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The tallit (Modern Hebrew: ) or tallet(h) (Sephardi Hebrew: ), also called talles (Yiddish), is a prayer shawl "cloak" that is worn during the morning Jewish services (the Shacharit prayers) in Judaism, during the Torah service, and on Yom Kippur. It has special twined and knotted "fringes" known as tzitzit attached to its four corners. The tallit is sometimes also referred to as the arba kanfot, meaning the ‘four wings’ (in the connotation of four corners).
While some other Jewish garments or objects might be treated more casually, the tallit is a special personal effect, generally used for many years or a lifetime and never discarded. Most Jewish men own very few tallitot in their lifetimes. A threadbare tallit is treated with great respect, as if it had a mantle of holiness, acquired from years of use. Although there is no mandatory tradition, a tallit is likely to be given as a special gift, from father to son, from father-in-law to son-in-law, from teacher to student. It may also be purchased to mark a special occasion, such as a wedding, a b'nai mitzvah, or a trip to Israel. When a man dies, it is traditional that he be buried dressed only in his kittel, with his tallit is draped over him.
Since wearing a tallit at certain times is considered an obligation for men, a synagogue will usually have a rack available with extras, for visitors and guests, or for those who forgot to bring their own with them. The extras that a synagogue has available to lend are usually plain and simple, but sufficient to fulfill the obligation. Although non-Jewish male visitors are expected to wear a kippah (headcovering) when visiting a synagogue, it would be frowned upon for a non-Jew to put on a tallit, unless he is studying or preparing for conversion to Judaism.
According to Rabbinic Judaism, men are required to wear it at various points of their lives as Jews, and most sages regarded the tzitzis as compulsory. In Reform Judaism, the use of a tallit was declining during much of the 20th century, but in recent years, it has returned to favor. Various authorities have differed as to whether women are permitted to wear a tallit. In Orthodox Judaism, many authorities discourage women from wearing a tallit while some Modern Orthodox authorities permit it. In other branches of Judaism it is more commonly practiced.
Terminology
The word tallit in Modern Hebrew is pronounced tah-LEET, or in IPA, with the stress on the final syllable. Less common today, but historically quite widespread, is the pronunciation tallet, or IPA. The same word is pronounced TAH-lis in Yiddish, transcribed *" target="_blank" >or [tá.lıs in IPA, with the stress on the initial syllable. Both pronunciations are commonly interchanged and refer to the same object.
The correct plural of tallit in Modern Hebrew is tallitot, pronounced tah-lee-TOT, or in IPA; the traditional Sephardi plural of tallét is talletot, pronounced tah-leh-TOT, or IPA. The Yiddish plural, which has its roots in the Mediaeval Ashkenazi masculine form tallēt (compare Modern Ashkenazi/Israeli Hebrew tallit gadol with the masculine form of the adjective) with the analogous plural ending -im and diphthongisation of the accented ē, is taleisim, pronounced, tah-LEY-sim, or *" target="_blank" >or [ta.léj.sım in IPA. Again, all these plurals are interchangeable and are more or less commonly heard.
Historical origin
There is much confusion among the masses as to the origins of the tallit. The actual four-cornered garment began with no relevance whatsoever to Jewish practice. Beginning when Moses received the Torah on Mount Sinai, all of Israel were commanded to place tzitzit on the corners of their four-cornered garments. (Numbers 15:37-41 and Commandment 376 out of 613 in the Sefer HaChinuch ISBN 0-87306-605-7). The purpose of such a commandment, as given by the verses in Numbers, is so that the people of Israel should glance at the strings and remember all of the commandments of God.
Most people at the time (both Jews as well as non-Jews) wore clothing that bears little resemblance to modern apparel. Most clothing consisted of a sheet-like item wrapped around the body following the local customs of the time. This can perhaps be compared to the "'abayah," or blanket, worn by the Bedouins for protection from sun and rain, or the stola/toga of ancient Greece and Rome. As sheets, these garments had four corners and were thus subsequently (from Sinai, onwards) required to possess these tzitzis. As recorded in the Talmud, these were sometimes worn partly doubled, and sometimes with the ends thrown over the shoulders (Shabbos 147a; Menachos 41a).
As modern day dawned and people began wearing the apparel with which we are all quite familiar (shirts and slacks, etc.), the four-cornered sheet-like cloth fell out of style and practicality, and to this end, the Biblical commandment to attach tzitzis to one's garments effectively became obsolete. However, in a demonstration of love for the Almighty and their desire to keep His commandments, the Rabbis ordained that Jews should purposely wear four-cornered garments to necessitate the attachment of the tzitzis.
The tzitzis that are spoken about in Numbers (ibid.) refer to four twisted strings of wool that are inserted into a hole (or two holes, depending on varying tradition) on each of the four corners of the sheet-like cloth that are folded over to produce eight strings and then tied together in an intricate pattern of knots and twirlings.
In Numbers, the Torah also states that a blue string is to be placed on each corner as well. The blue string was similar to the white strings except that it had been dyed with a special dye, the tekhelet, from an organism known as the chilazon. However, over the many years of exile in the Diaspora, noted as being sometime between 500-600 CE, the identity of this organism, as well as the proper procedure for processing the dye, was lost. .
Over the many years of absence of this tekhelet, there had been a custom among some to include some sort of colored stripe on the actual four cornered cloth as a reminder of the Biblical decree or the blue string. The Rambam, a leading Sefardic Biblical commentator, placed a blue stripe on his tallit, Rashi, a leading Ashkenazic Biblical commentator, placed a black stripe on his tallit (Rashi's school of thought was that the blue color of the tekheilet was actually a very dark blue/purplish color, and thus more similar to black than to the light blue of the Rambam's stripe.) This blue on a white background became accepted as a symbol for the Jewish community, and was the inspiration for the development of the Flag of Israel. This color might be synonymous with the dye color known as Tyrian purple, used by the royalty and upper class of ancient times. A less common practice is the use of the blue thread, regardless of the source of the dye.
While many statements about this dye exist in rabbinic literature, they are not clear enough to provide positive identification. Only in the 20th century has archaeological research, combined with readings of rabbinic literature, allowed scientists to speculate about the source of this dye. The cuttlefish and the Murex trunculus snail have both been identified as possibly being the true chilazon, with the latter gaining more acceptance but both still being far from attaining universal approval. In recent years, following discovery of a method to produce blue die from the Murex trunculus snail, a few noted individuals have begun to produce the blue dye, claiming it to be the original tekhelet.
It is said that when the Jews will look at this blue string, they will come to think of the blue sea, and the sea will make them think of the blue heavens, and the heavens will make them remember God above them, and they will thus be protected from sinning. Tekhelet corresponds to the color of the divine revelation (Midrash Numbers Rabbah xv.).
Kinds of tallit
There are two kinds of tallit — tallit gadol and tallit katan.
Tallit gadol
The tallit gadol (traditionally known as tallét gedolah amongst Sephardim), or "large" tallit, is worn over ones clothing resting on the shoulders. This is the prayer shawl that is worn during the morning services in synagogue and by the leader of the prayers during some other services.
Tallit katan
The tallit katan (traditionally known as tallét ketannah amongst Sephardim), or "small" tallit, is worn for the duration of the day by Orthodox Jewish men. While it should not be worn directly on the skin, it is often worn beneath one's shirt (yet above an undershirt) so as to conform to societal dress codes. However, Chassidim tend to wear them on top of their shirts, as they do not desire to conform to the modern Western-style mode of dress. They do, however, wear a suit vest over their tallit katan.
The tallit katan is also known as arba kanfot (Yid. arba kanfos or tzitzit (Yid. tzitzis).
Description of tallit gadol
The tallit gadol, which can be spread out like a sheet, is traditionally usually woven of wool — especially amongst Ashkenazim. Some Spanish and Portuguese Jews, however, have the tradition to use silk talletot, and cotton or linen are also traditional choices. In our days, other materials are also used — including synthetic materials like rayon, polyester and acrylic. Talletot may be of any colour, but are typically white, and usually with black, blue or white stripes along the lateral sides (see Historical Origins above for stripe explanation).
Sizes of talletot vary greatly. The silk and synthetic ones vary in size, for men, from about 36 × 54 inches (91 × 137 cm) to 72 × 96 inches (183 × 244 cm). The woolen tallit is proportionately larger (sometimes reaching to the ankle), conforming to the Halakha that the tallit should be large enough to be full-body apparel and not just scarf-like. A ribbon, or a band artistically woven with silver or gold threads (called "spania"), and about 24 inches (61 cm) long by 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm) wide, may be sewn on the side of the tallit that is nearest to the head, and is called the atarah, or ‘crown’.
From the four corners of the tallit hang fringes called tzitzit, in compliance with the laws in the Torah (Book of Numbers 15:38).
Blessings
When putting on a Tallit Katan
The tzitzis are first inspected to make sure they are properly intact before wearing the talit katan. While holding the Tallit Katan in readiness to put it on, and the following blessing is recited. If the person will later put on a Tallit Gadol, this blessing is omitted. The Tallit Katan is then donned; many kiss the tzitzit.
יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהי ואלהי אבותי שתהי חשובה מצות ציצת לפניך כאלו קימתיה בכל פרטיה ודקדוקי וכונותיה ותריג מצות התלוים בה אמן סלה
Barukh atah, adonai, eloheinu, melech haolam, asher kiedshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzievahnu al mitzvat tzitzit
Y'hie rahtzon miel'fanehchah, adonai ehlohay vaylohay ahvotay, sheht'hay khashuvah mitzvot tzitzit lfahnehkhah, k'ielu kieyahm'tieah b'khal prahtehyah v'diek'dukehyah v'khahu'notehyeh, v'tahr'yag mitzvot hat'luyim ba. Amen Selah
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us regarding the commandment of fringes
May it be the will before you, Lord, my God and the God of my forefathers, that it should be considered the commandment of fringes before You as if I had fulfilled it in all its aspects, its details and its intentions, as well as the 613 commandments that are dependent on it. So be it, what we have said.
For putting on a Tallit Gadol
On inspection of the Tzitzit
Barkhie nefshie et adonai, adonai ehlohay gadaltah m'od, vhadar lavashtah. Oteh aur kasal'mah, noteh shamahyim kah'rieah
Bless, O my soul, you Lord, Lord my God, You are very great; glory and majesty You have worn; donning light as a garment, stretching out the heavens like a curtain (Psalms 104 1-2)
Before putting on the Tallit
Barukh atah adonai ehlohaynu melekh haolam, asher kied'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzievanu lhiet'atayf batzitzit
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us to wrap outselves in fringes.
After wrapping the Tallit around the body
Mah yakahr Khas'd'khah ehlohiym uvnay adam b'tzayl k'nahfehkhah yehkhehsahyun. Yier'v'yun miedehshen baytehkhah v'nahkhal ahdahnehkhah tahsh'kaym. Kie em'kha m'kor khayiym, b'or'khah niereh aur. M'shokh khas'd'khah l'yod'ehkhah, v'tzied'kaht'khah l'yiesh'ray layv
How precious is your kindness, O God! Mankind in the shelter of Your wings takes refuge. They will be sated from the abundance of Your house, and from that stream of Your delights You give them to drink. For with You is the source of life; by Your light may we see light. Extend Your kindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright of heart.
Use
Obligation for men
The prayer shawl (No. 1 above) is worn over one's clothes, and is traditionally worn by Sephardi males from early childhood and by the majority of Ashkenazi males only after marriage; although many Ashkenaz criticize this practice as it delays an important mitzvah beyond the time a Bar Mitzvah male is responsible for it. In some Ashkenazi communities, especially western European Ashkenazim, one accordingly has the practice of all men over 13 wearing the tallit gadol.Views on use by women
Historically, women have not been obligated to don a tallit, as they are not bound to positive precepts with a time constraint (Babylonian Talmud, tractate Kiddushin 29a), and the obligation of donning a tallit only applies by day. Still, many early authorities permit women to wear a tallit, such as Isaac ibn Ghiyyat (b. 1038), Rashi (1040-1105), Rabbeinu Tam (ca 1100-1171), Zerachya ben Yitzhak Halevi of Lunel (ca. 1125-1186), Rambam (1135−1204), R. Eliezer ben Yoel Halevi (ca 1140-ca 1225), Rashba (1235−1310), Aharon Halevi of Barcelona (b. ca 1235?), R. Yisrael Yaaqob Alghazi (1680-1761), R. Yomtob ben Yisrael Alghazi (1726-1802)). However, there was a gradual movement towards prohibition, mainly initiated by the Medieval Ashkenazi Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (the Maharam). The Rema states that while women are technically allowed to don a tallit it would appear to be an act of arrogance (yuhara) for women to perform this commandment (Shulkhan Arukh, O.C. 17:2 in Mappah).Within contemporary Orthodox Judaism, there is a debate on the appropriateness of women wearing tzitzit, which has hinged on whether women are allowed to perform commandments from which they are technically exempt. According to Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik the issue depends on the intention with which such an act is undertaken, e.g. whether it is intended to bring a person closer to the Almighty, or for political or protest purposes. Other commentators hold that women are prohibited generally, without making an individual inquiry. The view that women donning a tallit would be guilty of arrogance is cited as applying to attempts of making a political statement as to the ritual status of the genders, rather than an act of becoming closer to the Almighty. Other authorities, particularly in the Modern Orthodox community, are generally more inclined to regard contemporary women's intentions as religiously appropriate.
Amongst those commentators above who held that women could perform the mitzvah of tzitzit, R. Yisrael Yaaqob Alghazi (1680–1761) and R. Yomtob ben Yisrael Alghazi (1726–1802) held that the observance of this mitzvah by women was not only permitted but actually commendable, since such diligence amongst the non-obligated would inspire these women's male relatives to be even more diligent in their own observance.
Among Karaim, the mitzvah of tzitzit is viewed as equally binding for men and women, and both sexes therefore generally wear tallitot.
Since the 1970s non-Orthodox denominations of Judaism permit women to wear a tallit.
Order of putting on tallit and tefillin
In the Talmudic and post-Talmudic periods the tefillin were worn by rabbis and scholars all day, and a special tallit was worn at prayer; hence they put on the tefillin before the tallit, as appears in the order given in "Seder Rabbi Amram Gaon" (p. 2a) and in the Zohar. In modern practice, however, the opposite order is considered more "correct". Based on the Talmudic principle of tadir v'she'ayno tadir, tadir qodem, (תדיר ושאינו תדיר, תדיר קודם: lit., frequent and infrequent, frequent first), when one performs more than one mitzva at a time, those that are performed more frequently should be performed first. While the tallit is worn daily, tefillin are not worn on the Sabbath and holidays.The Kabbalists considered the tallit as a special garment for the service of God, intended, in connection with the tefillin, to inspire awe and reverence for God at prayer (Zohar, Exodus Toledot, p. 141a). The tallit is worn by all male worshipers at the morning prayer on week-days, Shabbat, and holy days; by the hazzan (cantor) at every prayer while before the ark; and by the reader of Torah, as well as by all other functionaries during the Torah service.
Weddings
In many Sephardic communities, the groom traditionally wears a tallit under the chuppah (wedding canopy). In Ashkenazi communities, a more widespread custom is that the groom wears a kittel, although some Ashkenazim have in recent years started to wear a tallit according to the Sephardic custom.A tallit is sometimes spread out as a canopy at the wedding ceremony. This may be done either instead of or in addition to the regular chuppah.
Burial
After death, Jews are buried with varying customs, depending on where they are to be buried. In the Diaspora, burial takes place within a plain, wooden casket. The corpse is collected from the place of death (home, hospital, etc.) by the chevra kadisha (burial committee). After a ritual washing of body in a mikvah, the body is dressed in a kittel (shroud) and then a tallit. One of the tzitzit is then cut off. In the Land of Israel, burial is without a casket, and the kittel and tallith are the only coverings for the corpse.Tallit and Women of the Wall
In modern Israel, the tallit has become one of the symbols of struggle between tradition and change in defining women's roles in Judaism. Women Of The Wall, an organization founded in 1989 by both Orthodox and non-Orthodox women, has sought the right for women to pray out loud at the Kotel in separate women's prayer groups, to read from the Torah, to wear a tallit, tefillin, and kippah. In Jerusalem, the women of the Wall met each month on Rosh Hodesh for shacharit, before moving elsewhere to read from the Torah. At times they have been disrupted, and sometimes verbally or physically assaulted, during these monthly prayers. Their quest to pray at the Kotel has been passed around between religious and secular authorities, taken up at times by the Israel Supreme Court and the Knesset, but without formal resolution to date. *
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