Why the Prayer Shawl?
Have you ever asked yourself how you can create a sanctuary for my quiet time amid my whirlwind household?
It seems that Jesus/Yeshua often went into a quiet space to meet with His Father/YHVH and that this is a good example for us to build our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Finding a quiet space has become more and more difficult in our busy lives. The pace that we live at, having multiple jobs, having multiple generations in one house, single-parent households, juggling so many things at once, and still trying to find a quiet place to meet with God.
What if I can just pull something over my head and create a sanctuary where I can meet with Him? Something that will “lock me away” from the hustle and bustle of the world.
Let me introduce you to a Tallit/Prayer Shawl, the Biblical way of doing it.
In Psalm 91, we read that “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty…He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings, you shall take refuge…” Once again, “wings” is translated from the Hebrew kanaph. What a wonderful place for us as believers to be—under God’s authority, a place of safety and intimacy.
“But when you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray to your Father (who sees in secret) will reward you.” Matt 6:6
“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed”. Luke 5:16
More References
James 4:8, Mark 1:35, Matt 14:23, Matt 6:33, Ps 1:2, Ps 46:10, Ps 62:1, Rev 3:20
SLM now introduces a hand-crafted range of prayer shawls, that is perfect for young and old. The perfect gift for that special friend or couple, or maybe a child coming of age.
To buy visit my Facebook shop, or contact us for more information.
Special Occasions
Have you ever wondered what meaningful gift you could give to a “becoming of age” son/daughter?
What about a prayer shawl… Prayer is the lifeblood of our faith. Without a healthy prayer life, it is difficult to grow and mature spiritually. When our children become physically mature, we should help and encourage them to also mature spiritually. Having regular quiet time and an intimate prayer life is essential to mature spiritually. Gifting your child with a handmade prayer shawl that fits his/her personality will help them along this path.
Have you ever wondered what meaningful gift you can give to a bridal couple?
(Kan-o-pi (chuppah, from the root meaning to “Enclose” or “Cover”)).
In Psalm 19:5 (Hebrew 19:6) “chuppah” which means “canopy” is used in the Bridegroom’s chamber and in Joel 2:16 of the Bride’s. Among the Hebrews, the chuppah was originally the chamber in which the bride awaited the groom for the marital union.
You can make something special of a wedding day by getting the couple their own “chuppah”/prayer shawl to take with them after the day, which they can treasure and use, throughout their life journey…
The story behind the Prayer Shawl
To understand the history and significance of the Prayer Shawl) (in Hebrew it is called a Tallit), it is best understood in its Biblical context.
“Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God” (Num. 15:37–41). “You shall make tassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself” (Deut. 22:12).
Why is so much attention and detail given to the construction of these fringes?
When you look deeper into it, there is a numerical significance to almost everything. This is especially true for the Tallit. In Hebrew, each letter of the alphabet has a numerical value, so each word has a numerical value. For example, 26 is the numerical value of YHWH (the unpronounceable name of God often translated LORD), and 13 is the numerical value of echad (one).
Therefore, “the Lord is one” can be spelt out numerically on each tzitzit with four sets of windings (7+8+11=YHWH,+13=echad), each separated by a double knot, for a total of 39 windings. Also, each tassel has seven white strands, the number of perfections, surrounded by a blue (sometimes) strand depicting royalty or a reminder of God in heaven who watches over our every action.
Fulfilment of a Will of the Beloved – NOT a law, something that is elevated Higher…
Knots 7, 8 and 11 = 26 which equals Compassion, the Ultimate Name of God.
(That means God of Compassion). The Fringes represents that compassion. That Compassion of God in finding a way that brings us close to Him. 13 equals LOVE – We fulfil the commandments to show Love back to our Beloved.
That is ultimately what we want more than anything else. Clothing in Hebrew is BEGET, very similar to the word BAGAT | Betrayal. Clothing betrays us, we hide behind it. We pretend that we are something that we are not. God says, take your clothing. Elevate it, take the fringes on the corner of your garment. To make it much more, make a statement. It is to make a declaration.
Then also, some more detail, the Greek word here for “closet” is the Greek word “tameion”. It means an inner chamber or “Secret Room” (does not refer to the closet in your room or a room at home, but it could be used as a double application!) The “closet” is the covering of the “Tallit”! Prayer is an intense intimate personal interaction between God and man (or woman) ☺ !
Prayer is dialogue, it means that we speak to God and God speaks to us! You speak to God and then you hear from God! It is a conversation that occurs when we are intensely focused entirely on communion with God, having “shut out” all the rest of what is in the world!
The Head Piece | Blessing
Khanaf /corner/wings… it is like we are wrapped under the Wings of God. It is like putting yourself under His wings. The concept that we are being wrapped in His presence makes it so special. The thing that usually keeps away from God, is pride and arrogance. But God invites us, and says, come there under My presence, come here alone. Under the Prayer Shawl, there is nothing, but you and Me, where we going to find a chance to talk, you are going to get a chance to feel embraced and get a chance to separate yourself from those things in the world that takes you away from Me. The other similar word is the word “Talle” which means young sheep. And mostly the tallit is made of wool, and God wants to be our Shephard, and He wants us in His presence. To be ourselves, and not worry what people around us say about us, but just what God knows we are in Him.
Blue thread Ezekiel, throne of glory, presence of God, when we arrive to meet Him, He is there ready and waiting for us to spend time with Him. (God's glory).
Blue is like Sea
Sea is like Sky
Sky is like the Throne of the Lord
The Blessing (on the top of the Prayer Shawl) is placed over your head, on the outside, just like the tent walls of the Holy Tabernacle so that they would always hang the same way.
[Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to enwrap ourselves with the fringes.]
בָּרוּך אַתָּה ה' אֱ-להֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם אַשֶׁר קִדְשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ עַל מִצְוַת צִיצִת
Baruch atta Ado-nai, Elo-hai-nu Melech ha’olam asher kid-sha-nu b’mitz-vo-tav y’tzi-vanual mitzvat tzitzit.
One who wears a tallit while praying need not recite this blessing. In some communities, girls and boys begin wearing a tallit at the age of 13, or even earlier.
No one has ever really known for sure how to pronounce the ineffable Holy Name of God! What some Scribes did, was to take the Name “Adonai”, which comes together with the Name for G-d and took the vowels of “Adonai” and put them in the name of “Y-H-V-H” and that’s how we came up with the Name “Yahovah”.
There are other instances in God’s Word where the tzitzit are recognized as representing authority. For example, we read in Ruth 3:9: “And he said, ‘Who are you?’ So, she answered, ‘I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.’” The Hebrew word for “wing” is kanaph. It is most often translated as “wing” but is also translated as “skirt” or “corner.”
Ruth laid down at the feet of Boaz, and as he awakened, he was moved by her vulnerability. Boaz was an honourable man who recognized that she was placing herself under his authority. Ruth had the right to be covered by her spouse’s tallit, a symbolic expression of marriage. Boaz arranged immediately with her nearest kinsman for the right to buy the family property and marry Ruth.
1 Samuel 24:1–22 records the story of Saul’s pursuit of David at the caves of Ein Gedi. Saul had returned from following the Philistines and was told that David was in the Wilderness of Ein Gedi. Then Saul took 3,000 chosen men and went to seek David out. While Saul was in a cave, David and his men were also there, and David’s men said to him, “…This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you…’” (vs.4). David secretly cut off a corner (kanaph) of Saul’s robe. The corners of Saul’s robe held the tzitzit and were one of the symbols of his authority.
Afterwards, David’s heart was troubled because he had cut Saul’s robe, illustrating that Saul would be humiliated. David told his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord” (vs.6).
The Scriptures go on to tell us that David went out of the cave and called out to Saul saying “…My Lord the King!…” (vs.8). David humbled himself before Saul and said to Saul, “…Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you…” (vs.9–11). David’s act of giving back Saul’s authority brought reconciliation between the two men.
With an understanding of the significance of the tzitzit, we can now complete the story of the woman with the issue of blood. What was happening here was more than just a woman deciding to seek healing at the hands of the Lord. Although there was no promise to the woman concerning healing by touching the tzitzit, it is possible that she knew of the traditional interpretation of Malachi 4:2 associated with the Messiah’s tzitzit possessing healing powers: “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings, and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.” This would explain why she sought to touch Yeshua's tallit's corner or hem (“wings”). Numbers 15:38 and Malachi 4:2 use the same word for corner, kanaph. With the Hebraic context intact, one wearing a tallit could be said to be dwelling “in the secret place of the Most High” and “under His wings” (Ps. 91:1–4).
The woman had heard that Yeshua was the Messiah. It seemed that was also the opinion of many as revealed by the crowds who sought His healing powers. It also explains why this woman was instantly healed. She was expressing her belief that Yeshua was the Son of Righteousness, the awaited Messiah.
When the woman reached out in faith, Yeshua not only restored the woman physically with healing but also restored her socially by calling her “daughter.” He accepted her. He wasn’t angry. He blessed her with God’s peace and restored her self-esteem. Yeshua was saying to her that her faith in God had brought about her complete healing and restoration.
Sometimes we just have to reach out in faith… take that leap…do that thing… that will result in a new way of thinking, a new way of doing.
May YHVH guide us all to do HIS will… now and forever.