Responsibilities of a Bar/Bat Mitzvah Blog Post
In my grade 6 classroom we have been learning about the responsibilities of the bar or bat mitzvah, the tallit, the tefillin, Chilazon, Tekhelet, Tzitzit etc. Now that we have finished learning all that we are demonstrating our knowledge and understanding of these topics by writing a blog post.
Bar or Bat mitzvah
The first thing I’d like to talk about is the bar or bat mitzvah. Jewish boys and girls who turn 12 or 13 are celebrated as becoming adults with a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. It is through this event that a boy or girl officially becomes an adult Jew. This means that they are now responsible for Taking on all of the mitzvot and decide for themselves how they would like to practice Judaism.
The Tallit
The next thing I want to talk to you about is the tallit and tefillin and also what purpose both garments serve. Let’s start with the tallit. The tallit was originally worn every day by males but after the destruction of the 2nd Temple, a new tradition began where the Tallit was worn as a prayer shawl. The tallit has special strings attached to the corners of it called tzitzit. The purpose of tzitzit is to constantly remember Hashem and his commandments (613 mitzvot).
There are different types of tallitot. There is the Tallit Katan (Small tallit, sometimes called the Arba Kanfot, worn by numerous men each day) and the Tallit Gadol (Large tallit, most commonly used during prayer). Also, A tallit is usually made from wool or cotton, although silk is sometimes used for a tallit gadol.
Tefillin
Now that we have talked about the tallit we are going to talk about tefillin. ‘Tefillin’also know as phylacteries or prayer boxes (worn during weekday morning prayers), is the name given to two black leather boxes that contain parchments of Torah verses. Attached to the boxes are leather straps (made from kosher animal leather) which are worn on the forehead and upper arm. These places represents the way in which we serve G-d, Thought (Forehead) and Action (arm)
The thing I found most interesting was the mystery of tekhelet.
What is Tekhelet
In ancient times, the tallit would have two kinds of threads attached to the corners called tzitzit. The tzitzit was made up of white wool (or the material used to make the garment) and blue wool. This blue wool is known as tekhelet.
The unique blue dye is supposably made from the blood of a sea creature known as the chilazon, which lives in the Mediterranean Sea. Today, it is not so common to have a Tekelet fringe on the tallit or tzitzit. The quest for the chilazon has been ongoing since 1000 years ago, when it became unavailable.
There have been many attempts to rediscover its true identity, for sure including the Radziner rebbe, Rabbi Gershon Henoch Leiner, and Israeli Chief Rabbi Y. I. Herzog. Recently, the marine snail Murex trunculus has been identified as possibly being the chilazon, but many have doubt about it. Some people just belive that nobody will find out what it really is until Moshiach comes.
Overall I hope you learned something and if you have questions or comments right them below.
Tehila Shapiro