My great-great grandfather Max was from Russia. He came to the United States in 1899 because of religious persecution towards Jews. With him, he brought over a small silver bible with jewels on it, his tefillin, and his tallit. Max was very religious and prayed twice everyday. In Russia, it was hard for him to pray without hate and threats from others. However, when he came to the US, he was able to pray freely. He used this tallit everyday when he prayed and went to temple. Max passed it down for his son to use and he passed it down to my dad. A tallit is used at your bar or bat mitzvah to welcome you to adulthood and after that, you use it whenever you are in a temple for services. Max’s tallit is at least 125 years old. This is important to me and my family because it shows Max’s hard work and determination to pray freely without hatred from others and fear of prosecution. This tallit represents my Judaism and part of my family tree. 
 

– LH

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