Our knowledge of the Jewish children’s world of yesteryear is even more limited than what we know of the Jewish adult world. The genizah, however, retains fragments of the world of all the inhabitants of the Jewish quarter, including children. Among the genizah finds are a wealth of teaching materials, as well as garments, such as bonnets, a glove, shoes, and children’s tallitot katan (small tallitot). Based on the size of the tallitot, we estimate that Jewish boys in the Czech lands wore tallitot katan perhaps from as early as age five. Torah binders are also amply represented in genizot; these textiles were traditionally made out of the swaddling cloth used at the circumcision of a baby boy on his eighth day of life. Such items are usually decorated with embroidery and include an inscription giving the boy’s name, his parents’ names, and the date – and sometimes place – of birth. This strip of cloth is used to tie a Torah scroll together when not being read.
