CCAR RESPONSA
New American Reform Responsa
10. A Multicolored Tallit
QUESTION: May a tallit be woven of many different colors? Are there restrictions on the material which may be used? Who should wear it? (Patricia Levinson, Rochester NY)ANSWER: The tallit and the tzitzit represent the rabbinic interpretation of a Biblical commandment (Nu 25.38 ff). This was originally fulfilled through the wearing of the four cornered garment with tzitzit (fringes) at all times as a constant reminder of the obligation to perform the commandments. When styles changed the tallit became an additional garment worn beneath other garments and so it remains as the tallit qatan worn by many traditional Jews. This is worn throughout the day. The Talmud (Men 43a) debated whether women were obligated to wear tzitzit. Rab Judah felt that the obligation rested upon them as did other earlier teachers, while Rab Simeon declared them exempt as this is a positive commandment which depended upon a fixed time, as the wearer was obligated to recite a special blessing in the morning when the tallit is donned. It has been the general Orthodox practice to exclude women from this commandment (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 8.6). The tallit worn during services stemmed from the same commandment as the tallit qatan. It is generally worn at all morning services and in the Orthodox tradition by all males even those below the age of Bar Mitzvah (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 17.3). There are, however, other traditions which state that it is worn only after Bar Mitzvah (Tur and Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim and commentaries) or only after the male has married. A tallit is also required, according to tradition, for those who participate in the Torah service (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 14.3). This would be true whenever the Torah is read. It is likewise worn at the Kol Nidrei service to demonstrate the great significance of this service. Traditional Jews will don the tallit before it is dark, so that the appropriate blessing can be said while it is still daylight. Otherwise, they wear it without any blessing (Levush Orah Hayim 619.1). There were discussions about the way in which the tallit was worn and its length (BB 57b). Some have suggested that it be folded double over the shoulders (Shab 147a; Men 41a; Yalqut Psalm 103). The color was guided by the Hebrew term tekhelet normally translated as blue or a bluish purple, however, in the Talmudic period it was decided that blue need not be used in order to fulfill the obligation of this commandment (Men 38a ff). That was the pattern followed by the later codes (Yad Hil Tzitzit; Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 8ff). Normally the stripes on the tallit are black or blue, occasionally it has been decorated in addition with a silver embroidery (S. Z. Ariel Meir Netiv p 212). The tallit itself should be made of wool or silk (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 9.2f). It may be woven of other material as along as it is consistent throughout. Nothing has been said in the literature about the color of the material, although the traditional tallit is white or a shade close to white. I have not been able to find any prohibition which deals with a colored tallit, and so it would be appropriate to use such a tallit at a synagogue service at the appropriate times.October 1989
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