Organic cotton flannel Fox Fiber, glass beads, nylon thread, organic shibori hand bamboo fabric, ultra suede, hand-dyed cotton twill tape

Tikkun and letaken are derived from the common Hebrew root meaning restore or repair. Blankets, shawls, garments and similar types of covering provide comfort. My tallit joins the Jewish belief tikkun (to heal) with my interpretation of that belief.

All religions have symbols that express the desire to heal and to honor spirituality. This tallit combines spiritual and healing symbols from several cultures — Jewish, Ojibwa and Buddhist and my understanding of what healing means in diverse cultures. The prayers (Jewish) and the mandalas (Buddhist) are placed so that the viewer needs to stand close to the tallit, thus paying attention to the wearer. The sound of the jingles (Ojibwa) also captures interest. Paying attention is often the first step in helping someone heal Paying attention also helps us to better see our surroundings. Paying attention — really seeing the other — can help to understand difference among people and to bring them together.