Small tallitot and tefillin bags are fairly abundant in genizot. The small tallit – a rectangular piece of fabric with ritual fringes (tzitzit) in the corners – is worn by observant Jewish men and boys under their clothing as a way of reminding them of the commandments (mitzvot). Small tallitot and tefillin bags are representative of the textiles produced locally; due to their simple appearance, such items do not usually appear in museum collections. Festive waistcoats with ritual fringes and a shirt sleeve that was perhaps used as a circumcision apron are other types of objects that have been incorporated into the Jewish Museum’s collections only as a result of being discovered in a genizah.
