Clips per tallit “Rimmonim”

When wearing the prayer shawl you really feel the need to hold the two front sides together so that you have free movement during prayer.

I have recently designed these clips, a model that I named Rimmonim, from rimmon, which means pomegranate in Hebrew. The dimension of each piece is about cm 3 x 3. I made the rimmonim out of Japanese Papier-mâché, painted with acrylic colours and finished with a glazing varnish.

The fruit of the pomegranate tree is a symbol of abundance. Native to southern Asia, this fruit has the amazing ability to ripen on very little water. Yet the arils, the innumerable grains contained in a sturdy rind, are sweet, juicy and nutritious, and their bright red colour symbolises passion and energy and represents wealth, fertility and vitality.

According to Jewish mysticism, there are 613 arils, as many as the commandments of the Torah, the Miztvot. The pomegranate is in fact one of the typical foods eaten during the Jewish New Year, as a hope for prosperity. Other cultures and religions also share these well-wishing symbols: one among others the concept of brotherhood between peoples, in a similarity with the arils held tightly together and united inside the hard shell, a positive meaning for communities.

This is why, in our tradition, the gift of an object for the home depicting the pomegranate, or rimmon, is a wish for wellbeing and joy... so even more so if it is an item to wear!