Like many girls of her generation preparing for their bat mitzvahs, 14-year-old Taryn Manzini gave a lot of thought to what she'd be wearing when she read from the Torah for the first time.
One article was a certainty: her new talis, a traditional Jewish prayer shawl, which for thousands of years was forbidden to women.
''Every boy I know is wearing one. I should be able to wear one,'' said Taryn, a tall eighth-grader who plays center on the Highland Oaks Middle School basketball team. She's a member of Temple Sinai of North Dade, a Reform congregation.
Taryn and other Jewish girls across the nation have decided to wear the male garment during their bat mitzvahs, the ceremony marking their entry as adults into the faith. For many of them, it is a statement of equality with their male peers, or as Taryn says, ``not missing out.''
While the practice has been common among women in the more liberal branches of Judaism, such as with reconstructionists, rabbis in Reform and conservative temples across South Florida say they've noticed an increase in the number of women wearing talism in recent years.
''In the last 10 years, there has been a revolution in women's spirituality, and more and more women have been wearing talism,'' said Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz of Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, a Reform congregation. ``One of the things that has been so fascinating has been seeing the deluge of designers coming out with talism for women.''
Indeed, the Judaica industry has seen a rise in the demand for talism designed specifically for women. Just two years ago, Maryland-based JewishBazaar.com stocked 12 styles of talism for women -- in shades of pink and purple and with floral embroidery. Today, 50 varieties are offered.
''Women have been wearing talism for many years, but it got big really in the last two years,'' said Sunny Golan, president of JewishBazaar.com. ``We noticed a big jump.''
The shift has its opponents, who say that a woman wearing a talis flies in the face of cherished traditions. Many of these opponents reside within the Orthodox branch of Judaism and in more traditional conservative temples.
`WANT TO BE LIKE BOYS'
''What are they going to be wearing next, tefilin?'' said the manager of Torah Traditions, a Judaica store in mid-Miami Beach, referring to the box containing sacred scrolls that men wear. ``They want to be like boys.
''I'm not uncomfortable about selling talism to women,'' said the manager, who wouldn't give his name. ``I simply don't.''
The prayer shawls, rectangular cloths with tassels of knotted string at each of the four corners, contain religious symbolism and history.
In biblical times, Jewish men wore the garment for all occasions. Today, customs range from wearing small talism all the time to wearing it only when reading from the Torah, depending on a man's adherence.
The tassels are intended to remind followers of their obligation to 613 Jewish commandments. Their intricate system of knots and coils are symbolic of events in a man's life, starting with circumcision, some say.
''A talis is distinctively a man's garment,'' said Rabbi Eliot Pearlson of Temple Menorah, a 1,200-member conservative congregation in Miami Beach. ``This does not mean women are less holy or less important, it just means they are different.''
Pearlson says he is surprised that women are choosing to assert their equality by wearing a talis. After all, women ''don't need the constant reminder from a talis not to go astray,'' he said. ``Who's holier? Who's stronger? There are many places in the Torah that show that women have higher spiritual potential than men.''
Many South Florida rabbis from Reform and conservative congregations said that well over half the girls in their congregations are wearing talism during their bat mitzvahs.
''It's a sign women feel comfortable with their increased role in Judaism over the last 50 years,'' said Rabbi Randall Konigsburg of the conservative Temple Sinai in Hollywood.
FEMINIST MOVEMENT
Paula Hyman, director of Undergraduate Judaic Studies at Yale University, was a leader in the 1970s Jewish feminist movement and was among the first women to wear a talis.
Wrapping herself in a white prayer shawl in 1973 drew sharp criticism from her male peers, she recalled.
''It was shocking. Donning a talis was a way of making a symbolic statement that we are equal with men,'' Hyman said.
Seeing so many girls wearing the talis during bat mitzvahs is a vindication of sorts, she said.
''It was a feminist statement in the 1970s and 1980s and 1990s. Now it's becoming commonplace,'' Hyman said. ``When you don't have to be daring to do it, it means new ideas have become routine.''
The first bat mitzvah was performed in 1922, two years after women received the right to vote in the United States. The ceremonies did not become widespread, however, until the 1960s.
GRANDMOTHER'S GIFT
For Taryn, the talis she wore has extra significance. It was a gift from her 69-year-old grandmother, who never had a bat mitzvah because girls in her Orthodox synagogue in New York City were not allowed to.
''I never saw talism on anybody but the men,'' said Monica Barg as she and Taryn fingered through prayer shawls at Traditions, a Judaica store in the Aventura Mall. ``But I think it's wonderful starting a new tradition. Something that Taryn can pass on when she has her own daughters.''
Taryn settled on an off-white silk talis decorated with peach-colored ribbons, which she wore during her bat mitzvah at Temple Sinai of North Dade on Saturday.
''It's a beautiful new tradition,'' said Barg, as she eyed the $260 price tag. ``And a beautiful talis.''