A tallit (or tallis) is a Jewish prayer shawl. Large with fringed garments worn during religious holidays, especially during a morning prayer as a reminder of God's commandments. The fringes (tzitzit) symbolizes the 613 mitzvot in the torah and is the most important part of the tallit. They are typically white with black stripes and are worn over the shoulders. My grandfather was born in 1937, in Chicago. He was a very religious man and even became a Rabbi and a community professor at the School of Social Work at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. When he was 7 years old he went to a Hebrew school summer camp that changed his life forever and helped him shape into the person he became. He said “a little part of me will always be at camp in Conover, Wisconsin”. The tallis was very important to him because he had his Bar Mitzvah in it, which is when a young teen is considered an adult in Judaism. It was especially meaningful because I wore the same tallis to my Bar Mitzvah. When he was in his last moments, I wore his tallis and read from the torah since I knew he wouldn't be alive for my Bar Mitzvah and I really think it gave him memories from his past and really helped him in his dying moments.

– Ari R

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more