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In many ways, the tallit embodies classic Judaica and the meaningful culture of the Jewish religion. As a Jewish tradition dating back nearly 4,000 years, talits (or tallitot in Hebrew), atara, tallit clips, and tallit bags represent one of the oldest religious commandments still in practice today. Today, Judaica artists are reviving the tallit in unique and beautiful ways so that Jews can enjoy prayers in greater grandeur than ever.
An important part of the talit prayer shawl is the tassel (or tzitzit in Hebrew) that hangs from all four corners of the tallit. Jews are required to wear tzitzit on every normal day of the week and are allowed to remove them only for special exceptions. This unique tradition is noted as a commandment in both the book of Numbers and Deuteronomy. As a result of the commandment of the tzitzit, tallitot came into use around 1800BCE in order to have a specific garment to don the tzitzit though they lacked the typical tallit accessories like tallit clips and the atara.
Over time, the tallit evolved with the Jewish religion. In its beginning, the talit was a large, plain, white cloth with tzitzit on its four corners and was used as a bed sheet, a burial covering, and a garment. Now there are two types of tallit, the tallit gadol and tallit katan both serving their own unique purpose. The tallit gadol is used as a prayer shawl for Shabbat and holiday prayers. This is meant to be draped over your shoulders for prayer, though many have taken to covering their heads with the prayer shawl as well. These beautiful pieces of Judaica art are often clasped together around the shoulders by a tallit clip and carried to services in a tallit bag. The tallit katan is the poncho type piece of clothing that is to be worn every day either beneath or over your other clothing. This garment lacks the atara section that adorns the tallit gadol. Both talits bear the tzitzit in all four corners and are meant to symbolize the constant presence of G-d in a Jew’s life.
The other type of evolution for the tallit has been in the world of Judaica art. While tallitot were once simple white cloths, now both the tallit gadol and tallit katan are made of artistic designs and rich materials meant to enhance your prayer experiences with both comfortability and elegance.
In general, the tallit is still kept fairly simple in design often bearing several stripes of various colors, but tallitot can also be found displaying rich artistic images relating to Jewish history and culture. A Yair Emanuel Tallit is the perfect example of this type of work. The materials often used to create a modern tallit include painted silk, cotton, and many others. Additionally, tallitot are often accompanied by a tallit bag, a tallit clip, or an atara.
