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Why do we wear a tallit at kol nidre?

And if one arrives late to kol nidre and night has fallen already, should he put one on?

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    Welcome to Mi Yodeya and thanks for your timely and relevant question. I hope you stick around and enjoy the site.
    – msh210
    Sep 21, 2014 at 5:47
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    No source available, just from memory - I am fairly sure that the problem is only with the brachah which must not be said after sunset (not nightfall) because the time for tzitzit is when they can be seen (i.e. not a night). If someone is delayed to the extent that it is after sunset, then they should put on the tallit without a brachah.
    – Epicentre
    Sep 21, 2014 at 5:53

2 Answers 2

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Nitei Gavriel Hilchos Yom Hakipurim page 181 note 24 in the name of Siach Yitzchak that we wear a Talis at Kol Nidrei based on the Yerushalmi Chagiga 1:5 that says that one needs to wear a Talis at the time of Hataras Nedarim.

He goes on to say that one should only make a Bracha on the Talis up to the time he would normally Daven Mincha.

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    +1. Would you happen to be able to explain the connection (written about in that footnote in נטעי גבריאל) between "נדרים flying away, therefore you should wear a Talis"?
    – MTL
    Sep 21, 2014 at 13:22
  • The Yerushalmi is 1:8
    – sam
    Oct 2, 2014 at 17:56
  • @Sam: You can fix the answer. Oct 2, 2014 at 18:02
  • See the Korban Haeida and Pnei Moshe and here for Rav Chaim Kanievsky's biur hebrewbooks.org/…
    – sam
    Oct 2, 2014 at 18:03
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    The flying in air reference is that it does not have an explicit. Source rather a halacha lMoshe Misinai
    – sam
    Oct 2, 2014 at 18:19
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Summarizing from p. 349 of this book:

The custom originated from Rav Meir of Rothenberg who stated that on the night of Yom Kippur we recite the 13 "middot" - Attrubutes of Mercy, multiple times during our tefillah (after the Amidah). There is a midrash (mentioned in Talmud Rosh Hashannah 17b) that G-d wrapped himself in a tallit, similar to a Chazzan when he taught Moses these attributes. Therefore, we imitate what G-d did when we recite them.

My curiosity - we can apply this "argument" to the recital of selichot, esp. the 1st one which is said at night. There, too, we recite the 13 middot multiple times, yet we do not wear a tallit, then. Perhaps, Yom Kippur is special?

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