After designing my Neshamah/Eretz (Soul/Earth) and Neshamah/Mayim (Soul/Water) tallitot, I decided to create designs for all four of the classical elements, Earth, Eater, Air, and Fire. This tallit, Neshamah/Ruah (Soul/Air) includes those two words below the atarah (sewn-on neckpiece). It also incorporates calligraphic flourishes by Arthur Zaner, a renowned teacher of calligraphy during the “Golden Age of Ornamental Penmanship” (ca. 1875-1915). His work, which I've loved since I studied traditional ink pen calligraphy in high school, is an inspiration for my own style of Hebrew lettering. I can almost hear the wind’s swoosh and whistle in the swooping grace and elegance of his lines and curves. I combined some of his flourishes with words in the shape of a flying bird that I created for my Morning Blessing print:
Text: The first line of Birkhot Hashahar, the daily Morning Blessings prayer that’s part of the Shaharit service.
Translation: Blessed are You, our God, sovereign of time and space, Who enables the bird to distinguish day from night.
Each tallit comes with a matching zippered tallit bag (see last photo), printed on both sides and machine-washable. (Please note that this bag is not hand-sewn, but rather manufactured from my design by a production partner.)
Material: Medium-weight twill fabric and satin trim. Size: 72" long x 24" wide, designed to be warn shawl-style. They're a comfortable size for men and women alike. Please see the F.A.Q. page for more information about how Goren Judaica tallitot are made, and options for customization.
