16 Jun THE MYSTERY OF THE ATARAH

All married men wear a
tallis gadol in the morning
when they pray and most
people have a special and
exclusive tallis they wear
in honor of the Shabbos.
Many people, especially
among the Chassidim,
wear an atarah, a crown, a beautiful strip of
silver on the top of the tallis. Some even
place the silver atarah upon a layer of velvet
as a further adornment. Yet, other very great
people such as Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l,
zy”a, and Rav Yakov Kamenetsky, zt”l, zy”a,
wore a simple tallis on Shabbos without any
ornamentation whatsoever.
What would be the reason to abstain from the
silver atarah? After all, it says, “Zeh Kei’li
v’anveihu – This is my G-d and I will glorify
Him.” The Gemara elaborates, “Hisna’eh
lifonov b’mitzvos – Be beautiful before Him
with your mitzvos,” so, what would be a
reason to choose the plain route?
First, let’s talk about the origin of the atarah on
the tallis. The Mogen Avraham quotes from the
Shelah HaKodosh, zt”l, zy”a, that the atarah is
to ensure that the side of the tallis which goes
upon the head should always be used for the
head. As it says, “Ma’alin b’kodesh v’ein
moridin – We go up in holiness and we never
descend.” He cites as a source for this the
verse, “V’hakimosa es haMishkan k’mishpato

– You should erect the Tabernacle properly.”
Chazal explains that this is the source that
all the Tabernacle’s beams were numbered to
ensure that each beam that was positioned by
the Holy of Holies remained so, once again,
ensuring that no beam was demoted from its
previous holy location. (Some people even
have a custom of marking the wooden boards
of their sukkah to remember which boards
were used in the front for the family, ensuring
that these same boards remain in that position
from year to year.)
So now, it’s even more mysterious. Why
would people abstain from using a beautiful
atarah? The answer is in a Levush, zt”l,
zy”a, who explains that the atarah makes the
tallis look like an adornment of the head. If
it would only be such, the article itself would
be exempt from having tzitzis on the corners.
For the posuk says, “Asher tichaseh bah –
Which you cover your whole body with,” and
putting an atarah only on the head would be
misleading. This explains the unusual custom
that is seen by certain Rebbes. In addition to
the atarah at the head, they have another silver
strip horizontally in the middle of their tallis.
Many people find that very strange, but it is
done to remove the issue raised by the Levush.
By putting this silver strip also in the middle,
the silver clearly isn’t only an adornment of
the head.
This was a well-known and popular minhag

in Poland and it was the minhag of the late
Munkatcher Rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira,
the Minchas Elazar, zt”l, zy”a. Yet many of
the Lithuanian Roshei Yeshiva eschew the
atarah and go with a simple plain tallis, and
such was the recommendation of the Orech
HaShulchan.
Once we are speaking about the tallis, let
me point out some of its powers. The Kaf
HaChaim cites that properly having in mind
the mitzvah of the tallis gadol is protection
for one’s teeth, for there are 4 corners of 8
threads, which equal 32, the number of teeth
in one’s mouth. The bracha that we make on
the tallis gadol is, “L’hisateif ba’tzitzis – To
wrap (oneself) in tzitzis,” whose roshei teivos,
starting letters, are lammed (30) and beis (2),
which also equals 32. Furthermore, Masechtas
Bava Metzia [2a] starts off, “Shnai’im ochzin
b’tallis – Two people who see a tallis,” but the
word shnai’im could also refer to teeth, hinting
that the tallis is helpful for the teeth.
The Chafetz Chaim, zt”l, zy”a, writes that one
who is frustrated and feels anger coming upon
them should grab onto his tzitzis, which are a
segulah against anger. (HaRav Aharon Yehuda
Leib Shteinman, zt”l, zy”a, whimsically says
that a better segulah against anger is simply to
keep one’s mouth shut!) Ben Yehoyada, zt”l,
zy”a, says that on each corner of the tallis is
the tzitzis, made up of 8 threads and 5 knots.
This equals 13. Thirteen times all 4 corners

equal 52, which is the gematria of ben (beis=2
and nun=50), a son. He thus says that having
a nice tallis is a segulah to have a son. And
that’s why is says, “V’asu lahem tzitzis al
kanfei vigdeihem l’dorosom – And you should
make tzitzis on the corners of your garments
for generations,” hinting to the fact that the
tzitzis aid families in having generations.
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course starting July 7, 2026, on “IFS for

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In the merit of our tzitzis, may Hashem cloak
us with protection and bless us with long life,
good health and everything wonderful.