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the role of the talit
Yesterday our new associate rabbi led our weekday mincha service. When he arrived he asked if there was a talit available and I suggested a place to look (successfully, it turned out). The request surprised me, so in typical fashion, I'm now going to deconstruct it. :-)
Traditionally, one dons the talit (prayer shawl) for morning prayers. (There is a solitary exception to this rule coming up this week, by the way. [1]) Everyone [2] does; it's not just a rabbi thing. The talit is expressly not worn at other times, and I've never seen my rabbi wear a talit at the afternoon (or evening) weekday service. But he does on Friday nights, and I can think of two related customs.
First, in many places it is customary that everyone called to the torah wears a talit, even if he wouldn't normally. I've been in synaogogues where someone went up and was given a talit to wear before saying the blessings. It would not be a huge leap to extend this reasoning to the person who conducts the service, or at least the torah service. Most Reform congregations read torah on Friday nights, so it is possible that my rabbi wears a talit then due to this custom. Our congregation doesn't mandate talitot for people called up, and in fact it's rare to see anyone else wear one then. (In the morning, sure.)
(Aside: we do have occasional Friday-night services where torah is not read, and my rabbi wears a talit. This could be to avoid confusing the congregation, or it could be for some other reason.)
That would possibly explain my congregation and maybe Reform congregations in general. However, I've also seen the leaders of Shabbat evening services in two Conservative congregations wear talitot, even though torah is not read then. This would suggest a custom (in some places, at least) that the leader wears a talit no matter what. This could be the associate rabbi's custom.
Which all makes me curious about what my rabbi's custom actually is. :-) (No, it doesn't keep me up nights, and it'll probably never bubble up to the top of the list of things to discuss with him. I'm just idly curious.)
[1] On Tisha b'Av, a national day of mourning, the talit is not worn in the morning. It is then worn in the afternoon, I'm told.
[2] Depending on where you are: every adult Jew, or every adult male Jew, or every married male Jew.
Traditionally, one dons the talit (prayer shawl) for morning prayers. (There is a solitary exception to this rule coming up this week, by the way. [1]) Everyone [2] does; it's not just a rabbi thing. The talit is expressly not worn at other times, and I've never seen my rabbi wear a talit at the afternoon (or evening) weekday service. But he does on Friday nights, and I can think of two related customs.
First, in many places it is customary that everyone called to the torah wears a talit, even if he wouldn't normally. I've been in synaogogues where someone went up and was given a talit to wear before saying the blessings. It would not be a huge leap to extend this reasoning to the person who conducts the service, or at least the torah service. Most Reform congregations read torah on Friday nights, so it is possible that my rabbi wears a talit then due to this custom. Our congregation doesn't mandate talitot for people called up, and in fact it's rare to see anyone else wear one then. (In the morning, sure.)
(Aside: we do have occasional Friday-night services where torah is not read, and my rabbi wears a talit. This could be to avoid confusing the congregation, or it could be for some other reason.)
That would possibly explain my congregation and maybe Reform congregations in general. However, I've also seen the leaders of Shabbat evening services in two Conservative congregations wear talitot, even though torah is not read then. This would suggest a custom (in some places, at least) that the leader wears a talit no matter what. This could be the associate rabbi's custom.
Which all makes me curious about what my rabbi's custom actually is. :-) (No, it doesn't keep me up nights, and it'll probably never bubble up to the top of the list of things to discuss with him. I'm just idly curious.)
[1] On Tisha b'Av, a national day of mourning, the talit is not worn in the morning. It is then worn in the afternoon, I'm told.
[2] Depending on where you are: every adult Jew, or every adult male Jew, or every married male Jew.
Re: Tallit customs
In many Orthodox congregations, the man leading any service wears a tallit.
Thanks. Most of the Orthodox services I've been to have been morning services, where it wouldn't be remarkable. I now can't remember what I've seen at the few Orthodox evening services I've been to.