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There is a widespread practice not to wear tallis and tefillin for the morning prayer on Tisha B'Av, instead putting them on for the afternoon prayer. There is also a prohibition against wearing tefillin after sunset on any day. In congregations where mincha and maariv are prayed together, everybody removes their tefillin after mincha before sunset.

In my experience, everybody also removes their tallis before maariv of motzei Tisha B'av, despite the fact that there is clearly no prohibition to wear a tallis in the evening. The tallis gadol is worn for maariv on Yom Kippur and, in my experience, most people also leave it on after ne'ila and through maariv of motzei Yom Kippur. Furthermore, the general practice is not to remove the tallis katan in the evening on a daily basis.

So why is the common practice to remove the tallis gadol for maariv after Tisha B'av? My guess is that people do it for no particular reason other than because they're already removing their tefillin. Is there some other reason why the tallis should be removed?

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  • In my experience Maariv on 10 Av is generally delayed until closer to the end of the fast. People aren't going to keep their Tallis on for the gap.
    – Double AA ♦
    Feb 5, 2019 at 15:00
  • I think your assumption is correct. It's probably for no other reason than habit and / or minhag. Most places I've attended remove the tallit before M. Yom Kippur Ma'ariv. In most of the places that don't, they tend to end Ne'ilah before tzet, so they begin Ma'ariv immediately. Not only does that not exactly allow time to remove the tallit, but, perhaps b/c Yom Tov isn't actually over, I guess that's why they still wear the Tallit.
    – DanF
    Feb 5, 2019 at 15:03
  • @DoubleAA I'm talking about the case where mincha/maariv are davened together. In my experience, there's often a small speech in between, but not much longer than there would be on a normal day. Why wouldn't people leave their tallis on?
    – Daniel
    Feb 5, 2019 at 15:06
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    @DanF your experience w.r.t. YK is completely different from mine. I've typically seen Ne'ila extended to after dark and most people keep their tallis on afterward. Also, why would the fact that it's still YK mean that people would leave their tallis on whereas they would take it off it it weren't?
    – Daniel
    Feb 5, 2019 at 15:10
  • Leaving the tallit on is for the duration of the Yom Tov, not the duration of Ne'ila. That explains why they still wear it when Ne'ilah is finished early. The opposite, which you describe, I see as unnecessary if Ne'ilah has finished on time at tzet. I'm assuming that since they rush into Ma'ariv, people don't have time to take off and fold the tallit, whereas they pause to let people do this M. Tish'a B'Av. So, briefly, let them pause a few minutes to let people fold the tallit before beginning Ma'ariv. The food can wait an extra 3 minutes, or don't schmooze so much on the way out from shul
    – DanF
    Feb 5, 2019 at 16:14

2 Answers 2

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I've learned that wearing a tallis at night should not be done and the Mishna Berura discusses it (I think around Mishna Berura 18:4, although I cannot confirm off hand). There are some exceptions to the rule such as the night of Yom Kippur (and the night of Motzei Yom Kippur) and those who have the minhag of the Baal Tefillah wearing one on Friday Nights.

Aside from that, many daven mincha on Tisha B'av early on in the day and therefore would not wear it until Mariv due to sheer inconvenience.

To address your question about the tallis katan at night, I have found some opinions differentiating it from a tallis gadol and various opinions that once donned during the day it can (and according to some, should) be worn during the nighttime. (See: Siddur Admur Hazaken, Hilchot Tzitzit. And: Mishnah Berurah 21:8 ; Magen Avraham, Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chaim 21:2.)

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  • Maybe the night after Tisha Bav is an exception? Where do you see that the night after Yom Kippur is an exception?
    – Double AA ♦
    Feb 10, 2019 at 22:34
  • Everyone generally keeps their talleisim on until the shofar is blown motze tishbav. I can look for a source for this but this is what the majority of frum people do. I have never seen anyone take it off before shofar.
    – The Thinking Yid
    Feb 13, 2019 at 2:16
  • You've probably only ever been to <10 Shuls for Yom Kippur, all of which are the same "flavor" making your observations of what frum people do severely biased. Ive seen many people take off their Tallis as soon as Yom Kippur is over and before Maariv. Do you see Shofar blown after Maariv generally? If at the end of Neilah then that's still Yom Kippur not Motzaei Yom Kippur
    – Double AA ♦
    Feb 13, 2019 at 2:18
  • @DoubleAA the MB 18:6 says that motzei YK is an exception.
    – Chatzkel
    Jul 29, 2022 at 21:41
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The reason for not wearing a Tallis Gadol at night has to do with Kabbalah. In Sefer Mishnas Chasidim it says that it is "Assur" to wear a Tallis Gadol at night.

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