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There is much discussion in Jewish literature about this subject, and there is also a difference between a woman wearing a tallit and tefillin. It is easy to show what the Gemara and the Rema say, but leaving out all of the rishonim and acharonim on the topic would prevent learning where the halakha stands. But here is a start.
Regarding tefillin
Mishna - ...
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First of all, welcome.
The top of your tallit has the blessing. With nikkud (the vowelization), it reads:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ לְהִתְעַטֵּף בַּצִּיצִת
Translation:
Blessed are you, Eternal, our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with your Commandments and commanded us ...
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In Shulchan Aruch O"C 14:1 it says:
ציצית שעשאן אינו יהודי פסול, דכתיב: "דבר אל בני ישראל", לאפוקי אינו יהודי
Tzitzis that a non-Jew made are invalid, for it says, "Speak to the Children of Israel (Num. 15:38)" to exclude a non-Jew.
And the Mishnah Berurah there:
...שעשאן — פי' שהטילן בבגד פסול אפילו בישראל עומד על גבו ומלמדהו ...
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The Targum Yonasan to the verse prohibiting a woman to wear men's gear says specifically it includes Tallis and Tefilin. However, that doesn't seem to be the prevailing opinion. The Aruch HaShulchan and Rav Moshe Feinstein both address the issue of women wearing Tefilin, and neither of them concludes that it's prohibited because of that Targum Yonasan.
At ...
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This is a good question, and really it's probably a better question than the answers out there.
For context, we have to realize that this question (order of operations for donning Tzitzit and Tefillin) is a "modern" question which is a side effect of the modern practice of wearing a Tallit and Tefillin exclusively in Shul. In principle, these Mitzvot have ...
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Excellent question. Greetings and welcome to J.SE!
German and Sephardic Jewish men begin wearing a Tallis many years before marriage; the question if anything is why those of Eastern European ancestry wait until marriage.
I'm told that once a man gets married and starts wearing a Tallis, the practice (I wouldn't say "must", but certainly "normative ...
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I emailed Rabbi Eliezer Zalmanov (from Chabad.org) about your question. Here's what I said:
B''H
In most Ashkenazi communities, the custom is that bochurim do not wear a tallis. However, when a bochur is called to the Torah or to the amud, he puts one on anyway, although he makes sure not to cover his head with the tallis so that it's not considered an ...
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The religious significance in wearing a prayer shawl lies specifically in the tzitzit fringes themselves. Technically any garment of four corners can be used as a prayer shawl, so long as it has the tzitziyot on them. As for a non-Jew wearing tzitzit, there is nothing offensive or wrong with your wearing tzitzit so long as you are aware that you do so on a ...
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This was birkat kohanim, the priestly blessing, which (in the diaspora, at least for Ashkenazim) is done only on the high holy days and festivals. In Israel it is done at each morning service (where a minyan is present).
This is a reflection of a temple practice. I have been taught that one reason our kohanim take their shoes off is because they did in ...
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I think your questions reverses things. We wear a tallit because we want the mitzva of tzitzit. Therefore we look for a garment which is obligated in the mitzva, i.e., has four corners (MT Hilchot Tzitzit 3:1)
The reason we want the mitzva of tzitzit is that it is an important mitzva. In the words of the Rambam (Hilchot Tzitzit 3:12)
since the Torah ...
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The page on Halachapedia here gives a clear rundown. I will try and link the sources accordingly (everyone feel free to add to any I can't find):
The Sephardic custom is to wear a Tallit Gadol from the age of chinuch in mitzvot (1). Chacham Ovadia adds that this is true even for a boy studying in an Ashkenazi yeshiva (2).
However, the minhag for most ...
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The Torah commands to attach tassels (or "fringes") to the edges of any four-cornered garments we must wear; however this only applies during the day, not night. This makes it a "yes-do" command that's limited in time. The rule of thumb for this category of commandments (which also includes shofar, lulav, and the like) is that women aren't obligated in them; ...
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They are still woolen. Since tallitot and tzitziot are under strict supervision, they are (wrongly?) assumed to be safe.
Source: My uncle, a Toldos Aharon chassid.
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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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See SA OC128, 23 in annotation of the Rama.
הגה: וגם הכהנים לא יסתכלו בידיהם על כן נהגו לשלשל הטלית על פניהם וידיהם חוץ לטלית. ויש מקומות שנהגו שידיהם בפנים מן הטלית שלא יסתכלו העם בהם (בית יוסף):
The function of the Talit is not to cover the hands according to the first minhag, because the hands are out of the Talit.
At first glance, it seems ...
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Don't worry about it. The practice of not bringing a Tallit into a bathroom is a strong custom (because the Tallit is a garment designated for prayer times, as opposed to the undergarment tallit katan which we do bring into the bathroom), but not technically a law. This is why you can make the blessing on it, then have in mind to remove it, use the restroom, ...
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Buy something what is called WOOLITE. This is special detergent for wool, you can find it in every supermarket. Put your talis in the bucket, fill with warm, not hot water, add cup of Woolite and leave it for 3-4 days.
For better effect you can change water ever day and fill the bucket with fresh water, don;t forget to add some woolite.
After 3-4 or more ...
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The source of the attara is found most easily in the Mishna Berurah siman 8 siff 4. It is based on chazzal who tell us the krashim (beams) in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) had signs written on them, so that the ones that merited to be on the north side would always be on the north side. So too the sides of the talis -- the side that is in front should always be ...
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See Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 8, with Mishnah Berura. Here are some excerpts from that siman that should help with your question. The translations here are my own.
2: סדר עטיפתו, כדרך בני אדם שמתכסים בכסותם ועוסקים במלאכתם, פעמים
בכיסוי הראש פעמים בגילוי הראש. ונכון שיכסה ראשו בטלית
The עטיפה (wrapping, which is part of putting it on) should be ...
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Yes, you can wear a Tallis/Tzitzis since the Tallis itself has no holyness, it is just an instrument of a Mitzva (תשמישי מצווה) furthermore, the fear for companionship with a Jew (שמא יתלווה לישראל בדרך) is also not relevant since we are talking about a proselyte who intends to join Kehal Hashem.
See further info in details in Mishnat Hager (Ch. 1, 32).
...
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(As background, know that there is an argument (see Tur OC 8) if a formal "Arab-style" wrapping is the only method of wearing a four-cornered garment which qualifies for the biblical command of Tzitzit. This is just a question of what the Torah commanded. Wearing four-cornered socks, for instance, or a four cornered scarf is not included in the Mitzva ...
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Chashukei Chemed - Megila - page 314 says that it is better for the Kohain not to Duchan rather than covering himself with another object.
Yalkut Yosef 5764 edition - Tefila Volume 2 - 128:100 also says that a Kohain should not Duchan if he has no Talis.
אם אין לכהן טלית, וגם אין טלית בבית הכנסת, אין לכהן לישא כפיו בלא טלית
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This is a dispute recorded in Shulchan Aruch O.C. 8:14:
אם פשט טליתו אפילו היה דעתו לחזור ולהתעטף בו מיד צריך לברך כשיחזור ויתעטף בו הגה וי"א שאין מברכין אם יהיה דעתו לחזור ולהתעטף בו וי"א דוקא כשנשאר עליו טלית קטן והכי נוהגין
[R. Joseph Karo:] If he removed his tallit – even if his intent was to immediately put it back on – he needs to make a ...
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I've shared your reaction in the past. Interestingly enough, it seems that Posekim in the last century (who disapproved of women wearing one at all) preferred that if a woman were to wear one, she wear one that is distinctively feminine in its design.
I cannot pull all the necessary sources at the moment, but the basics are as follows:
The Shulhan 'Aruch ...
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I always found army surplus bags perfect for everything. Hundreds of different sizes and shapes, materials, and usually any color you want as long as it's green. EBay and other places.
Isaac suggested some recommendations: I find the Swiss Army bread bags nice. You've seen them. They fold like, interestingly enough, a clam. One side is leather and in some ...
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The Mishna Brurah 8:4 brings the Bach who holds one should cover the heads with the tallis which brings yiras shamayim.The Mishna Brurah in hilchos hikon tefillah(I think siman 91,or 90,he brings that one should cover his face with the tallis during shemoneh esri.There are numerous sources which say to cover the head with a tallis.The Ben Ish Chai in Hilchos ...
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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 ...
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Indeed, perhaps a functionless tallit is not obligated in tzitzit. This seems to have been the opinion of R. Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz, at least:
Shilhi Dekayta Siman 8
וכששטחתי את גליונות הספר קמיה מורי הגר"ח קניבסקי שליט"א אמר הגר"ח שגם
לדעתו אכן צריכים הנאת לבישה מהציצית וכן מוכח ממנהג החזו"א זצ"ל שהורה
שלא לילך בקיץ כציצית מצמר למרות שלדעת חלק ...
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The stripes of color are a rememberance for the lost blue techeles string. I heard on a tape from R' Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik that the differences in black/blue really come from a machlokes Rambam and Rashi. The Gemara in Menachos says that Techeilis is " Techeiles Domeh Le'Yam, V'hayam Dome Le'Rakiya" that the blue techeiles string is the color of the sky. ...
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Rabbi Yonason Ben uziel the Targum Yonason on parshas ki teitzei 22:5 explains the passuk of the prohibition of men wearing womens clothing and vice versa that the prohibition includes women wearing tzitzis and teffilin.
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