‖ tallith
(ˈtælɪθ, ‖ talˈliθ)
Also 7– talith, 7 talles, 9 talit, tales.
[Rabb. Heb. ṭaˈllīþ, with Spanish Jews talīt, Ger. Jews tallis, f. ṭāˈlal, to cover, shelter, akin to tsāˈlal, to grow dark, whence tsēl, shade (H. Gollancz).]
The garment or mantle (in modern times frequently assuming the form of a scarf) worn by Jews at prayer; formerly, and in some countries still, used in place of or in addition to the canopy at weddings, i.e. to cover the heads of bride and bridegroom.
Its religious significance is solely derived from the ‘fringes’ attached to the four corners in accordance with Numbers xv. 38 and Deut. xxii. 12.
| 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 194 They call this garment Talith. Ibid. 210 The Priest draweth his Talles (a large cloth made of haires) before his eyes, and pronounceth the blessing. 1649 Prynne Demurrer to Jews' Remitter 35 Every Jew after he is past 7. years of age, shall carry a sign..in his chief garment; that is to say in form of two Talles of yellow taffety. 1839 Beaton tr. Jews in East I. v. 152 Every one wore a talit. 1842 Bonar & M'Cheyne Mission to Jews iv. (1843) 237 There were about thirty in the synagogue, all wearing the Tallith or shawl with fringes, and the Tephillin or phylacteries. 1886 Farrar Hist. Interpr. iii. 126 To unite the Pallium of Japheth with the tallith of Shem. 1892 Zangwill Childr. Ghetto I. ii. 62, I have not the wherewithal..to make him a Talith-bag. |