Tallit, Tallit

The tallit has special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four corners.

In Yiddish it is , with the stress on the first syllable. The plural of tallit in Hebrew is tallitot , pronounced . The Yiddish plural is taleisim, pronounced.

It might be purchased to mark a special occasion, such as a wedding or a bar/bat mitzvah. Many parents purchase a tallit for their children at the age of 13, together with tefillin.

While many worshipers bring their own tallit to synagogue, there is usually a rack of shawls for the use of visitors and guests. At Jewish wedding ceremonies, a tallit is often used as a chuppah or wedding canopy. The tallit is traditionally draped over the shoulders, but during prayer, some cover their head with it.

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. The tallit gadol is usually woven of wool — especially amongst Ashkenazim.

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 neckband of the tallit, sometimes woven of silver or gold thread, is called the atarah.

In the Sephardi community, a tallit is worn in the synagogue by all boys and men. Among the Ashkenazim, many wear one only after marriage.

Still, many early authorities permit women to wear a tallit , such as Isaac ibn Ghiyyat (b. 1038), Rashi (10401105), Rabbeinu Tam (ca 11001171), Zerachya ben Yitzhak Halevi of Lunel (ca. 11251186), Rambam (11351204), R. Eliezer ben Yoel Halevi (ca 1140ca 1225), Rashba (12351310), Aharon Halevi of Barcelona (b. ca 1235?), R. Yisrael Yaaqob Alghazi (1680-1761), R. Yomtob ben Yisrael Alghazi (17261802)). There was, however, 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 ). The Maharil (Sefer Maharil, 7) and the Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel (on Dev. 22:5) both view a talit as a male garment and thus find that a women wearing a talit to be in violation of the precept prohibiting a women from wearing a mans garment.

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, particularly in the Modern Orthodox community, are generally more inclined to regard contemporary women's intentions as religiously appropriate.

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