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Virtually every student and faculty member at Beth Jacob Congregation's Hebrew school in Oakland is weaving a small portion of a special tallit to be auctioned off at the synagogue's annual fund-raising dinner on June 21.

The community project, which began in November and is about half finished, is designed to be creative, educational and team-oriented, according to organizer Linda Zack, principal of the Hebrew school and wife of Beth Jacob Rabbi Howard Zack.

"The children are learning a new skill while creating a Jewish object that has meaning and will be used," she said. "Hopefully someone local will win it at the silent auction and wear it in the synagogue. One kid told me that the next time he went to services at the synagogue, all he could think about was that the tallit had a new meaning for him."

It's the second time in five years that the Sunday school has made a tallit at a group level. Last time, Linda Zack realized the children appreciated the craft the same way she had always enjoyed crocheting. "It's the satisfaction of seeing something take shape," she said.

Once again, Zack sought the instruction services of synagogue member Marge Blustein, who also loaned the school her loom. Blustein, a part-time nurse and mother of three boys, caught Zack's attention after she had woven her first tallit in rose, blue and red for the bar mitzvah of her son Jonathan. She later made one for her husband in red, blue and gray. And it won't be long before she'll make a couple of others for her 11-year-old twins, Gabriel and Benjamin.

They'll be able to help, too, since they're among the 35 Hebrew school students adding inches to the tallit, made in off-white wool with royal blue and turquoise stripes.

"Everyone will get at least four turns on the loom," said Zack. "The parents will have turns also."

Before Blustein taught the students how to weave, Zack devoted a class session to the religious meaning behind the prayer shawl. The class read from the Torah text (Numbers 15:37 to 40). "The Torah text explains the obligation of tzitzit [ritual fringes]," Zack said. "They are reminders of God and the commandments."

According to the Torah text, the tzitzit on the corners of the prayer shawl are symbolic of God's 613 commandments. This symbol is emphasized through numerology. Each Hebrew letter has a numerical value, and when these values are applied to the letters in the word tzitzit, they add up to 600. Adding the number of strands (eight) and the five knots on each fringe gives the total of 613.

Zack ended the lesson by introducing the storybook, "The Always Prayer Shawl," by Sheldon Oberman.

Blustein led the hands-on weaving class, giving the students an overview of the art, its terminology and its history. Under Blustein's supervision, the students learned how to work the pedals and how patterns are made.

"On the whole, most of the children became fascinated with the loom and how it works," said Zack. "Now they know what goes into making cloth and they also know that they are creating something that will be used to perform a mitzvah. It's a way for the children to give back to the synagogue."

When the tallit is completed in a few months, Zack will lead another class on how to tie the tzitzit.