I was recently commissioned to re-create a tallit for an Army Chaplain. The black tallit below is an original, part of the WWII collection at the National Jewish History Museum. To my knowledge, no-one has been able to locate the original fabric that was used. It was an acetate-type fabric with a subtle grosgrain design. In 1945 DuPont bought the rights to manufacture polyester but it didn’t go into production until several years after the war.
The tallit below was made for an Air Force Chaplain. It is a single layer of ivory wool. The atarah below is a custom blessing done for him, rather than the traditional bracha. Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage; fear not, nor be afraid of them.” The label below it is the translation and was sewn to the inside of the neck.
For the custom tallit below, I selected a dark grey dupioni silk. The embroidered designs are the US Army logo and Ten Commandments tablet. The measurements are approximately 12″ wide at the bottom (including the pleats) and tapering to 8″ at the neck x 84″ long plus a long knotted fringe.
This navy wool tallit was made for a retired Army Chaplain.
The traditional blessing can be embroidered as in this sample:
Two new atarot: Psalm 107:23 for a Navy officer: “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters.”
This is a slightly different fabric with a textured pattern. The atarah blessing is Isaiah 2:3 and a familiar closing blessing sung at the end of the
Torah service. Transliteration: Ki mitzion tetze Torah, ud’var Adonai mirushalayim. Translation is embroidered on a label stitched to the inside of the neckband: “For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Mlilitary tallitot can be made for any branch of service: US Navy Officer, Navy Seal, Army, Air Force, etc. Here’s an illustration of the logos:
