis

I have started a very large sew ing project: making a tallis, or Jewish prayer shawl.

This tallis is going to be six feet by 21 inches. I must hem it, sew on the stripes and the neck band, and whip stitch holes for the ritual fringes, the tzitziot (singular tzitzit). I bought white fabric with a whiter floral pattern for the body, off-white ribbon for the stripes, and purple floral for the neckband. I want to try to sew it all by hand; the best part about having matching thread is that no one can see your stitches! I'm excited.

Also, please join me in praying for Abby Riggs. Abby is three years old and fighting leukemia. Learn more at www.riggsfamilyblog.com

New Worlds

I had two amazing visions this Shabbat. They are too personal to post here so soon, but I will tell what I've noticed so far. Some of what I noticed, I was able to notice because of two books I've been reading: Lawrence Kushner's River of Light and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Quest for God.

My visions all seem to start with a handle or something to pull. If I don't pull the handle, the vision cannot continue.

If I could only forget, then I could remember and know--oh, everything!

When we leave this world, there is nowhere to go but God, for God is all.

Also, I was feeling slightly manic last night. I had been trying not to have a vision because I didn't want to mess up my mental health. But I couldn't keep it down any longer, so I went and had a vision, and after it was over I felt calmer, saner, healthier!

It's Almost Shabbat!

In two and a half hours, we will begin Shabbat! I love Shabbat! 25 hours of freedom and peace!

No business is allowed.
No writing is allowed.
No craft projects are allowed.
No cooking is allowed.
No lighting fire is allowed.
No cutting or tearing is allowed.

I also do not use electricity. Orthodox Judaism has ruled that for Shabbat purposes electricity is fire. I am not Orthodox and I do not believe that electricity is fire, but I have noticed that refraining from using it makes my day a lot more peaceful.

It's a whole day during which we are not allowed to do anything but read, sleep, and bond with our loved ones. What more could a person want in this world?