In ancient times, the Tallit was the outer garment or street clothing worn by Jewish men. This garment consisted of a large rectangular piece of woven wool that was wrapped around the body when one went outside the house. The word Tallit comes from Aramaic and means covering.

In shape and use, the Tallit was similar to garments commonly used by other peoples in the Mediterranean, such as the himation, which was a wide, enveloping cloak, a kind of shawl, used by the Greeks. It was worn over the body, wrapped or rolled over one shoulder and did not have a tie or fastening. At the end of the Roman Republic, the himation was the usual cloak of the Romans, as it was more practical than the toga and was given the name pallium.

This type of garment was very practical and appropriate for the climate of those countries where there were constant variations in temperature. During cold weather, the Tallit could be wrapped around the entire body, while in hot weather, it could be folded and worn loosely over the shoulders. It was also a very practical garment that could be removed for heavy work, used to cover oneself when going to sleep, or could be wrapped in an elegant way when going to a ceremony or public place.

The commandment to tie Tzitzit, fringes, to our clothing referred specifically to this type of garment, as it is written in Deuteronomy 22:12: “And you shall make fringes on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.” Therefore, according to tradition, a garment that does not have four corners does not require Tzitzit.

The Bible does not mandate that a prayer shawl or Tallit be worn. Rather, it assumes that people wore some kind of garment to cover themselves and only instructs them to add fringes or Tzitzit to its four corners (Numbers 15:30 and Deuteronomy 22:12). These two verses do not specify how the Tzitzit are tied. Nor do they make a distinction between men and women as to who may or should wear them. The current custom of how to tie the Tzitzit and the shape and use of the Talit is post-biblical, defined by the rabbis and varies according to each Jewish community.

As time went by, and in view of the dispersion of the Jewish people to distant lands, the style of clothing changed. The Talit was no longer an everyday garment and the clothing worn did not usually have four corners. Therefore, the commandment to wear Tzitzit could no longer be fulfilled. It seemed that this commandment, which was highly appreciated, was going to disappear. To prevent this from happening, the custom was maintained throughout the Jewish world to continue wearing the Tallit only for sacred and worship purposes. Now we use it to pray and no longer to protect ourselves from the cold as before.

By Marcos Gojman Bibliography: “A Guide To Jewish Prayer” by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz.