Tallit

The tallit (טלית), also called talled in the Italian and Sephardic communities, is a prayer shawl, that has been in use since ancient times.

In its most common form (tallit gadol, “large tallit”) is a rectangular cloth, usually made of wool, silk, linen or, more recently, synthetic. It comes in various sizes, is usually decorated. It will always have fringes at the four corners and usually also on the two shorter sides. The prayer shawl is somewhere between an article of clothing and a ritual object. Its appearance has changed over the centuries. We can imagine it would have begun as a white piece in ancient times, while over time blue or black lateral stripes were added of varying width. More recently, other colours and decorations have been used among the Reformed communities but not in the Orthodox ones, who have always maintained the classic design. The ritual shawl is often decorated with patterns in the shape of the tables of the law.

The fringes on the corners of the shawl are called tzitzit (in Hebrew, ציצית), which is sometimes used as a synonym of tallit. The fringes serve to fulfil the commandment expressed by the Torah: "You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself" (Deut.. 22:12). They are composed of four double threads making eight. One of the eight is longer, and wraps around the others; while all are bound in a certain number of knots, corresponding to the numerical value of the letters composing the name of God or according to the numerical value of the expression"Adonay Echad"("The Lord is One"). The ritual meaning of the shawl can be traced back to the text in Numbers. 15:37-39:

“The Lord said to Moses: “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tzitzit tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes...” All Jewish men, from the coming of age ceremony at thirteen, are required to wear the tallit.They are usually donated by the family along with the tefillin, to the young man who has become a bar mitzvah (literally a son of the commandment), the ceremony which marks the entry of Jewish men into the community. The tallit is worn by men during morning prayers and in religious ceremonies; only once a year it is used during the evening prayer (for Kippur).

Discover the tallit donated to the Jewish Museum Lecce: