Kitel

Yiddish term (cf. Ger. Kittel, "smock") denoting the loose white vestment or surplice worn by Ashkenazim on solemn occasions in the Jewish calendar. It was originally worn every Sabbath but now is used by officiants and pious worshipers on the High Holidays; also by the cantor during the Additional Service, when the Prayer for Rain is recited on Shemini Atseret, the Prayer for Dew on the first day of Passover and on Hoshana Rabbah. Some Ashkenazi Jews likewise favor its use by the person conducting the Passover Seder service and by the bridegroom under the marriage canopy. Jewish tradition closely associates the color white with atonement and purity and with life's transience, for which reason some Jews are also buried in their kitel.

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