The Prayer Shawl: Yesterday and Today
Posted: Monday, November 09, 2009
by Barbara Taylor
Eternity Enterprises, LLC
The prayer shawl, known as the tallit in the Jewish community, is an intricate part of Judaica and the Jewish religion. Here is a look at prayer shawls of yesterday and today and the giving of the tallit as a gift to commemorate the major moments in the life of a young man or woman.
History of the Prayer Shawl
The prayer shawl began its life as the Jewish tallit and was originally worn by men in ancient times. At the corners of the tallit tassels would be attached in fulfillment of the commandment of zizit, found in the book of Numbers.
In time the tallit was lost from the daily habit as the Jews assimilated with their Gentile neighbors following their exile, and the tallit became a strictly religious garment used for prayer (hence the use of the phrase "prayer shawl").
Today's Prayer Shawl
Today's prayer shawl has changed a great deal from its earliest inception. In the Encyclopedia Judaica it says that the first tallit "was usually made either of wool or of linen and probably resembled the abayah still worn by the Bedouin for protection against the weather."
Today's tallit is usually white and made of wool, cotton or silk. Until recently the prayer shawl bore only black stripes; today, in remembrance of the blue thread of the zizit, prayer shawls may have stripes made of blue woven into the material and, among less orthodox sects, may also have stripes of maroon, white, purple, gold, silver, rainbow, pink and combinations of colored stripes with metallic threads.
The prayer shawl is given by a father to a son, a father-in-law to a son-in-law or a teacher to a student and may be purchased to mark a special occasion, such as a wedding or a bar/bat mitzvah, often accompanying a tefillin as a remembrance God's deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Women's Prayer Shawls
One thing you rarely find when investigating the history and the use of the prayer shawl is what type of tallit is worn by women. Because historically the tallit was worn by men the majority of the literature concerning their use focuses on that of the men in temple. This is due to both convention and the Judaic belief that women are exempt from time related Mitzvahs and is encouraged by Orthodox Rabbis. The prayer shawl is also worn by women outside of the orthodox beliefs, however, often in a much less orthodox style that allows her to maintain both style and femininity.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)In some shuls the tallis is worn by any man who has been bar-mitvahed.But in mine and in many others it is worn by any man who is married.Since Deuteronomy forbids a woman to dress as a man, fundamentalist orthodox Jewish bible thumpers INSIST that she may indeed wear a tallis when she prays at home but never outside of or inside the synagogue, as wearing it shows disrespect for the regulation and as well, wearing it publically shows disrespect for men in general.Thus the tallis remains a Jewish patriarchal symbol of man's dominance.In reform synagogues it's catch as catch can.Thank you for a nicely written article; we all await the day that egalitarianism is embraced by the tree of Judaism and by the branch offshoot of Christianity which also will not allow a woman priest to officiate.;Paul SchroederThank you so much Paul for sharing your knowledge on this subject. I am always eager to further understand the Jewish traditions that God has set in place. I am by no means an expert in this area (being a Gentile), but I do love learning more and more each day. God Bless You!you're most welcome;there are MANY Christians uneducated enough to be ignorant of the fact (and who in their ignorance deny) that Jesus was born a Jew and died a Jew!; affection; Paul
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