WRAPPING THE TALLIT
(PRAYER SHAWL)*
THE BASICS OF WEARING A TALLITSpeak to the Israelites and tell them they should make fringes on the corners of their garments for generations: they should place a twisted thread of blue on the corner fringes... When you see it, you will remember all of the instructions of God and you will do them. You will not follow after your heart and after your eyes by which you are seduced. Thus you shall be reminded to do all My commandments and be holy to your God.
In one simple, straightforward statement, the Bible make clear its instructions to wear a garment with fringes on it: "You shall make for yourself fringes (tzitzit) and the four corners of your clothing with which you cover yourself" (Deuteronomy 22:12). The fulfillment of this commandment to wear tzizit (fringes) takes the form today of a small, four-cornered, fringes garment (called a tallit katan, "small tallit") worn under one's clothing; and a specially designed shawl (called a tallit gadol, "large tallit") worn over one's clothing during morning prayers.
The tallit katan is the less well known of the two forms because it is worn, for the most part, only by Orthodox men. It is put on in the morning and worn all day. While it is generally worn under other clothes, some let the tzitzit of the tallit katan hang out from underneath whatever they are wearing. Others choose to wear it over their other clothes as an outer garment.
The tallit gadol, generally referred to simply as a tallit, is worn by Jews of all movements every day during morning prayers. On only one occasion of the year is the tallit gadol worn at night – on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the most sacred holiday of Judaism. Normally the tallit gadol is wrapped around the shoulders, but some people cover their heads with the tallit during the recitation of the Amidah prayer (which forms the core of each prayer service). This allows us to withdraw from the congregation in personal prayer even as we are in the midst of others. The tallit is commonly worn by the service leader during afternoon and evening services as well.
WHY WEAR A TALLIT?
Christian readers may be surprised to learn that a story in the writings of the Rabbis concerns visiting a prostitute, but the Talmud is quite explicit about the necessary role of sexuality in our lives. This story is, however, more about piety than sex. It is admittedly fanciful, but its hyperbole spotlights the power of the tallit: it slaps us on the face as a constant reminder to stay on the proper moral path.
The other aspect of the tallit – to remind us to aspire to holiness – is woven into the material of the tallit itself. The Rabbis of the Talmud tell us that the fringes of the tallit are made of a blend of linen and wool, a combination that the Bible prohibits (Deuteronomy 22:11). You should, of course, presume that the tallit would be made from anything but a prohibited material. But the Rabbis understood that garments of linen and wool were prohibited because the priests in the holy Temple wore this mix of material and it would be presumptuous to wear priestly garb. However, the Rabbis decreed that we are allowed to wear a small symbol of priestly clothing, to remind all of Israel to strive for the level of holiness associated with the priesthood.
By putting on tzitzit (also called tallit katan) each morning, we perform a concrete ritual to remind us throughout the day of our personal covenant with God. In a very intimate way, we renew this covenant each morning afresh. The practice of donning a tallit may remind some Christians of the cross worn on a chain around the neck or, for young people, the WWJD? bracelets.
The tallit katan that is worn under clothing also reminds us of the holiness of the body. When the Bible says that each person is created in the image of God, this does not mean that God looks like a human being. It means that our bodies and spirits are holy. By wearing a holy garment next to our skin, we are reminded of this profound notion, and we can feel, in a very physical way, that we are created in the image of God.
There is another rationale for wearing a tallit that comes from Jewish mystical sources. Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter of Ger, a nineteenth-century leader of the Hasidic tradition (a revolutionary movement within Judaism that originated in Eastern Europe in the eighteenth century), says that we wrap ourselves in a tallit "to unite with the root of Oneness." The four corners of the tallit, according to the Rabbi of Ger, are symbolic of the four corners of the universe, and wearing the tallit symbolizes bringing together the corners of the world into one place and one being. This gathering together of separate things is a form of unification, an act of oneness connecting us, as wearers of the tallit, with the Oneness at the root of our soul.
Moving from the symbolic to a more practical level, the tallit gadol that is worn during morning prayers can also enhance the focused, meditative concentration in prayer, what is called kavanah (כַּוָּנָה; in Biblical Hebrew kawwānā – literally, "direction," as in turning your thoughts in the direction of heaven during prayer). By simply pulling the tallit gadol over the head, a person at prayer can block out the world's distractions. We can be in a synagogue full of people or at home while family members rush around in the morning to get ready for school or work, yet by donning a tallit gadol, we feel that we are standing alone before God.
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* Some of the material in this chapter is based on "Tallit and Tallit Katan" by Haviva Ner-David in The Rituals and Practices of a Jewish Life: A Handbook for Personal Spiritual Renewal.(Jewish Lights Publishing, 2002), 23-40.
