Refuah Shlemah Tallit (Healing Prayer Shawl)

Sandra Brick made this tallit, a healing cape used in Jewish ceremonies, during a difficult time in her life as a form of self-healing. On one side of the shawl, rendered in bead work, is the Hebrew prayer (the Mi She’berach) which is traditionally spoken when the tallit is placed on a person in need of healing. The other side includes the prayer translated into English. The jingles at the hem and the tie-dyed “sand mandalas” at the collar derive from non-Jewish healing practices, namely Ojibwe and Buddhist, making this contemporary work of Judaica unique for its global, inter-faith references.