Israel Mission Trip 2013 Lighthouse Church of All Nations 4501 West 127th Sree Alsip, IL 60803 thelighthousechurch.org

1. Photo Credit:opendoorministries.waorg
the tallit
2013
Elder Mary Contreras

2. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto
the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them
fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their
generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the
borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a
fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the
commandments of the LORD, and do them ; and that ye
seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after
which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember,
and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your
God” (Num. 15:37-40, KJV).
“Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of
thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself” (Deut.
22:12).

3. Background
• The tallit (Ashkenazic, tallis) is a robe that a worshipper
wraps him or herself during prayer, hence, "prayer shawl.”
• The word tallit, means a robe or a cloak (some connect it
the Latin "stola").
• Takelet (H8504) It comes from two Hebrew words: TAL
(H2919--tent) and ITH (H6996--little). When you wrap
yourself in the tallit by covering your head, you feel as
though you have personal space inside the closed area of a
tent with the intention to enhance your prayers
• This is not the traditional Jewish name for the garment, as is
it originally not associated particularly with prayer.

4. • Jewish tradition specifies “that a person only wears the tallit
during morning prayers, except for the Kol Nidre service
during Yom Kippur” (Temple Emanu-El of San Jose, 2008).
• The textual basis for this practice establishes this mitzvah:
"…and you shall see it, and you shall remember all the
commandments of the Lord and observe them…“ (Num 15)
• One interprets the words "see" to imply a daytime obligation
only -- when one can "see" the fringes attached to the
tallit.

5. Ferienreise-buchen.de

6. History: Rescuing the Mitvah
• During Middle Ages people did not wear four-cornered
garments. The tzitzit was in danger of being forgotten.
• The Jews then wore a four-cornered garment to which they
would be obliged to attach the tzitzit to restore it from
vanishing Jewish life.
• This special four-cornered
garment was given the name
tallit on the analogy of the
four-cornered garments
worn in ancient times.
Photo credit: dharma-beads.net

7. • The tzitzit should be worn the
whole of the day, but Jews
could not do this because the
tallit was an unusual garment.
So, the tallit was limited to the
time of the morning prayers.
• Another device similar to the
tallit also has been adopted by
pious Jews. You wear it all day
as an outer garments, like a
vest with four corners to which
the tzitzit are attached (tallit
katan--small tallit or the arba
kanfot --four comers).
Photo Credit: thejudaicastore

8. Blessings: Donning a Tallit
• Before putting on the tallit the benediction is recited:
"Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe,
who hast hallowed us by Thy commandments, and hast
commanded us to enwrap ourselves in the fringed garment."

9. • In the traditional prayer book the following meditation before
putting on the tallit is found, based on the Kabbalah:
"I am here enwrapping myself in this fringed robe, in
fulfillment of the command of my Creator, as it is written in
the Torah, they shall make them a fringe upon the comers of
their garments throughout their generations.
And even as I cover myself with the tallit in this world, so
may my soul deserve to be clothed with a beauteous
spiritual robe in the World to Come, in the garden of Eden”

10. Prayer for Those Wearing a Tallit
Photo credit: templesanjose.org

11. Wearing a Tallit: Exemptions
• Since the precept of tzitzit is binding only during the day and
not during the night, women are exempt.
• Orthodox rabbis generally disapprove
of women wearing the tallit because
it’s not traditional.
• Until recently, you rarely saw a
woman to wear it to prayer.
• Currently, women do wear the
tallit for prayer.
• Many women have a special colored
or decorated tallit in the latest
fashion. Photo Credit: AllJewish links. com

12. • Unmarried men do not wear the tallit in Ashkenazic
communities (Deut 22:13): "If a man marries a women.” This
verse indicates that a tallit is not to be worn until one is
married.
• It has been remarked that the real reason is to enable the
young ladies in the women's section of the synagogue to
observe which young men are eligible for marriage.

13. Tallit Specifications: Fabric & Size
• Fabric: Linen, wool, silk or synthetics; so long as the biblical
prohibition against the wearing of clothing combining linen
and wool is observed (Shatnez, Deut 22:11;Temple Emanu-
El of San Jose, 2008).
• It must be long enough to cover most of the body. Many
modern Jews wear a silk tallit that is really little more than a
scarf around the neck
• In more recent years the older form of a woolen tallit
covering most of the body has again become the norm.

14. • The Israelites are commanded to put tzitzit ("fringes") on
their garments in order to remind them of God's laws (Num
15:37-40).
• The fringes have to be placed on the four corners of the
garment, from which the Rabbis conclude that only four-
cornered garments have to have tzitzit affixed to them (Deut
22:12)

15. Jewish Laws: Putting on a Tallit
• Open the Tallit: Hold it by
the atarah and open it, with
atarah upward and closest to
your body.
• Recite the Blessing: Hold
the tallit with both hands and
say the blessing (berachah).
• Kiss the Atarah Twice: The
last embroidered word of the
blessing, and then again on
the first word.
Photo Credit: bing.com

16. • Putting on the Tallit:
Put the tallit over your head with the atarah along your
forehead. Both sides must have parallel lengths
Pull down the atarah to cover your forehead.
Gather the tallit around your head to cover your face.
Contemplate your prayers.
Release the shawl and spread the fabric out over
shoulders and down your back.
Bundle up the strings at the corners of the tallit into one
group and kiss the strings
(From Temple Emanu-El of San Jose, 2008; Jewish-art.com, 2011).

17. References:
• Goldberg, A. (1989). Tallit. Reconstructionist, 54(6), 35-318.
• Jewish-art.com. (2011). How to put on a tallit. Retrieved on
February 8, 2013 from http://jewish-art.org/how-to-put-on-a-
tallit.html
• Temple Emanu-El of San Jose. (2008). The tallit. Retrieved
on February 8, 2013 from http://www.templesanjose.org/
JudaismInfo/faq/tallit.htm
PPT template: Sharefaith.com

18. "... may my soul, my spirit,
my essence, be guarded from
obstructions—may the tallit
spread its wings over them
like an eagle who rouses her
nestlings hovering over her
young."
Kabbalistic Meditation

19. Israel Mission Trip 2013
Lighthouse Church of All Nations
Mission Department
4501 W. 127th Street
Alsip, IL
thelighthousechurch.org