Editing Tallit (section)

== Types of tallitot ==

=== Tallit katan ===
[[File:Tzitzskatan-ch.jpg|thumb|upright|An [[Orthodox Judaism|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 [[Orthodox Judaism|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 [[Sephardi Judaism|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=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119212324/http://www.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5765/vayeitzei.html |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}}</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]]&mdash;especially among Ashkenazim. Some [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews|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. Today some tallitot are made of [[polyester]] and cotton. ''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]], which 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 [[angusticlavia|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 Jews|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>