Editing Tallit (section)

=== 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>