Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on January 29, 2020

HOMETOWN: Cherry Hill

SYNAGOGUE: Cong. Sons of Israel

OCCUPATION: The Tallisman

FAMILY: Parents Rabbi Ephraim and Debi Epstein; sisters Rena, Atara, Recheli, Yochved and Timima; brothers Nachi, Zev, and Yisrael Meir.

WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU WANT TO LIVE?: Israel

Nesanel Epstein got his first job at eight years oldand he didnt even have to apply. When his father, Rabbi Ephraim Epstein of Cong. Sons of Israel in Cherry Hill, returned home from a trip to Israel with a tallit (prayer shawl) for a community member that needed tzitzit (ritual fringes) made of techelet (wool dyed a particular shade of blue), he showed his son how to tie them. Young Epstein took to it immediately, and from then on, was tying tzitzit regularly.

Right after his bar mitzvah, Epsteins father showed him an advertisement hed placed in the Sons of Israel Newslink for an organization (known as a gemach) that offered tzitzit-tying and checking services to ensure they were kosher. Contact Nesanel Epstein, the ad read. It was official, Epstein recalled. That very day at the shul kiddush, Epstein began receiving requests.

Through high school at Foxman Torah Institute, Epstein offered his services at cost price, with no personal profit. After graduation, he studied at the Chofetz Chayim Yeshiva in Jerusalem, where he also received tzitzit requests (he turned them down to focus on his studies). It was after Epstein returned to the States to study that he began to consider turning his chesed into a business.

With his fathers help, he decided on the perfect business name. Some of the options they batted around included String Theory and No Strings Attached, but The Tallisman, arguably the most original, won out.

Epstein learned quickly that success in his field relied not only on his skill, but also on his adaptability. My friend said to me, If you really want to be The Tallisman, you have to know every minhag (custom) out there: Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Arizal, Slonim, Belz, Chernobyl, Tosfos. You gotta know every single one. So I went and researched. I went to Belz (a Chasidic community) in Lakewood and learned from them how to do it. Someone would call me and ask for something, and Id find a way to learn it.

The customs for tying tzitzit are as varied as the Jews who wear them, and Epstein now knows them all. He explained the process, for example, of standard Ashkenazi tzitzit, which are tied in a system of 7, 8, 11, 13. This means between the five knots tied in a string of tzitzit, there are seven wraps between the first and second knot, then eight wraps between the second and third knot, 11 between the third and fourth, and 13 between the fourth and fifth.

Meanwhile, there are at least 17 different customs for tying tzitzit that include techelet, all of which Epstein knows. He has even earned a coveted place in the International Techelet Tying Bureau List. Its an accomplishment to get on that list, he said.

Epsteins passion for the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit has grown along with his skill set. Number one, its the simplest, easiest mitzvah in the Torah, he said. Number two, its equivalent to 612 other mitzvot, so its an added bonus. He reads extensively on the topic to learn more about it, and in turn, teach others at schools, camps, and as a member of Project Tzitzit, which gives away pairs of tzitzit to any Jewish person who wants to wear ritual fringes and doesnt own them. Its my way of doing something unique and changing the world, Epstein said.

Continue reading here:

Nesanel Epstein brings tzitzit to the world as 'The Tallisman' - Jewish Community Voice

Category: Ashkenazi
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