JULY 20 • 2023 | 21

old, when he originally received it from his parents, 
Sydney and Nellie Kraft. And it wasn’t a prayer shawl 
that just lay dormant over the years, only coming out of 
hibernation from Aaron’s blue velvet tallit bag in time for 
the High Holidays.
“He enjoyed shul during the holidays,
” said Valerie, but 
he wore the tallit every Shabbat morning at Adat Shalom. 
He and my mother, Esther, were longtime members. 
“Each grandchild lit up his face; he found a connection 
to each,
” said Valerie of her father, who passed away in 2015. 
“The tallit overhead at our family weddings have meant so 
much as part of our kids’ new life journeys as couples.
”

TOUR DE TALLIT
Valerie recently acted as my tour guide 
for the traveling tallit that has made 
stops at five family weddings in just the 
last five years. The tallit, so integral to 
the preparation of the ceremonies, that 
every rabbi who officiated incorporated 
the emotional family ties of the tallit into 
their remarks.
Aaron Kraft’s tallit made its chuppah 
debut in January 2019, when Bryan and 
Evie Kraft’s son Cary married Rachel 
Schonwetter in St. Petersburg, Florida. 
Rachel’s grandfather’s tallit also adorned 
the chuppah.
“L
’dor v’dor, from generation to genera-
tion,
” said Bryan of his father’s prayer shawl being included at 
his son’s wedding. Generation to generation, the exact words 
the bride and groom used to describe the emotional impact 

of the tallitot on their ceremony.
“Each generation of our family plays a role in 
shaping who our children will become,
” Bryan 
said. “They instill the character, values and 
traditions that will be passed 
on to their children and 
families. Using our father’s 
tallit under the chuppah rep-
resents the continuation of 
those traditions and reminds 
us that though our parents 
and grandparents may have 
passed, we can take great 
comfort knowing they are in 
some way with all of us for 
this special occasion.
”
The tallit’s next stop 
included a return visit to 
Florida when in May 2021, 
Helayne and Jeff Kaplan’s 
son Jeremy and daughter-in-law Elan Yochai 
were married in Boca Raton, with tallitot 
from both sides included in the simchah.

Jeremy Kaplan and Elan Yochai 
on their wedding day

continued on page 22

Cary Kraft and Rachel Schonwetter under the chuppah 

Esther z”l and 
Aaron Kraft z”l

