Editing Tallit (section)

== Customs ==
[[File:Szal modlitewny z domu Szymona Klugera w Oświęcimiu, MŻ 333-O 01.jpg|thumb|Tallit found at the House of [[Shimson Kleuger]], Oświęcim]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:tallit knotting2.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[Tzitzit]]s tied onto a tallit following the correct sequence of knots]] -->
In some Jewish communities a tallit gadol is given as a gift by a father to a son, a father-in-law to a son-in-law, or a teacher to a student. It might be purchased to mark a special occasion, such as a wedding or a [[bar mitzvah]]. Many parents purchase a tallit gadol for their sons at the age of 13, together with [[tefillin]], though among the orthodox a male child will have been wearing a tallit katan from pre-school age. In the Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Conservative movements many women nowadays also wear a tallit gadol. While many worshipers bring their own tallit gadol to synagogue, there is usually a rack of them for the use of visitors and guests.

At Jewish wedding ceremonies, a tallit gadol is often used as a ''[[chuppah]]'' or wedding canopy. Similarly, a tallit gadol is traditionally spread out as a canopy over the children during the [[Torah]]-reading ceremony during the holiday of [[Simchat Torah#Torah reading and customs|Simchat Torah]], or in any procession with Torah scrolls, such as when parading a newly completed scroll through the streets.

The tallit gadol is traditionally draped over the shoulders, but during prayer, some cover their head with it, notably during specific parts of the service such as the [[Amidah]] and when called to the Torah for an [[Aliyah (Torah)|aliyah]].

In the [[Talmud]]ic and post-Talmudic periods the tefillin were worn by [[rabbi]]s and scholars all day, and a special tallit was worn at prayer; hence they put on the tefillin before the tallit, as appears in the order given in "Seder Rabbi Amram Gaon" (p.&nbsp;2a) and in the [[Zohar]]. In modern practice, the opposite order is considered more "correct". Based on the Talmudic principle of ''tadir v'she'ayno tadir, tadir kodem'' ({{lang|he|rtl=yes|תדיר ושאינו תדיר, תדיר קודם}}: lit., frequent and infrequent, frequent first), when one performs more than one [[mitzva]] at a time, those that are performed more frequently should be performed first. While the tallit is worn daily, tefillin are not worn on ''Shabbat'' and holidays.
[[File:YemeniJew1914.jpg|thumb|Yemeni Jew wearing tallit]]
On the fast day of [[Tisha B'Av]], different customs prevail. [[Ashkenazi]]m and some [[Sephardim]] do not wear a tallit gadol during the morning ([[Shacharit]]) service; at the afternoon service ([[Mincha]]), those who wear a tallit gadol make the blessing on fringes then.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/tisha_b_av/tisha_b_av_traditions.php |title=Akhlah: Tisha B'Av - Traditions |access-date=2012-12-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125183740/http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/tisha_b_av/tisha_b_av_traditions.php |archive-date=2013-01-25 }}</ref> Other [[Sephardi]]m (following the [[Kabbalah]] and the prevailing custom ([[Minhag]]) for Jerusalem) wear the tallit at Shacharit as usual.<ref>{{cite web |author=Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman |title=The Laws of Tisha B'Av |publisher=Ohr Somayach |url=http://ohr.edu/1098}}</ref>

The Kabbalists considered the tallit as a special garment for the service of [[God]], intended, in connection with the tefillin, to inspire awe and reverence for God at prayer.<ref>[[Zohar]], Exodus Toledot, p.&nbsp;141a</ref> 

The tallit gadol is worn by worshipers at the [[Jewish services|morning prayer]] on weekdays, ''Shabbat'', and holy days.  In addition, in many communities, it is worn by the [[hazzan]] (cantor) at every prayer while before the [[ark (synagogue)|ark]] and by the reader of [[Torah]], as well as by all other functionaries during the [[Torah reading]].

=== History ===

The literal commandment in the Bible was not to wear a tallit but to attach [[tzitzit]] to the corners of one's four-cornered garments every day to serve as a reminder of God commandments; this implies that such clothes were typically worn by Jews during biblical times. Such garments were large, white and rectangular and used as a garment, shawl and burial shroud. These four-cornered garments are suitable for the climate of West Asia. On hot days the garment could be draped around the body and head to provide cover from the sun or just bunched up on the shoulders for later evening use; the evenings can be dramatically cool and the garment could be draped around the neck and shoulders like a scarf to provide warmth.

Jews became at risk of losing this mitzvah when four cornered garments went out of fashion and became impractical for everyday wear. And so, a poncho-like vest undergarment was developed as a practical solution to continue following the Torah commandment. This garment is most commonly known as tzitzit, but is also referred to as arba kanfot ("four corners"), or tallit katan ("small tallit").<ref>{{cite web |title= Tallit: The Jewish Prayer Shawl |publisher= Chabbad.ORG |url= https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/530124/jewish/Tallit-The-Jewish-Prayer-Shawl.htm}}</ref> Jewish men wear the talit katan every day, most commonly worn under their clothing with the tzitzit knots hanging out. Some Jewish men prefer to tuck in their tzitzit to avoid drawing unwanted attention and/or for practical reasons. The tallit gadol became almost exclusively worn only for morning prayers and rarely outside.
[[File:Israëls-A Jewish Wedding-1903.jpg|thumb|A Jewish newlywed couple endowed with tallit]]

=== Weddings ===

In many Sephardic and German Jewish communities, the groom traditionally wears a tallit gadol under the [[chuppah]] (wedding canopy); in many cases, he will wrap it around the bride as well during the ceremony. In non-German Ashkenazi communities, a more widespread custom is that the groom wears a [[kittel]]. In Hasidic and some non-Hasidic communities, an overcoat is worn over the kittel.

=== Burials ===

In the [[Diaspora]], Jews are buried in a plain, wooden casket. The corpse is collected from the place of death (home, hospital, etc.) by the ''[[chevra kadisha]]'' (burial committee). In Ashkenazi custom, after a ritual washing of the body, the body of men is dressed in a ''kittel'' and then a ''tallit gadol''. One of the ''tzitzit'' is then cut off. In the Land of Israel, burial is without a casket, and the ''kittel'' and ''tallit'' are the only coverings for the corpse. Women are buried in white shrouds only.

=== Additional occasions ===

In addition to the morning prayers of weekdays, Shabbat and holidays, a tallit gadol is also worn for ''[[Selichos]]'' in Ashkenazic communities by the prayer leader, even though it is still night.<ref>{{cite book |author=Eliyahu Ki Ṭov |editor=Dovid Landesman |editor2=Joyce Bennett |title=The Book of Our Heritage: The Jewish Year and Its Days of Significance, Volume 1 |publisher=Feldheim Publishers |year=1997 |isbn=9780873067638 |page=1042 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gISl55geRaAC&q=Sephardi+tallis&pg=RA1-PA1042}}</ref> A tallit is also worn at night on [[Yom Kippur]], from [[Kol Nidre]], which begins during the daylight hours until after the evening ([[Jewish services|Ma'ariv]]) service.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Tapestry of Jewish Time: A Spiritual Guide to Holidays and Life-Cycle Events |first=Nina Beth |last=Cardin |year=2000 |page=73 |publisher=Behrman House |isbn=9780874416459 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oXhBgCJjCmcC&q=ma%27ariv+tallit&pg=PA73}}</ref>