How a Woman Wears a Tallit

Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried's classic compendium of Jewish Law from the late 19th Century CE. It is important to note that the application of the principles of Jewish Law frequently depends upon the unique context to which they are applied; consequently, a specific ruling of 150 years ago will not necessarily be the accepted practice today. Furthermore, not all the rulings of Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried in his "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch" are accepted as definitive.
"Every man must provide himself with a large fringed tallit... and he should take care that the tallit must be handsome for every religious deed must be performed in the grandest manner, as it is written 'This is my God and I shall glorify Him'". (Exodus 15:2) (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 9:1)

It follows from this that the embellishment of a tallit for woman is acceptable but one should safeguard against vulgarity.




Before wearing the tallit for women:

  1. see that the fringes are intact and correct,
  2. hold the neckband at both ends,
  3. bring the tallit over your head with both ends of the neckband close to your mouth,
  4. say the blessing,
  5. lower the tallit over your shoulders.

To heighten one's awareness of the act (wearing a talit for women) the following may be said before reciting the blessing:

Bless the Eternal, my soul! Eternal my God, how great You are, clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped in light like a robe. You spread out the heavens like a tent.

18b

I prepare to wrap myself in this tallit to fulfill the command of my creator. As it is written in the Torah: "Each generation shall put a tassel on the corners of their clothes". And just as I cover myself with a robe in this world, so may my soul deserve to be robed in a beautiful robe in the world to come, as in Eden. Amen.

When a talit is being put on, the following blessing is recited:

Blessed are You, our Living God, Sovereign of the universe, whose commandments make us holy and who commands us to wrap ourselves in the tallit.

19a
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