question about the tallit

[Kunigunde Kreuzerin]

I have a question about the history of the tallit. What is the earliest reference to the word "tallit"? Did I understand correctly that the tallit was originally a long garment?

Despite searching I have not found out more details than the following

In the Talmud we learn of the tallit worn by scholars (Men 41a, Shab 147a; B B 57b, 98a, etc.

[wiki][/wiki] Wiki

The use of the tallit begins in the Biblical period. The ancient Jewish tallit design was different from that known today. Originally it was a large white rectangular garment with tzitzyot in each corner and was used as a garment, bed sheet, and burial shroud.

In the book The Ancient Jewish Shroud At Turin by John N. Lupia ... Lupia shows the historical development of the tallit when its design began to change during the second half of the first century CE and began to take on the forms known today beginning around 1000 CE. The long tradition of a single orthodox form of the tallit became modified in a more culturally diverse atmosphere and continued to change throughout time until it became permuted and shortened in length as the kitel, tallit katan, tallit gadol, and the more common tallit prayer shawl form know today.

Lupia's book seems problematic, because it wants to prove that the shroud of Turin is an ancient Jewish tallit . I'm absolutely not interested in this thesis.

HISTORY OF THE TALLIT

The Tallit was the Hebrew name given to the large square outer garment worn widely in the Mediterranean area and Middle East from Biblical times onwards. Originally it was called Simlah or Salmah and was also used as a covering at night time. Hence the need for a lender who took one as pledge for a loan to return it before nightfall.10. During the first to third centuries CE, the Tallit was worn by all classes and became a Jewish garment only when tsitsit were attached to it otherwise it cannot be distinguished from the pallium or himation. (The latter were Roman and Greek garments.) This is because the tsitsit had the religious significance not the garment to which it was attached.11.

The Talmud often refers to a Tallit; but in most cases it is in the sense of an outer garment, with no concept of sanctity. On one occasion Rabbis contemplated dividing a Tallit in half which, if it had had fringes, would have made two halachicly invalid garments out of one that was valid.12. And in another case Rabbis wanted a man to buy a shirt rather than a Tallit.13. The translators of the Soncino Talmud recognise the fact that the Tallit was often without tsitsit because they often translate it with words like 'garment' or 'cloak'.

There is visual evidence to back up this view. Paintings from the 3rd Century Dura Europos Synagogue show a number of Jewish figures wearing garments like a Tallit, but only one has fringes attached. See illustration.

"TALLIT (Heb. TyZt, pl. tallitot; Yid. tales, pl. talesim), prayer shawl. Originally the word meant "gown" or "cloak." This was a rectangular mantle that looked like a blanket and was worn by men in ancient times. At the four corners of the tallit tassels were attached in fulfillment of the biblical commandment of zizit (Num. 15:38–41). The tallit was usually made either of wool or of linen (Men. 39b) and probably resembled the abbayah ("blanket") still worn by Bedouin for protection against the weather. The tallit made of finer quality was similar to the Roman pallium and was worn mostly by the wealthy and by distinguished rabbis and scholars (BB 98a). The length of the mantle was to be a handbreadth shorter than that of the garment under it (BB 57b). After the exile of the Jews from Erez Israel and their dispersion, they came to adopt the fashions of their gentile neighbors more readily. The tallit was discarded as a daily habit and it became a religious garment for prayer; hence its later meaning of prayer shawl. The tallit is usually white and made either of wool, cotton, or silk, although Maimonides and Alfasi objected to the use of the latter. Strictly observant Jews prefer tallitot made of coarse half-bleached lamb's wool. In remembrance of the blue thread of the zizit (see tekhelet), most tallitot have several blue stripes woven into the white material (see Zohar, Num. 227a). Until recently, however, they only had black stripes. The minimum size of a tallit is that which would suffice to clothe a small child able to walk (Sh. Ar., OH 16:1)."

[semiopen]

It's remarkable that the only "academic" reference is a book about the Shroud.

Tzitzit should probably be looked at at the same time.

the name for specially knotted ritual fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by observant Jews and Samaritans. Tzitzit are attached to the four corners of the tallit (prayer shawl) and tallit katan (everyday undergarment).

The custom however, clearly predates these codes, and was not limited to Israel; images of the custom have been found on several ancient Near East inscriptions in contexts suggesting that it was practiced across the Near East.[14] Some scholars believe that the practice among ancients originated due to the wearing of animal skins, which have legs at each corner, and that later fabrics symbolized the presence of such legs, first by the use of amulets, and later by tzitzit.[14]

Footnote 14 refers to [wiki]Peake%27s_Commentary_on_the_Bible[/wiki] so I'd need more details to be convinced of this.

Tachrichim is also important.

Tachrichim (burial shrouds) are traditional simple white burial garments, usually made from 100% pure linen, in which Jews are dressed by the Chevra Kadisha for burial after undergoing a taharah (ritual purification).

My father had a clothing store in the non-Jewish city of Waukesha, WI (Chabad opened a branch there in 2012) and would occasionally ask customers if they were in interested in buying this... nobody ever asked him what he was talking about.

The traditional clothing for burying the dead are tahrihim, simple white shrouds. Their use dates back to Rabbi Simeon ben Gamliel II, who, in the second century CE, asked to be buried in inexpensive linen garments. According to the Talmud, Rabban Gamliel observed that the custom of dressing the deceased in expensive clothing put such a terrible burden on the relatives of the deceased, that they would "abandon the body and run."[1]

Considering the source, the whole story has to be dubious,m but it probably explains the reference in the Shroud book. It might be noted that the Shroud was probably not a real expensive item when it was new. If anything, I would think this argues against the Shroud being legitimate.