the tallit2013

Elder Mary Contreras

Photo Credit:opendoorministries.waorg

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto

the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them

fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their

generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the

borders a ribband of blue: And 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

seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after

which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember,

and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your

God” (Num. 15:37-40, KJV).

“Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of

thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself” (Deut.

22:12).

• The tallit (Ashkenazic, tallis) is a robe that a worshipper

wraps him or herself during prayer, hence, "prayer shawl.”

• The word tallit, means a robe or a cloak (some connect it

the Latin "stola").

• Takelet (H8504) It comes from two Hebrew words: TAL

(H2919--tent) and ITH (H6996--little). When you wrap

yourself in the tallit by covering your head, you feel as

though you have personal space inside the closed area of a

tent with the intention to enhance your prayers

• This is not the traditional Jewish name for the garment, as is

it originally not associated particularly with prayer.

Background

• Jewish tradition specifies “that a person only wears the tallit

during morning prayers, except for the Kol Nidre service

during Yom Kippur” (Temple Emanu-El of San Jose, 2008).

• The textual basis for this practice establishes this mitzvah:

"…and you shall see it, and you shall remember all the

commandments of the Lord and observe them…“ (Num 15)

• One interprets the words "see" to imply a daytime obligation

only -- when one can "see" the fringes attached to the

tallit.

Ferienreise-buchen.de

History: Rescuing the Mitvah

• During Middle Ages people did not wear four-cornered

garments. The tzitzit was in danger of being forgotten.

• The Jews then wore a four-cornered garment to which they

would be obliged to attach the tzitzit to restore it from

vanishing Jewish life.

• This special four-cornered

garment was given the name

tallit on the analogy of the

four-cornered garments

worn in ancient times.

Photo credit: dharma-beads.net

• The tzitzit should be worn the

whole of the day, but Jews

could not do this because the

tallit was an unusual garment.

So, the tallit was limited to the

time of the morning prayers.

• Another device similar to the

tallit also has been adopted by

pious Jews. You wear it all day

as an outer garments, like a

vest with four corners to which

the tzitzit are attached (tallit

katan--small tallit or the arba

kanfot --four comers).

Photo Credit: thejudaicastore

Blessings: Donning a Tallit

• Before putting on the tallit the benediction is recited:

"Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe,

who hast hallowed us by Thy commandments, and hast

commanded us to enwrap ourselves in the fringed garment."

• In the traditional prayer book the following meditation before

putting on the tallit is found, based on the Kabbalah:

"I am here enwrapping myself in this fringed robe, in

fulfillment of the command of my Creator, as it is written in

the Torah, they shall make them a fringe upon the comers of

their garments throughout their generations.

And even as I cover myself with the tallit in this world, so

may my soul deserve to be clothed with a beauteous

spiritual robe in the World to Come, in the garden of Eden”

Photo credit: templesanjose.org

Prayer for Those Wearing a Tallit

Wearing a Tallit: Exemptions

• Since the precept of tzitzit is binding only during the day and

not during the night, women are exempt.

• Orthodox rabbis generally disapprove

of women wearing the tallit because

it’s not traditional.

• Until recently, you rarely saw a

woman to wear it to prayer.

• Currently, women do wear the

tallit for prayer.

• Many women have a special colored

or decorated tallit in the latest

fashion. Photo Credit: AllJewish links. com

• Unmarried men do not wear the tallit in Ashkenazic

communities (Deut 22:13): "If a man marries a women.” This

verse indicates that a tallit is not to be worn until one is

married.

• It has been remarked that the real reason is to enable the

young ladies in the women's section of the synagogue to

observe which young men are eligible for marriage.

• Fabric: Linen, wool, silk or synthetics; so long as the biblical

prohibition against the wearing of clothing combining linen

and wool is observed (Shatnez, Deut 22:11;Temple Emanu-

El of San Jose, 2008).

• It must be long enough to cover most of the body. Many

modern Jews wear a silk tallit that is really little more than a

scarf around the neck

• In more recent years the older form of a woolen tallit

covering most of the body has again become the norm.

Tallit Specifications: Fabric & Size

• The Israelites are commanded to put tzitzit ("fringes") on

their garments in order to remind them of God's laws (Num

15:37-40).

• The fringes have to be placed on the four corners of the

garment, from which the Rabbis conclude that only four-

cornered garments have to have tzitzit affixed to them (Deut

22:12)

Jewish Laws: Putting on a Tallit

• Open the Tallit: Hold it by

the atarah and open it, with

atarah upward and closest to

your body.

• Recite the Blessing: Hold

the tallit with both hands and

say the blessing (berachah).

• Kiss the Atarah Twice: The

last embroidered word of the

blessing, and then again on

the first word.

Photo Credit: bing.com

• Putting on the Tallit:

Put the tallit over your head with the atarah along your

forehead. Both sides must have parallel lengths

Pull down the atarah to cover your forehead.

Gather the tallit around your head to cover your face.

Contemplate your prayers.

Release the shawl and spread the fabric out over

shoulders and down your back.

Bundle up the strings at the corners of the tallit into one

group and kiss the strings

(From Temple Emanu-El of San Jose, 2008; Jewish-art.com, 2011).

References:

• Goldberg, A. (1989). Tallit. Reconstructionist, 54(6), 35-318.

• Jewish-art.com. (2011). How to put on a tallit. Retrieved on

February 8, 2013 from http://jewish-art.org/how-to-put-on-a-

tallit.html

• Temple Emanu-El of San Jose. (2008). The tallit. Retrieved

on February 8, 2013 from http://www.templesanjose.org/

JudaismInfo/faq/tallit.htm

PPT template: Sharefaith.com

"... may my soul, my spirit,

my essence, be guarded from

obstructions—may the tallit

spread its wings over them

like an eagle who rouses her

nestlings hovering over her

young."

Kabbalistic Meditation

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