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Sunrise Roots To Sunset Blossoms: The Wimpel Of Shira Yael Wein
An old tradition of German-Jews was to create a wimpel (flag) when a boy was born, which would eventually be used as a Torah binder. The newborn’s name was stitched on it, along with the blessing that “as the child enters The Covenant, so may he go on to Torah, Marriage and Good Deeds.” Chana adapted this custom for a baby girl, telling the story of her roots and her parents’ hopes for her future. It moves from right to left—dawn in the east to nightfall in the west—along the biblical trajectory “from the sun’s easterly rising until it sets” (Psalms 50:1, Psalms 113:3, Malachi 1:11). The central metaphor is a tree with roots in the east and blossoms in the west.

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