A tallit (Hebrew: talit) is a rectangular prayer shawl worn over the head and shoulders. Together with phylacteries (Hebrew: tefillin), it is among the indispensable paraphernalia used by Jewish men during certain prayers. Its function and some of its features have already been mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Lev. 15:37-39; Deut. 22:11-12).
The tallit from the collection of the Lublin Village Open Air Museum is in the colour of raw wool, with six black stripes of different width and weave different from the whole, woven along the narrower sides. The extreme black stripes are the widest and interspersed inside with narrow white stripes. White fringes approximately 9 cm long are left along the narrower sides. Sewn on the four corners are rectangular reinforcing pieces (approx. 3 by 4 cm) of the same fabric with hemmed holes. Through the holes are threaded braided fringes (Hebrew: tzitzit) of the same wool. The longest of these is 22 cm, the others are shorter due to deterioration. One of the corner fringes is made of silk threads. It was most likely added later, after the original one was damaged, as ritual regulations require that the tallit be made of the same material.
The item was donated to the Lublin Open Air Village Museum in 1988 by the then Chairman of the Jewish Community in Lublin. It comes from the Jewish prayer house in Lublin located at 10 Lubartowska Street.
