What is a prayer shawl or talith for? I heard it was something used instead of a closet like when Jesus said something about praying in your closet, he meant use a prayer shawl or something. And what is the Hebrew writing on a talith? A lady from my church sometimes brings her prayer shawl and prays with it but has no idea what the Hebrew writing is on it about. Is the writing on the prayer shawl Deut. 6:4 (part of the Shema)? And what does Deut. 6:4 look like in Hebrew? Part of it is something like "Shema Israel Adonai echad something? Does Purim come in March? If Aleth, is A what is the last Hebrew letter? I read something about the first and last letters of Hebrew in the Shema?
What is it for? It is mainly for two things, one wore ( during the day) at synagogue when in prayer. The other more mundane is since our wearing apparel has changed since biblical times, we no longer have four cornered garments, with which to tie the tzitziot to. Thus a four cornered garment was made for such a purpose. The tallit is not the holy item, it is the tzitziot tied to it.
The writing on the mass-made talliots is just a 'cheat sheet', by that I mean they just contain the blessing in Hebrew one should say when putting it on. Most do not contain the name of G-d upon them but it is replaced by two yods.
You want to see the Shema in Hebrew
go here
I have noticed lately that Christians are taking this as something they believe is part of their 'Jewish heritage' yet do not honor it as such, stay away from that, it is not pleasing to G-d.
boys wear that thing at bar mitvahs, don't they? "Blessed are you LORD our God King of the Universe who has sanctified us with your commandments and has commanded us to wrap ourselves in tzitzit" is that a verse in the Bible? I don't want to buy a talit just wondered what is written in Hebrew on it. and wondered what is the shema since it is also read or quoted a bit sometimes when someone wears a talith, don't they? Purim comes this year on March 21st or 20th? in passover week, just before Easter?
Please don't call it 'that thing', the tzitziot upon it are to remind us of G-d and all his commandments, it is a holy article, not a thing. And yes, a bar mitzvah will always be wearing one, as this is part of becoming a bar mitzvah.
"Blessed are you LORD our God King of the Universe who has sanctified us with your commandments and has commanded us to wrap ourselves in tzitzit"
No, this is said in some Messianic congregations, as the L-RD did not command this, but did command us to wear them.
Purim is always a month before Passover. Purim this year is near Easter which is being celebrate way off from Passover.
One place on the internet I found the first line of the Shema is "Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad".
The next word in the next verse translates "you shall love...The lady at church used the tallit to make like a tent thing and people walk under it for their miracle. I thought the flag of Israel has the Star of David on it.
You will find it in your bible, Deut 6:4. Yes when Israel became a nation again, the tallit was looked at for inspiration to make a flag. The blue is to symbolize the blue that should be in all tzitziot, and many talliot have blue stipes in them.
To be used in the way you describe again, is not pleasing to G-d, he doesn't need things like this to bless others with. You never see Yeshua using his tallit to hold over anyone, neither did he teach his disciples to do so.
It does have a star of David on it; but the blue stripes are
patterned after the stripes on a tallis.
I don't know why they chose blue stripes, unless it is
a reference to techelet.
Yes, that is why.
So Jews and Messianic Jews don't pray to the Heavenly Father, they pray to the LORD our God King of the Universe instead? So in the Old Testament, God wasn't the Heavenly Father until the New Testament?
Messianics use both terms and more. He is our heavenly father, but traditionally he is also called the King of the Universe, because that is how great he is. Elohenu Melech Ha Olam. Using Heavenly Father is a bit more intimate, and used for private prayer as opposed to corporate prayer , like in synagogue when you need a minyan ( 10 to pray or more).
In a christian prayer, the Lord's Prayer it starts out, "Our Father which art in heaven..." That was why I asked if you pray to the same God. But I know some of G-d's other names but not sure if I'm allowed to write it on here. The ones that means He is our provider, He is our banner, He sees me, He is our Healer... Just hadn't heard the one that He's the ruler of the Universe. Though Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So Deut. 6:4 is not anywhere on the tallit?
That may be used in Christianity, but is a Jewish prayer. Yeshua was and still is Jewish, he was not a Christian. Yeshua called him Abba too, Father, he also referred to him to others as 'Your heavenly Father'. He of all had that personal intimacy, which he taught that we, when we become his children can also have.
Shalom!