A four-cornered, fringed garment worn during certain prayers, in fulfillment of the commandment of fringes (Tsitsit; Num. 15:38). This garment is often referred to as the tallit gadol ("large tallit") as opposed to the "tallit katan ("small tallit") or tsitsit, which is customarily worn under the shirt. The blessing upon donning the tallit is le-hitattef be-tsitsit, "...Who has commanded us to wrap ourselves in tsitsit." After the blessing, a person should wrap himself entirely in the tallit, covering his head, and remain that way "for the time it takes to walk four cubits" (about two yards), and only then arrange the tallit around the shoulders. Only males are required to wear the four-cornered garments, because the commandment is time-related (and therefore women are exempt), being restricted to the daytime. In the Sephardi and German communities, the tallit is worn by all males; however, many Ashkenazi Jews do not begin to wear the tallit until after marriage. Even among those communities where the tallit is worn before marriage, it is customary for only married men to cover their heads with the tallit during prayers.
In general, the tallit is worn for every Morning Service and each Additional Service when there is one, except on Tishah Be-Av, when the tallit is put on for the Afternoon Service instead of the Morning Service. On the Day of Atonement, the tallit is worn for all five prayer services. On days when Tefillin are worn, the tallit is put on before the tefillin.
The reader wears a tallit at the Afternoon Service, and in some communities at the Evening Service as well. A person not wearing a tallit who is called to the Reading of the Law must put one on before reciting the Torah blessings.
When the Priests ascend to bless the people, they place their tallit over their head and hands, because God's Divine Presence is said to rest on their hands when they pronounce the Priestly Blessing.
Ideally, the tallit should be made of wool, but other materials, such as silk, may be used; the fringes must be made either of wool or of the material of which the garment is made. Each of the four corners of the tallit must have a fringe consisting of four double threads, giving eight threads. These are then tied in a distinctive manner, with one thread, which is longer than the others, wound around the other seven and then double-knotted. A common custom for the preparation is a double knot followed by seven, eight, 11 and 13 windings, each winding followed by a double knot, giving a total of five double knots.
Although the wool tallit has customarily been woven with black (sometimes white) stripes, the wave of interest in Judaism which began in the 1960s and 1970s has led to the introduction of hand-woven tallitot (pl. of tallit) with stripes of various colors and with other motifs woven in.
The feminist movement has been involved in the question of wearing the tallit. Women in the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist movements, as well as a number of Orthodox women, now wear the tallit during prayers. The Conservative movement demands that all women in its rabbinic program pledge to observe all the commandments incumbent on the male, including the wearing of the tallit during prayers.
The New Encyclopedia of Judaism. Copyright © 1989, 2002 by G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House, Ltd. All rights reserved.
