Attn. Yekkes: Know anything about a wimple?

opinionatedbubby

Sun, May 02 2010, 3:28 am

For the curious: it's a yekkish minhag, a kind of tie for the sefer Torah, made in honor of a small boy becoming trained. Really.

I was asked to make one for my grandson and given a sample for the size and wording. That's fine, but does it have to be linen? where can you get thin white linen, anyway? Can I double the fabric , and use embroidery instead of marker, like the sample? Can I hem it instead of edging it with ribbon?

Any other insights into this minhag? any wimple stories?

sarahd

Sun, May 02 2010, 9:34 am

queenofhearts wrote:

I had thought a wimple was made for a bris?!

The cloth for the wimpel is laid under the baby during the bris. Then the mother takes it and embroiders it so that it's ready for when the child is old enough to go to shul, usually when he's toilet trained.

Ruchel

Sun, May 02 2010, 11:31 am

It's a dying custom but some families are going back to it. There are still a few wimpel embroiders in France. In my dh's family, it's the bris cloth that is embroidered after and given to the shul after the hair cut. IYH we'll do it. Dh didn't have it because his father couldn't stand the idea some would think his son and heir was a girl LOL.

I see in America it's been taken over by the reform who put shtus on it, like favorite football team and pet names! shock

Twizzlers

Sun, May 02 2010, 12:27 pm

Ruchel wrote:

sorry Ruchel, but I think you are sadly misinformed. Yekkes do not let boys hair grow; we cut it right away having nothing to do with wimpel.
A wimpel can be embroidered or painted and there are no "rules" regarding designs and stuff. its all minhag to begin with.
We did one for our son this past sukkos and iyh hope to make another one around purim time next year.

We are NOT reform, and definitely did not have pet names or football teams on it Rolling Eyes

. I highly doubt you'll find any such wimpels in Breuers either. Not quite sure how you made the assumption that thats whats done in America.

OP, I think it does have to be linen. Generally it is used on the pillow by the bris and then made into a wimpel by the time the kid is trained. I'm sure any fabric store would sell plain white linen. Ours was hemmed. I got an artist to outline the words and a few pictures in pencil and I colored it myself with fabric markers. I have seen people embroidering it, but it was more expensive to do that and I'm not talented enough to do that myself.

Ruchel

Sun, May 02 2010, 12:36 pm

Quote:

sorry Ruchel, but I think you are sadly misinformed. Yekkes do not let boys hair grow; we cut it right away having nothing to do with wimpel.

This has been already discuss. To each their minhag. In dh's direct family, and among his cousins of the same rite, this is that way. I have inquired about it and been told so. Thanks.

Quote:

We are NOT reform, and definitely did not have pet names or football teams on it Rolling Eyes . I highly doubt you'll find any such wimpels in Breuers either. Not quite sure how you made the assumption that thats whats done in America.

Not quite sure where you get the idea I said it's everyone, but if you mean about the reform, it's online.