Religious threads

The pulled thread shawl I’m working on is a tallit and I’d really like to have it done in time for Rosh Hashanah services this Saturday. I finished the beading last night – rough guess is over 2500 beads! It’s a good thing I didn’t figure that out first. I’ve never worn a tallit before and I didn’t have a Bat Mitzvah ceremony when I was 12 (or 13). It almost feels like I’m not entitled to use one – like there’s some kind of test I have to pass before wearing one and I haven’t passed the test. Not that I know what the test is. Part of it is related to a feeling that maybe I shouldn’t be wearing one. Most of the women at the synagogue I belong don’t wear a tallit once they’re over high-school/college age. I’m not sure why. At last year’s services I remember seeing maybe a dozen (and that’s probably high) women older than 20 wearing one.

I don’t like standing out. That’s the bigger issue. I go to a knitting group and I’m the only one using double-pointed needles smaller than size US 15 with a plain yarn instead one on the funky eyelash, ribbon, glittery, yarns? I may not go back. I used to go to a spinning group where I was the only one who always showed up with handspindles, no wheel (I don’t own a spinning wheel, never even tried one, but I do have close to 2 dozen handspindles). I don’t go there anymore either. Although that’s not by choice – the group disbanded last year.

So, assuming I finish the tallit by Thursday, will I wear it on Saturday?