Tallit

{{Short description|Jewish prayer shawl}} alt=A close-up photograph of a framed, long rectangular silver lace neckband for a prayer shawl, featuring intricate symmetrical patterns of interlaced metallic threads on a dark background.|thumb {{Italic title}} {{multiple image | align = right | image1 = PRIESTLY_BLESSING_-BIRCAT_CHOHANIM_AT_THE_WESTERN_WALL_HOL_HAMOED_SUCCOT_derived.jpg | width1 = 149 | alt1 = White tallit | caption1 = A white wool tallit, following one Sephardic custom | image2 = Tallit.png | width2 = 150 | alt2 = A rayon tallit with black stripes | caption2 = A rayon tallit with black stripes, in the style popular among Conservative Jews. | footer = }} [[File:טלית מקופלת.jpg|thumb|A folded tallit with the Chabad pattern]] A '''tallit''',{{Efn|{{langx|he|טַלִּית|ṭalliṯ}} {{IPA|he|taˈlit|}}; ''ṭālēt'' in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino;<ref>{{Cite book|title=This I Believe: Documents of American Jewish Life|author=Jacob Rader Marcus|author-link=Jacob Rader Marcus|year=1990|page=269|publisher=J. Aronson |isbn=0-87668-782-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgDXAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> ''tallis''<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Veil: Women Writers on its History, Lore, and Politics|author=Jennifer Heath|publisher=University of California Press|year=2008|page=211|isbn=978-0-520-25040-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kqDk3IRK-4gC&pg=PP1}}</ref> in Ashkenazi Hebrew and Yiddish. Mishnaic Hebrew plural {{lang|he|טליות}} ''ṭəllāyoṯ'', otherwise {{lang|he|טליתות}} ''țalliṯoṯ''; Yiddish pl. {{lang|yi|טליתים}} ''taleysem''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Houses of Study: A Jewish Woman Among Books|author=Ilana M. Blumberg|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|year=2009|page=64|isbn=978-0-8032-2449-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8VOZ_1q6TEwC&pg=PP1}}</ref>}} '''taleth''', or '''tallis''' is a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl by religious Jews. The tallit has special twined and knotted fringes known as ''tzitzit'' attached to its four corners. The cloth part is known as the ''beged'' ("garment") and is usually made from wool or cotton, although silk is sometimes used for a ''tallit gadol''.

The term is, to an extent, ambiguous. It can refer either to the ''tallit katan'' ("small tallit") item worn over or under clothing (commonly referred to as "''tzitzit''"), or to the ''tallit gadol'' ("big tallit") worn over the outer clothes during Shacharit—the morning Jewish prayer service—and all of the Yom Kippur prayer services.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Yom_Kippur/Overview_Yom_Kippur_Community/Prayer_Services.htm |title=My Jewish Learning — Prayer Services |access-date=September 28, 2012 |author=Rabbi Daniel Kohn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922021425/http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Yom_Kippur/Overview_Yom_Kippur_Community/Prayer_Services.htm |archive-date=September 22, 2008 }}</ref> The term "tallit" alone typically refers to the ''tallit gadol''.

There are diverse traditions regarding the age at which a ''tallit gadol'' is first used, including within Orthodox Judaism. In some Sephardic Orthodox communities, young boys wear a tallit even before becoming b'nei mitzvah. In some communities, it is worn beginning with a boy's bar mitzvah, though the tallit katan is often worn from preschool age. In many Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewish communities, a ''tallit gadol'' is worn only after marriage and may be given to a groom as a wedding present or, in the most conservative communities, as part of a dowry.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

== Biblical commandment == The Hebrew Bible does not command wearing a prayer shawl. Instead, it presumes that people wore a garment of some type to cover themselves and instructs the Israelites to attach fringes ({{lang|he|ציצית}} ''tzitzit'') to the corners of these in Numbers 15:38, which is repeated in Deuteronomy 22:12: "You shall make tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself." These passages do not specify tying particular types or numbers of knots in the fringes.

Customs regarding the tying of the tzitzit and the format of the tallit are of Rabbinic origin and, though the Talmud discusses these matters, slightly different traditions have developed in different communities.<ref>{{cite web |author=Rabbi Shraga Simmons |url=http://www.aish.com/jl/m/mm/Tzitzit.html |title=Tzitzit |publisher=aish.com}}</ref> However the Bible is specific as to the purpose of these tzitzit, stating that "it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray; that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God".<ref>{{bibleverse||Numbers|15:39–40|HE}}</ref>

The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' describes the prayer shawl as "a rectangular mantle that looked like a blanket and was worn by men in ancient times". Also, it "is usually white and made either of wool, cotton, or silk".<ref>Second Ed., Vol. 19, Som–Tn, 2007</ref>

Traditionally, a tallit is made of wool or linen, based on an understanding that reference to a "garment" in the Bible in connection with a mitzvah refers to wool and linen garments.<ref>{{cite web |title=What's Wrong With a Silk Tallit Prayer Shawl? |publisher=Chabad |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1425700/jewish/Whats-Wrong-With-a-Silk-Tallit-Prayer-Shawl.htm}}</ref> Though other materials are sometimes used, the debate has not reached a conclusion, and many, especially among the orthodox, prefer wool, which is accepted by all authorities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-daf.com/talmud-conceptual/menachot-39b-tzitzit-wool-cotton-or-nylon/|title=Discussion on Mishnah Menachot 39b}}</ref> There is also debate about mixed wool and linen tallit, since the Bible forbids kelayim (shatnez)—"intertying" wool and linen together, with the two exceptions being the garments of the priests of the Temple and the tzitzit. Concerning tzitzit, chazal (the sages) permit using wool and linen strings in tandem only when genuine tekhelet (see below) is available, whereas kabbalist sources take it a step further by encouraging its practice.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tzitzit made of kilayim? |date=23 April 2014 |publisher=Kehuna.org |url=http://kehuna.org/tzitzit-made-of-shatnez/}}</ref><ref>Rambam: Mishneh Torah, [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/2403.htm Laws of Tzizit, 3rd Chapter, #6/7] {{in lang|he}}</ref> [[File:הרב חיים משה זילברשץ.jpg|thumb|Chaim Moshe Zilbershitz seen with his Ashkenazic tallit]] According to the biblical commandment in Numbers 15:38, a "tekhelet" thread is included in the tzitzit. (The colour of the tekhelet dye varies from blue to purple and red, although blue is the colour specifically associated with it in Judaism.) However, for many centuries since the Jewish diaspora, tzitzit have been worn without a ''tekhelet'' fringe, though there has been something of a comeback in the last hundred years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tekhelet.com/|title=Ptil Tekhelet - The common thread uniting our Jewish past, present and future|website=Ptil Tekhelet}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/530127/jewish/Techelet-Blue-Thread.htm |title=Techelet (Blue Thread) |publisher=Chabad}}</ref>

== Pronunciation ==

In Modern Hebrew the word is pronounced {{IPA|he|taˈlit|}}, with the stress on the final syllable. In Yiddish it is {{IPA|[ˈtaləs]}}, with the stress on the first syllable. The plural of ''tallit'' in Hebrew is ''tallitot'', pronounced {{IPA|[taliˈtot]}}. The Yiddish plural is ''taleisim,'' pronounced {{IPA|[taˈlejsɪm]}}.

== Etymology ==

Mishnaic Hebrew טלית is a backformation of אצטלית or אסטלית (also attested in Mishanic Hebrew, for instance Mishnah Yoma 7:1), borrowed from Ancient Greek στολή with epithetic -א to break up with initial consonant cluster and suffix ת- because final -''ē'' was not tolerated in Mishnaic Hebrew. It is the vocalization טָלֵית which is reflected in the Yiddish and Ladino spoken traditions.

The spelling of this word motivated a Semitic folk etymology in Modern Hebrew. טלית has been re-vocalized as though it were from the root ''ṭ-l-l'' ({{lang|he|ט־ל־ל}}) meaning "cover", with the diminutive suffix -''it''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Jastrow |author-link= Jastrow |first= Marcus |title= Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud etc. |publisher= E. Shapiro Valentine & Co. |year= 1926 |isbn= 978-1-56563-860-0}}, page 537</ref>

טלית referred to a "cloak" or "sheet" generally (as Greek στολή), but in Talmudic times already referred to the Jewish prayer shawl in particular.

== Idiom ==

In modern Hebrew idiom, the expression "a completely blue tallit" ({{Lang|he|טלית שכולה תכלת}}) means something which is completely perfect, and is typically used sarcastically to refer to a person who is imperfect and hypocritical.<ref>[https://hebrew-academy.org.il/2015/10/07/%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%A9%D7%AA-%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%97-%D7%98%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%A9%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%94-%D7%AA%D7%9B%D7%9C%D7%AA/ פרשת קורח – טלית שכולה תכלת]</ref> The expression stems from a rabbinic story about the biblical figure Korah who led a revolt against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Koraḥ was said to have asked Moses a number of vexatious questions, one of which was, "Does a tallit made entirely of blue yarn require tzitzit?" To Moses's affirmative answer, Koraḥ argued that the tzitzit commandment is absurd, in that if a single string of blue makes a garment acceptable ({{Bibleverse|Numbers|15:38|HE}}) then a completely blue garment should be acceptable even without that string.<ref>Numbers Rabbah 1:3; Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 10:1 (27d)</ref> Korach's argument in this story is a metaphor for the argument justifying his rebellion. Just as he argued that a blue fringe is superfluous for an entirely blue garment, in the text of the Torah he argued that a holy leader like Moses was unnecessary for a nation which was entirely holy ({{Bibleverse|Numbers|16:3|HE}}).<ref>Alex Israel, [https://www.etzion.org.il/en/tanakh/torah/sefer-bamidbar/parashat-korach/korach-ideologue-or-provocateur Korach | Ideologue or Provocateur]</ref>

The phrase "more kosher than tzitzit" is a Yiddish metaphoric expression ({{Lang|yi|כשר'ער ווי ציצית}}) with similar connotations but is not necessarily used in a sarcastic sense. It can refer, in the superlative, to something that is really so perfect and flawless as to be beyond all reproach or criticism.{{fact|date=January 2022}}

== Customs == [[File:Szal modlitewny z domu Szymona Klugera w Oświęcimiu, MŻ 333-O 01.jpg|thumb|Tallit found at the House of Shimson Kleuger, Oświęcim]]  In some Jewish communities a tallit gadol is given as a gift by a father to a son, a father-in-law to a son-in-law, or a teacher to a student. Many families pass tallitot down as heirlooms. It might be purchased to mark a special occasion, such as a wedding or a bar mitzvah. Many parents purchase a tallit gadol for their sons at the age of 13, together with tefillin, though among the orthodox a male child will have been wearing a tallit katan from pre-school age. In the Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Conservative movements many women nowadays also wear a tallit gadol. While many worshipers bring their own tallit gadol to synagogue, there is usually a rack of them for the use of visitors and guests.

At Jewish wedding ceremonies, a tallit gadol is often used as a ''chuppah'' or wedding canopy. Similarly, a tallit gadol is traditionally spread out as a canopy over the children during the Torah-reading ceremony during the holiday of Simchat Torah, or in any procession with Torah scrolls, such as when parading a newly completed scroll through the streets.

The tallit gadol is traditionally draped over the shoulders, but during prayer, some cover their head with it, notably during specific parts of the service such as the Amidah and when called to the Torah for an aliyah.

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, the opposite order is considered more "correct". Based on the Talmudic principle of ''tadir v'she'ayno tadir, tadir kodem'' ({{lang|he|rtl=yes|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 ''Shabbat'' and holidays. [[File:YemeniJew1914.jpg|thumb|Yemenite Jew wearing tallit]] On the fast day of Tisha B'Av, different customs prevail. Ashkenazim and some Sephardim do not wear a tallit gadol during the morning (Shacharit) service; at the afternoon service (Mincha), those who wear a tallit gadol make the blessing on fringes then.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/tisha_b_av/tisha_b_av_traditions.php |title=Akhlah: Tisha B'Av - Traditions |access-date=2012-12-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125183740/http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/tisha_b_av/tisha_b_av_traditions.php |archive-date=2013-01-25 }}</ref> Other Sephardim (following the Kabbalah and the prevailing custom (Minhag) for Jerusalem) wear the tallit at Shacharit as usual.<ref>{{cite web |author=Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman |title=The Laws of Tisha B'Av |publisher=Ohr Somayach |url=http://ohr.edu/1098}}</ref>

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.<ref>Zohar, Exodus Toledot, p. 141a</ref>

The tallit gadol is worn by worshipers at the morning prayer on weekdays, ''Shabbat'', and holy days. In addition, in many communities, it is worn 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 reading.

=== History ===

The literal commandment in the Bible was not to wear a tallit but to attach tzitzit to the corners of one's four-cornered garments every day to serve as a reminder of God commandments; this implies that such clothes were typically worn by Jews during biblical times. Such garments were large, white and rectangular and used as a garment, shawl and burial shroud. These four-cornered garments are suitable for the climate of West Asia. On hot days the garment could be draped around the body and head to provide cover from the sun or just bunched up on the shoulders for later evening use; the evenings can be dramatically cool and the garment could be draped around the neck and shoulders like a scarf to provide warmth.

Jews became at risk of losing this mitzvah when four cornered garments went out of fashion and became impractical for everyday wear. And so, a poncho-like vest undergarment was developed as a practical solution to continue following the Torah commandment. This garment is most commonly known as tzitzit, but is also referred to as arba kanfot ("four corners"), or tallit katan ("small tallit").<ref>{{cite web |title= Tallit: The Jewish Prayer Shawl |publisher= Chabbad.ORG |url= https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/530124/jewish/Tallit-The-Jewish-Prayer-Shawl.htm}}</ref> Jewish men wear the talit katan every day, most commonly worn under their clothing with the tzitzit knots hanging out. Some Jewish men prefer to tuck in their tzitzit to avoid drawing unwanted attention and/or for practical reasons. The tallit gadol became almost exclusively worn only for morning prayers and rarely outside. thumb|A Jewish newlywed couple endowed with tallit

=== Weddings ===

In many Sephardic and German Jewish communities, the groom traditionally wears a tallit gadol under the chuppah (wedding canopy); in many cases, he will wrap it around the bride as well during the ceremony. In non-German Ashkenazi communities, a more widespread custom is that the groom wears a kittel. In Hasidic and some non-Hasidic communities, an overcoat is worn over the kittel.

=== Burials ===

In the Diaspora, Jews are buried in a plain, wooden casket. The corpse is collected from the place of death (home, hospital, etc.) by the ''chevra kadisha'' (burial committee). In Ashkenazi custom, after a ritual washing of the body, the body of men is dressed in a ''kittel'' and then a ''tallit gadol''. One of the ''tzitzit'' is then cut off. In the Land of Israel, burial is without a casket, and the ''kittel'' and ''tallit'' are the only coverings for the corpse. Women are buried in white shrouds only.

=== Additional occasions ===

In addition to the morning prayers of weekdays, Shabbat and holidays, a tallit gadol is also worn for ''Selichos'' in Ashkenazic communities by the prayer leader, even though it is still night.<ref>{{cite book |author=Eliyahu Ki Ṭov |editor=Dovid Landesman |editor2=Joyce Bennett |title=The Book of Our Heritage: The Jewish Year and Its Days of Significance, Volume 1 |publisher=Feldheim Publishers |year=1997 |isbn=9780873067638 |page=1042 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gISl55geRaAC&q=Sephardi+tallis&pg=RA1-PA1042}}</ref> A tallit is also worn at night on Yom Kippur, from Kol Nidre, which begins during the daylight hours until after the evening (Ma'ariv) service.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Tapestry of Jewish Time: A Spiritual Guide to Holidays and Life-Cycle Events |first=Nina Beth |last=Cardin |year=2000 |page=73 |publisher=Behrman House |isbn=9780874416459 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oXhBgCJjCmcC&q=ma%27ariv+tallit&pg=PA73}}</ref>

== Types of tallitot ==

=== Tallit katan === [[File:Tzitzskatan-ch.jpg|thumb|upright|An Orthodox Jewish man wearing a wool ''tallit katan'' under his vest/waistcoat]] The '''tallit katan''' (Yiddish/Ashkenazic Hebrew ''tales kotn''; "small tallit") is a fringed garment traditionally worn either under or over one's clothing by Jewish males. It is a poncho-like garment with a hole for the head and special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four corners. The requirements regarding the fabric and fringes of a ''tallit katan'' are the same as that of a ''tallit gadol''. Generally, a ''tallit katan'' is made of wool or cotton.

Although Sephardic halakha generally maintains a distinct preference for a woolen garment as per the ruling of the ''Shulchan Aruch'', among Ashkenazim customs are split, with Moses Isserles ruling that all garment types are acceptable.<ref name=torahorg>{{cite web|url=http://www.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5765/vayeitzei.html |title=Tallis Katan: Questions and Answers |first=Doniel |last=Neustadt |year=2004 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119212324/http://www.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5765/vayeitzei.html|website=torah.org|archive-date=2012-01-19 }}</ref> While the ''Mishnah Berurah'' and Moshe Feinstein recommend wearing a woolen garment following the ''Shulchan Aruch''{{'}}s ruling, Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz was known to wear cotton, following the ruling of the Vilna Gaon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2008/02/tzitzit-cotton-or-wool.html |first=Ari |last=Enkin |title=Tzitzit - Cotton or Wool? |publisher=Hirhurim |date= February 19, 2008}}</ref> This was also the practice of Joseph B. Soloveitchik and that of German Jewry historically.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.koltorah.org/Volume%2014/23%20Ki%20Tisa.htm |title=Halacha of the Week, parshat Ki Tisa |date=February 26, 2005 |publisher=Torah Academy of Bergen County |access-date=March 26, 2012 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023602/http://www.koltorah.org/Volume%2014/23%20Ki%20Tisa.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

While all four cornered garments are required to have ''tzitzit'', the custom of specially wearing a ''tallit katan'' is based on a verse in Numbers 15:38-39 which tells Moses to exhort the Israelites to "make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments."<ref>{{cite book|first=Berel |last=Wein |title=Living Jewish: Values, Practices and Traditions |page=72 |year=2002}}</ref> Wearing a ''tallit kattan'' is not mandated in Biblical law, but in Rabbinic law the practice is strongly encouraged for men, and often considered obligatory or a binding custom.<ref name=torahorg /><ref>Rabbi Monique Susskind Goldberg, [http://www.schechter.edu/AskTheRabbi.aspx?ID=194 Tallit Kattan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218191031/http://schechter.edu/AskTheRabbi.aspx?ID=194 |date=2010-12-18 }}, Ask the Rabbi, The Schechter Institutes, June 2005.</ref><ref>Aryeh Citron, [http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/927994/jewish/Laws-of-Tzitzit.htm Laws of Tzitzit], chabad.org</ref> [[File:Tallit katan (3549085939).jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|Early 19th-century ''tallit katan'' from Gallipoli, Turkey]] The tallit katan is also known as ''arba kanfot'' (Yiddish/Ashkenazic Hebrew: ''arbe kanfes''), literally "four corners", and may be referred to simply as ''tzitzit''.

A continuing misconception within non-Jewish circles is that the ''tallit katan'' is a sheet which is used by Orthodox Jews during sexual intercourse.<ref>Ribner, D. S., & Kleinplatz, P. J. (2007). The hole in the sheet and other myths about sexuality and Judaism. ''Sexual and Relationship Therapy'', ''22''(4), 445–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681990701297797</ref> It is believed that the fabric being hung from clothing lines during the 19th and 20th centuries within Jewish neighborhoods in the United States started these rumors. Not understanding its purpose, seeing the material with a hole in the middle caused non-Jews to make imaginative assumptions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gluckin |first=Tzvi |title=Myth: Religious Jews have Sex through a Hole in a Sheet |url=https://aish.com/myth-religious-jews-have-sex-through-a-hole-in-a-sheet/ |access-date=August 1, 2024 |website=Aish}}</ref>

=== Tallit gadol === The ''tallit gadol'' (Yiddish/Ashkenazic Hebrew ''tallis godoil;'' traditionally known as ''tallét gedolah'' among Sephardim), or "large" ''tallit'', is worn over one's clothing resting on the shoulders. This is the ''prayer shawl'' that is worn during the morning services in synagogue by all male participants, and in many communities by the leader of the afternoon and evening prayers as well. [[File:Tallit-bag.jpg|thumb|A typical ''tallit'' bag. The Hebrew embroidery says ''tallit''. Frequently the owner will add additional embroidery with their name.]]

The ''tallit gadol'' is usually woven of wool—especially among Ashkenazim. Some Spanish, Portuguese and Italian Jews use silk ''tallitot''. The Portuguese Jewish community in The Netherlands has the tradition of decorating the corners of the Tallit. From the 1940s onward, some less expensive tallitot have been made of various synthetic fibers like rayon, nylon, and polyester. ''Tallitot'' may be of any colour but are usually white with black, blue or white stripes along the edge. Sizes of tallitot vary, and are a matter of custom and preference. Some are large enough to cover the whole body while others hang around the shoulders, the former being more common among Orthodox Jews, the latter among Conservative, Reform and other denominations. The neckband of the tallit, sometimes woven of silver or gold thread, is called the ''atarah'' which literally means crown but is often referred to as the collar. The ''tallit gadol'' is often kept in a dedicated pouch or cloth bag (often of velvet) which can be quite simple or ornately decorated.

The tallit gadol is typically either all white, white with black stripes, or white with blue stripes. The all-white and black-and-white varieties have traditionally been the most common, along with a blue-and-white variety, said to be in remembrance of the blue thread or tekhelet. Historically, the strong, long lasting dye of the tekhelet line was made with a snail, most likely ''H. trunculus''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herzog |first=Isaac |title=The Royal Purple and the Biblical Blue. |date=1987}}</ref>. These lines later served as the visual inspiration for the flag of modern Israel.<ref>{{cite book|last=Eisenberg|first=Ronald L.|title=What the Rabbis Said|year=2010|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=Santa Barbara, California|isbn=978-0-313-38450-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18OAZvIuW3gC|access-date=18 December 2011|page=241|chapter=Chapter 12: Synagogue and Prayer|quote=The ''tallit'' is usually white, based on the Talmudic description that God wraps Himself in a ''tallit'' (RH 17b), and "His garment was as white as snow" (Dan. 7:9).}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Strassfeld|first=Michael|title=A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice|year=2006|publisher=Jewish Lights Publishing|location=Woodstock, Vermont|isbn=1-58023-247-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y5fa8Yn1AXwC|author-link=Michael Strassfeld|access-date=18 December 2011|page=198|chapter=Part Two: The Three Paths|quote=The ''tallit'' may be any combination of colors, but until recently it was most commonly white with black stripes. In modern times blue stripes have become more common. Blue and white, the colors associated with the State of Israel and its flag, actually originated as the 'Jewish colors' because of the ''tallit''.}}</ref> The all-white variety is customary among Sepharadic communities, whereas among Ashkenazic communities the tendency is toward white tallitot with black stripes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Yitzhak|first=Hertzel Hillel|title=Tzel HeHarim: Tzitzit|year=2006|publisher=Tzel HeHarim|location=Chicago|isbn=1-58330-292-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=smV4tK-2BmAC|access-date=18 December 2011|page=90|chapter=Chapter V: Color of the ''Tallit'' Garment}}</ref> The stripes on the ''tallit'' may have their origin in the clavia, purple stripes which were worn on the tunics of distinguished Romans.<ref>[https://www.torahmusings.com/2017/06/tekhelet-color-perception-apprehension/ Tekhelet: Color Perception or Apprehension?]</ref> One explanation for the significance of the black stripes is that their black color symbolizes the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the exile of the Jews from the land of Israel.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dosick|first=Wayne D.|title=Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice|year=1995|publisher=Harper San Francisco|isbn=978-0-06-062119-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k7DXAAAAMAAJ|access-date=18 December 2011|page=223|quote=The ''tallit'' is sometimes decorated with black stripes, which some say is a remembrance or memorial to the destruction of the Holy Temple and the exile.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Fowler |first=Mery |title=World Religions |year=1999 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |location=Brighton |isbn=1-898723-49-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=joydUNzV5R0C |access-date=18 December 2011 |page=15 |chapter=Chapter 1: Judaism }}</ref>

In many Jewish communities, the tallit is worn in the synagogue by all men and boys over bar mitzvah age (and in some communities even younger). Aside from German Jews and Oberlander Jews, men in most Ashkenazi communities (which comprise the majority of Jews in America today) start wearing the tallit after their wedding.<ref>Mishnah Berurah 17:10 cites the custom of Eastern European Jewry to refrain from wearing a Tallis before marriage and is unhappy about it.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tallis/Tzitzis |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/tallis-tzitzis |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref>

== Women == {{Main|Tzitzit#Tzitzit for women}} In rabbinic law, women are not required to wear a ''tallit'' or other forms of ''tzitzit''. The vast majority of contemporary Orthodox authorities forbid the donning of a tallit by women,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Personal-Notes/Why-do-Orthodox-women-not-wear-tefillin-or-tallit |title=Why do Orthodox women not wear tefillin or tallit? |author=Shlomo Brody |date=October 15, 2010 |access-date=January 26, 2019 |work=The Jerusalem Post |publisher=Jpost Inc.}}</ref> although Moshe Feinstein,<ref>Igrot Moshe, Orah Hayyim 4:49, s.v. ibra d'ika</ref> Joseph Soloveitchik, and Eliezer Melamed approve women wearing tzitzit in private, if their motivation is "for God's sake" rather than motivated by external movements such as feminism.<ref name="ph">{{cite web |url=https://ph.yhb.org.il/en/03-21-05/ |title=Women and Tzitzit |work=Peninei Halakha |author=Eliezer Melamed}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/587787/jewish/Is-it-appropriate-for-a-woman-to-wear-a-tallit.htm |title=Is it appropriate for a woman to wear a tallit? |publisher=Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aish.com/atr/Tallit_-_Women.html |title=Tallit - Women |series=Ask the Rabbi |work=Aish.com}}</ref> At the gender-segregated sections of the Western Wall, women have been permitted to wear shawls worn around the neck—but harassed, expelled or arrested for wearing the more traditional garments outside the segregated men's section.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Woman-detained-at-Kotel-for-wearing-tallit |title=Woman Detained at Kotel for Wearing Tallit |first1=Jeremy |last1=Sharon |first2=Melanie |last2=Lidman |date=June 21, 2012 |work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> thumb|Woman praying with tallit Women in non-Orthodox (Reform, Conservative, Karaite, Reconstructionist and others) are not prohibited from wearing a ''tallit'', and usually encouraged to do so, especially when called to the Torah or leading services from the bimah. Women in Conservative Judaism began to revive the wearing of the tallit in the 1970s, usually using colors and fabrics distinct from the traditional garment worn by men, in the spirit of (but not necessarily out of adherence to) the contemporary Orthodox rulings regarding women not wearing "male-style" garments.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.utoronto.ca/wjudaism/contemporary/articles/Tallitot/a_shulman_herz_1.html |title=The Transformation of Tallitot: How Jewish Prayer Shawls Have Changed Since Women Began Wearing Them |author=Rebecca Shulman Herz |journal=Women in Judaism: Contemporary Writings |publisher=University of Toronto |volume=3 |number=2 |year=2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317125946/http://www.utoronto.ca:80/wjudaism/contemporary/articles/Tallitot/a_shulman_herz_1.html |archive-date=2012-03-17}}</ref> It has become common in Reform and other non-Orthodox streams for girls to receive a tallit at their bat mitzvah,<ref>{{cite book|author=Carin Davis|title=Life, Love, Lox: Real-World Advice for the Modern Jewish Girl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g1xXDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT22|date=25 May 2010|publisher=Running Press|isbn=978-0-7624-4041-2|page=22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Debra Nussbaum Cohen|title=Celebrating Your New Jewish Daughter: Creating Jewish Ways to Welcome Baby Girls Into the Covenant : New and Traditional Ceremonies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7ZilJOAWuQC&pg=PA134|year=2001|publisher=Jewish Lights Publishing|isbn=978-1-58023-090-2|page=134}}</ref> although some do not subsequently wear it on a regular basis.<ref name="Gordan">{{cite book|last=Gordan|first=Rachel|editor=Leonard Jay Greenspoon|title=Fashioning Jews: Clothing, Culture, and Commerce|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZOtAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA167|year=2013|publisher=Purdue University Press|isbn=978-1-55753-657-0|pages=167–176}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Travelling Tallit: Interview with Rabbi Bea Wyler |date=27 June 2022 |url=https://www.juedisches-museum.ch/en/a-travelling-tallit/ |access-date=2022-11-10}}</ref> Other women have adopted the tallit later in life, including the larger, traditional style, to connect with their communities, embody egalitarian values, or create a personalized connection to Judaism.<ref name="Gordan"/><ref>See Women of the Wall for other political and/or feminist motivations</ref> It is rare for women to wear a tallit katan.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://forward.com/articles/196159/observant-women-make-tzitzit-and-stir-controvers/ |title=Observant Women Make Tzitzit — and Stir Controversy |first=Lauren |last=Davidson |date=April 9, 2014 |work=The Forward |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Notes == {{Notelist}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons category}} * [http://www.tallit.com/ Tallit Blessing, tying, and customs]

Category:Jewish life cycle Category:Jewish religious clothing Category:Jewish ritual objects Category:Shawls and wraps Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law