- Quantum Talmud May 12, 2013Quantum logic helps explain a halachic ruling of Maimonides, a puzzling story of the Talmud, a Midrash about the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, and a rabbinic teaching about the relationship between Torah and existence. […]
- Miracles and the Paradox of Art April 25, 2013Why would an infinite Oneness create a finite, fractured world? For the same reason that a musician forces himself within the confines of a small wooden box with strings. Or a poet within the rigid structure of a sonnet. […]
- Do Jews Believe in Nature? April 12, 2013Instead of asking whether there’s such a thing as a miracle, let’s ask if there’s such a thing as nature. Who is this Mother Nature anyways? […]
- Nature, Miracles and Natural Miracles March 20, 2013There are cracks in the system. Cracks everywhere. Which is a good thing. Otherwise, it would be like living in a big, impersonal machine. […]
- Infinite Light Made Simple March 6, 2013How could there be light before there is anything at all? What would it illuminate, if nothing yet exists? Where would it radiate, if space is yet to be invented? What is its frequency, considering that time has yet to begin? […]
- G‑d in Love March 5, 2013All that exists emerges out of G‑d’s desire to love and be loved. All that we do is an act within that drama. There is nothing else. […]
- Cosmic Vibrations February 28, 2013We intuitively think of matter as something very static, just sitting there. It’s strange to think of matter as a tune being played by a string. What if our entire reality is just that? […]
- Hackers of the Cosmic Code February 12, 2013We need to learn from the hackers. Especially the criminal ones—and plenty of the most nefarious, criminal acts today are hacks. […]
- The Beast Within February 3, 2013There’s a beast inside all of us. You’ve got to meet it eye to eye, in its own den. […]
- The Hidden G‑d January 31, 2013He’s in the heavens, and He’s here on earth. He’s in the ethereal world of the philosopher, and He’s in the pragmatic world of the trucker speeding down Interstate 86. He’s in the putrid world of the worker digging out the city sewers down the street, and He’s in the aroma of the garlic our cook was now sprinkling on the chickens for tonight’s dinner. None o […]
Posts Tagged ‘Tallit’
Wearing a Tallit
The tallit is made of a densely knit fabric, usually either cotton or silk, and is decorated with patterns that can be of many shapes and kinds. The four tzitziot (fringes) at its corners express the Biblical commandment of wearing fringes, and form an inseparable part of the tallit.
A tallit is customarily worn for the morning prayer (Shacharit) of every day of the year, weekdays, Shabbat and holidays included. A tallit is also worn for the Musaf Prayer on Shabbat and holidays, and throughout the Yom Kippur prayers. The Public’s Delegate (shliach tzibur) commonly wraps himself in a tallit throughout the daily prayers (though not all communities are strict on this point regarding Mincha and Arvit prayers). The tallit plays a role on special events as well: The father of a newborn dons a tallit during his son’s Brit Milah (circumcision) ceremony, and in some communities a bridegroom wears a tallit under the chupah (wedding canopy), during the wedding ceremony. Finally, it is a common custom in Judaism to wrap the deceased in a tallit, for his burial.
The color of the threads (ptilim) on the sides of the tallit is traditionally a pure sky-color light blue (tekhelet), and white. In the past the light blue color was produced from the fluid of a particular species of shellfish (khilazon). After the color’s precise source was lost, the use of a light blue thread was stopped, and all tzitzit threads were hence white. In recent generations renewed attempts to produce the color tekhelet have taken place, and some believers have gone back to wearing a tallit featuring a light blue thread on each of its four sides.
There is no uniform age among all Jewish communities, after which it is accustomed to use a tallit: While Jews of Middle Eastern communities begin wearing a tallit at the age of religious majority (gil mitzvoth, 13 for boys), in Ashkenazi communities it is customary that a man must wear a tallit only after his wedding. It is quite possible that the more lenient Ashkenazi approach stems from the harsh economic situation experienced by the Jews of pre-modern Europe, which made purchasing a tallit for a family’s youth more difficult.
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