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I bought a new tallit but I can't read without vowels.

Tallit

Al Berko
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GettingNifty
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1 Answers1

10

First of all, welcome.

The top of your tallit has the blessing. With nikkud (the vowelization), it reads:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ לְהִתְעַטֵּף בַּצִּיצִת

Translation:

Blessed are you, Eternal, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with your Commandments and commanded us to wrap ourselves with tzitzit.

Transliteration (Following American Israeli)

Baruch atah Ado-nai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam. asher kidǝshanu bǝmitzvotav, vǝtzivanu lǝhit'atef batzitzit.

Notes on transliteration: I have rendered the sheva na with the IPA character ǝ and the ע with an apostrophe.

As mentioned below, most pronounce the ב in בציצית with a sheva, although it is often written with a patach. I have deferred to the written form.

msh210
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Noach MiFrankfurt
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  • To the editor, is Adonai or yod hay vav hay left out when there are no vowels – GettingNifty Jun 30 '15 at 23:14
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    @GettingNifty Regarding holy names on a computer screen, see http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/1186 (see also http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/7275). – Fred Jun 30 '15 at 23:45
  • Just to add, this is the blessing which is traditionally said when putting on the talit. A lot of people (like me) hold the talit in front of them while saying the bracha before putting it on, so putting it there puts the bracha right in front of the wearer at the time they're going to say it. – Popular Isn't Right Jul 01 '15 at 08:42
  • @NoachmiFrankfurt , it should be noted that it is a machlokes achronim how to pronounce the bais ,either with a shva(Levush) or with a Patach (Bach) the machlokes is quite interesting but I am not sure what the consensus is in the siddurim are. – sam Jul 02 '15 at 02:32
  • The translation should be "that sanctified us through His commandments". Also, although in terms of intention, translating the 4 letter name of G-d as "Eternal" might be accurate, it doesn't convey the idea that it is a name. It is for this reason that many translators use the form, "L-rd, our G-d". – Yaacov Deane Jul 08 '15 at 11:18
  • @YaacovDeane, I got the idea of using "Eternal," rather than "Lord" from French translations. I also prefer it for the above reasons you stated and for the theory that the tetragrammaton is an abbreviation for היה הוה ואהיה or אהיה אשר אהיה, which both refer to the eternal nature of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. – Noach MiFrankfurt Jul 08 '15 at 13:37
  • @sam Do you have any online links where I can see the machloket? – DanF Jun 26 '17 at 22:59
  • I once read on the Yad L’achim calendar that these should not be placed on the Tallis. I will hope to find the exact source for this. – Daniel Ross May 20 '19 at 17:47
  • Different source https://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/175/Q3/ – Daniel Ross May 20 '19 at 17:55