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Wearing a tallis?
#1
In the book The Path of the Righteous Gentile: An Introduction to the Seven Laws of the Children of Noah, by Rabbi Rogalsky [Copyright 19'87, ISBN-10 087306433X, which is the only authorized edition], it lists the following Jewish commandments as forbidden to Noahides:
Quote:a.    Observing the Sabbath in the manner of the Jews (resting from the actions that were needed for the building of the Tabernacle during the Exodus from Egypt)

b.    Observing the Jewish holy days in the manner of the Jews (resting in a similar manner to the Sabbath)

c.    Studying those parts of Torah that do not apply to the Noahites’ service of G-d

d.    Writing a Torah scroll (the Five Books of Moses) or receiving an aliyah to the Torah (the reading of a portion of the Torah scroll at a public gathering)

e.    Making, writing, or wearing tefilin, the phylacteries worn during Jewish prayer that contain portions of the Torah

f.     Writing or affixing a mezuzah, the parchment contain­ing portions of the Torah, to one's doorposts or gateposts  

This list leaves off the Jewish mitzvah of tallis, and so I am wondering, does this mean that I as a Noahide am allowed to wear a tallis, should I not wear it, or should I wear something that looks similar, or should I just not use any of these items?
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#2
Hi James7-
I think that while talleisim (the plural of tallis) are very neat, I think they have fringe knots and gematria for the 613 Jewish Mitzvot, so I am guessing that it is not something that a Noahide man would wear.
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#3
ProudNoachide Wrote:Hi James7-
  I think that while talleisim (the plural of tallis) are very neat, I think they have fringe knots and gematria for the 613 Jewish Mitzvot, so I am guessing that it is not something that a Noahide man would wear.

As I understand it, the purpose of tzitzit is to remind the wearer of the mitzvot. The gematria and knots do represent the number 613, to remind the Jews of their commandments.

Director Michael said in a different part of this forum that:
"After Mount Sinai, both the large tallis (tallis gadol) and small tallis (tallis katan) have the connotation of uniquely Jewish garments, and therefore Noahides are discouraged from wearing either of these, as Rabbi Schochet has pointed out for us."
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#4
Noahide men (or women) should not buy their own tallis gadol to use during their daily morning prayers, or a tallis katan to wear continually (even with the tzitzis fringes not showing). The tallis is a uniquely Jewish symbol. Thus a Noahide who wears a tallis is likely to be mistaken for a Jew in a synagogue service or in other settings (including the places where a Noahide might go without hesitation, but which would be forbidden for an observant Jew to be seen there).

Also, if a tzitzis fringe on a Noahide's tallis came undone on the end and he retied it himself, it would be forbidden for a Jew to put on that tallis, since it would no longer be fulfilling the mitzvah, and thus the four-corned garment would be forbidden for him to wear. This is one reason why a Noahide should not have his own tallis, because it might get acquired or borrowed by a Jew.

But even without that possibility, Noahides should not acquire and/or wear tallis or tefillin, or do the other things quoted above from the book "Path of the Righteous Gentile." There are and must remain these clear lines of distinction between Jews and Gentiles.

Furthermore, tallis and tefilin, though somehow related in practice to Jewish prayer, actually are independent mitzvos and have nothing to do with prayer-services and do not add to them. They are distinct mitzvos on their own. Thus it should be emphasized that the only "enhancing tools" for prayer by Noahides are sincerity and submission to G-d.
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#5
Rabbi Schochet Wrote:But even without that possibility, Noahides should not acquire and/or wear tallis or tefillin, or do the other things quoted above from the book "Path of the Righteous Gentile." There are and must remain these clear lines of distinction between Jews and Gentiles.

I am curious what the source is for this ruling; if neither Rambam nor Radbaz include the wearing of a tallis in their list of unavailable optional observances, from where do we include it in ours?
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#6
The particular list of observances you are referring to (see the first post in this thread), from the Rambam's Mishneh Torah in the section on Laws of Kings, is specifically dealing with those Jewish observances which are restricted only because of their inherent level of sanctity/holiness. That issue does not apply to tzitzis.

However, the Rambam did cite restrictions on tzitzis for Gentiles as a practical matter, in his section of Mishneh Torah on Laws of Tzitzis.

Rabbi Schochet's position is applicable especially in light of the modern-day Noahide movement, which thank G-d is growing rapidly - and may it continue to grow as a Torah-true movement until and beyond the coming of Moshiach, may it be speedily in our days!
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#7
Shalom

Also: as a prayer shawl, may bnei Noach use any sort of shawl to cover his head? Or is there a particular proper one? (If yes: must the shawl be bought exclusively for this purpose?)

Thank you all!
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#8
There is no obligation for a Noahide to wear such a garment. Also, Noahides do not have to be concerned about rounding any of the corners of their garments, because they are not commanded about having tzitzit fringes on the corners.

The main point is that a Noahide should not create for himself (in his own mind) a religious precept to wear a specific garment (including a Jewish tallis or something similar to it), because he would be creating for himself an innovated ritual commandment, which is forbidden. See Rambam (Maimonides), Laws of Kings 10:9, and "The Divine Code" by Rabbi Moshe Weiner, Part I, chapter 3.

With this in mind, if a Noahide wishes to wear an over-garment that does not look at all similar to a Jewish tallis (an example might be a pancho), then he is allowed, as long as he does not wear it with the intention that it is a religious precept, or that wearing it will bring any special spiritual merit to the person.
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#9
With all due respect, the interest in a Noahide prayer garment that looks like a tallis with corner fringes (tzitzit) may be the start of a slippery slope for the Noahide movement. It is at least along the lines of founding a new form of religion or worship for Noahides. It is also a distortion of the idea and principle of the Jewish tallis.
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#10
BS"D

Rabbi Moshe Weiner, author of "Sefer Sheva Mitzvot HaShem" and its translation, "The Divine Code," submitted the following guidance for our forum:

-----from Rabbi Moshe Weiner, Jerusalem:

Even if one has the opinion that a special garment for prayer is logical, as part of making prayer additionally special, adding tzizit fringes or something similar in appearance for Noahides would be an imitation of the Jewish mitzva, which relates to the shape of the garment (four corners) and is independent of prayer.

A beautiful garment of any size, color, any type of corners, without any tzizit fringes at all would be more appropriate than one with some type of tzizit fringes.

Just rounding one or more corners of a four-cornered shawl and adding fringes to the corners is only a minor change to the Jewish tallit, and misses the point that one should not make up new commandments for one's self.

If a Noahide were to go ahead and do so anyway, he should not say any blessing, or even attach any prayer to putting it on, since this would turn the wearing of the garment into an issue in its own right. The whole reason claimed for desiring to put on a prayer shawl is to assist in a Noahide's concentration in prayer, and no further religious rationals could be accepted.

If a Noahide wears a prayer shawl without tzizit-like fringes at all, then he is not imitating the Jewish mitzva. But Rabbi Shochet brought up another concern - a Noahide man who wears one might be mistaken for a Jew. In a synagogue, people don’t know of such a concept of inspecting other's tzizit fringes to see if they are tied in a Jewish style or otherwise. But if it would be a different type of garment - not like a Jewish tallis - then that wouldn’t be a problem either. *Nevertheless,* the general attitude of R. Shochet (which follows the rule explicitely given in the book "The Divine Code," Volume 1) is that a garment that looks generally like a tallis is not for Noahides.
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