בָּרְכִ֥י נַפְשִׁ֗י אֶת־יְ֫הֹוָ֥ה
יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהַי גָּדַ֣לְתָּ מְּאֹ֑ד
ה֖וֹד וְהָדָ֣ר לָבָֽשְׁתָּ׃
עֹֽטֶה־א֭וֹר כַּשַּׂלְמָ֑ה
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
O LORD, my God, You are very great;
You are clothed in glory and majesty,
wrapped in a robe of light...
ר' שמעון בן יהוצדק שאל את ר' שמואל בר נחמן ואמר לו:
כיצד ברא הקב"ה את האורה?
אמר לו:
נתעטף בטלית לבנה והבהיק את העולם באורו.
R. Simeon ben Jehozadak interrogated R. Samuel bar Nahmani, saying:
“How did the Holy One, blessed be He, create the light?”
R. Samuel bar Nahmani replied:
“God covered Himself with a white garment (lit. tallit), and suffused the world with His light.
Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (1924 – 2014), founder of the Jewish Renewal movement,
was meditating on the Midrash:
‘How did God create the world?
He wrapped Himself in a robe of light, and it began to shine.’”
This meditation resulted in him envisioning and then designing the rainbow tallit.
“Understanding that choosing a color other than white for a tallit was entirely permissible, Zalman explored using kabbalistic imagery to transform the meaning of the stripes on the tallit he designed.”