Plastic Tallit and Tefillin Bag Covers
Material: | |
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Plastic | |
Description: | |
Protective plastic covers for tallit and tefilin pouches. |
Plastic tallit and tefillin bag covers are used to protecting them against the elements and enable them to be carried separately or together as required. Almost all tallis and tefillin bags use these clear plastic covers or one of the more recent tote bag holders.
Contents |
[edit] Plastic Protective Covers
Today religious Jewish men carry their talit and tefilin with them wherever they go. As opposed to leaving them in the synagogue as was often the custom when Jews lived in the small shtetls of Poland and Russia. With this increased mobility talis and tefilin bags are no longer simple home-made affairs. With Jewish society’s increased wealth these pouches can sometimes be quite valuable in their own right. They are often made of luxurious or delicate fabric like silk, leather, needlepoint, rawcowhide and suede which can easily be water damaged or torn. It is therefore important to have a plastic cover to protect these valuable tefilin and tallis bags not only from wear and tear but also the weather.
[edit] Advantages
Having a plastic cover for both the tallit and the tefilin bags not only protects the pouches from weather and other damage, but enables both to be easily carried together, in one bag. Plastic covers come in several standard sizes so it is possible to get covers that fit both the tallit and the tefilin bags, enabling the tefilin bag to go inside the tallit bag. Double plastic tefilin are also sold for Rashi - Rabbanue Tam sets. Clear plastic covers make it is easy to see the tefilin and remove them prior to days when tefilin are not worn like the Sabbath. Identification information like name, address and phone number can also be put on or inside the cover, without marking the tefilin or tallit pouch itself.
[edit] Disadvantages
A disadvantage of these plastic covers are their tendency to wear out after a few years and having to be replaced. Plastic may degrade in sunlight especially if the bag is left on the back shelf of a parked car. Their corners also tend to fall apart, which is when most people chose to replace them. Plastic talit and tefilin bag covers are not very elegant or smart looking and nowadays many people prefer to use tote bags instead. These tote bags come with shoulder straps making them much easier to carry than plastic covers which are usually carried under the arm.
[edit] Popular Solution
Nevertheless plastic protective covers are still a popular solution to the problem of wear, tear, and weather damage to tefilin and tallit pouch bags. They can be bought at the same time as the tallit and tefillin bags themselves and are inexpensive to replace.