Talis over head

Question

Why is it that most Ashkenazim that are not married do not put the Talis over their head?

That would be a seperate question. However even those that do wear a Talis prior to their wedding - or when a Bochur gets an Aliyah - they do not wear the Talis over their head. Why not?

Double AA · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-05 20:12:26Z

up vote 10 down vote accepted

The minhag is sourced to the Talmud (Kiddushin 29b) that only married men would put the talis over their heads.

א"ל מאי טעמא לא פריסת סודרא א"ל דלא נסיבנא

Rashi: דלא פריס סודר - כדרך הנשואין שהיו רגילין לכסות ראשן

edited Feb 5 '12 at 20:12

Double AA♦
32.9k467141

answered Oct 3 '10 at 21:21

jutky
3,3681721

Koachyah · Answer 2 · 2010-10-04 23:58:24Z

up vote 5 down vote

so that woman who are looking to get married may see who is and is not married.

answered Oct 4 '10 at 23:58

Koachyah
33215

	Koachyah, very funny! – d a Oct 5 '10 at 0:16
	Nice bit of humor! – yydl Oct 5 '10 at 2:27

2 Answers