A fringed shawl or wrap worn by Jewish men during prayer, especially in religious services, with ritual knots at its corners.
From Hebrew 'tallit' meaning covering; adopted into Yiddish and English. The practice dates back to biblical times when fringes represented commandments.
The four fringes on a tallis (called tzitzit) aren't just decoration—each knot pattern traditionally encodes the number of commandments in Jewish law, making the garment itself a mathematical reminder.
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