Google Search Results
You arrived here after searching for the following phrases:
Click a phrase to jump to the first occurrence, or return to the search results.
If you're new here, you may want to sign up for email alerts or subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for reading!
Mormons wear sacred undergarments as part of our religious worship. I thought it might be good today to take a look at a well-known religious tradition, Judaism, and the very similar practice that they have, like us, of wearing certain sacred clothing. I, for one, highly respect the Jews’ practice of this in their worship.
The tallit katan (literally the “little tallit”) is a white undergarment worn by the Jews, usually Orthodox or Hasidic, in order to fulfill the commandment given in Numbers 15:38-40 to make such a holy garment,
that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. (Num. 15:39-40; also found in Deut. 22:12)
In other words, the Jews wear this garment in remembrance of the covenants they have made with God. Other illuminating points to consider are:
- It is a rectangular piece of cloth with a large hole cut in the center for the head to pass through, and tzitzit (fringes or hanging threads) attached to the four corners of the garment.1
- The tzitzit are specifically the symbols upon which the observant Jew looks to remember his or her covenants. The number, type, and form of the knots and ties in the tzitzit literally remind one of God and the commandments.2
- Traditionally made of wool, but cotton and linen are also widely used.3
- Worn daily, at all times, customarily by Orthodox men, but also by women. The wearing of it is deemed so important that one site states: “Highly observant Jews will not take four steps without wearing the tzitzit because it is a mitzvah [commandment] to wear it all the time.”4
- Traditionally worn under a shirt, but over an undershirt, so as not to directly touch the skin (to conform to societal dress codes).
- Often received on a special occasion in life, such as marriage or bar mitzvah (when adolescents come to the age of accountability).
- Despite the tradition of this commandment being first given in Numbers and Deuteronomy, some Biblical scholars have noted the practice has precedence before those codes were written, 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. 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.”5
- “Prof. Milgrom writes that tassels were used in the ancient world as an insignia signifying the status of its wearer, often his rank within the court of the ruler. The tzitzit thus indicated that its bearer was a Jew.”6
- One site mentions how such a garment was worn by ancient egyptian priests to “indicate their chosen status,” and when the Lord gave the commandment to the Jews it was likewise “to indicate their priestly status before Him as ‘a kingdom of priests’.”7
- Burial takes place after a ritual washing of the body and by dressing the body with a tallit and other sacred clothing.8
- We are told that Jesus Christ wore such a garment, and he took note that it had special sacred significance and was not to be flaunted before men as the scribes and Pharisees were wont to do - “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments” (Matthew 23:5). (See Matthew 9:22-23, 14:34-36)9
Such practice even crosses over into Eastern Orthodoxy where upon doning the stole the bishop or priest reads a prayer from Psalms 133:
Blessed is God Who poureth out His grace upon His priests, like unto the precious ointment on the head, which runneth down upon the beard, even the beard of Aaron, which runneth down upon the fringe of his raiment [garment].10
Certainly one who respects the Jews for their religious tradition, and Christ for his, of wearing such sacred clothing might also afford the Latter-day Saints’ the same opportunity.11
Notes:- http://www.hebrew4christians.com/~hebrewfo/Blessings/Daily_Blessings/Tallit_Katan/tallit_katan.html [←]
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzitzit [←]
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallit [←]
- http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Daily_Blessings/Tallit_Katan/tallit_katan.html [←]
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzitzit [←]
- ibid. [←]
- http://www.hebrew4christians.com/~hebrewfo/Blessings/Daily_Blessings/Tallit_Katan/tallit_katan.html [←]
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallit [←]
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_fringed_garments [←]
- ibid. [←]
- See the story in the Orlando Sentinel. [←]
5 Comments
I really enjoy reading your blog, and finding new insight into the Temple and its significance.
I wonder if it is appropriate to display a picture of the Jewish sacred garment… I know I would not be comfortable with a picture of Mormon garments on display.
Thanks Ginger. I love learning and writing about the temple.
About the picture, I wondered the same thing myself, but then I found many Jewish and other scholarly websites that also publish pictures of various tallit including the tallit katan (here is an example). If my understanding is correct, the tallit is sacred to the Jews, but it is not withheld from public view like the Mormon garment, particularly when it is not being worn. The fringes, or tzitzit, of the tallit will often hang down outside of the trousers in full view (as described in the classic book The Chosen by Chaïm Potok). The tallit gadol, another form of tallit, is much like a large scarf and is worn over the clothes resting on the shoulders (such as here, and here). Some observant Jews even sell the tallit katan on the internet (like here, and the Google ad that just showed up here from http://www.talit.com). If I am mistaken, may someone correct me. I do want to make sure we are always respectful of other faiths. And of course, here we are describing and giving appreciation and respect for the Jewish practice of wearing that sacred clothing.
Thanks for your concern.
I was raised Greek Orthodox (maiden name was Kostakos), and during one of the infrequent Sunday School classes that I attended as a child, I vividly remember the specific lessons where we learned about the vestments that the priest wears. I recall being bored to tears and totally annoyed that we were wasting time learning about clothing, when I wanted to learn about doctrine. Only now do I understand the significance of garments and robes. And yes, I do recall the emphasis made by the teacher that every piece of clothing worn by the priest had a special meaning, but I don’t remember the details. Your recent entries referencing some Orthodox practices have me thinking that it might be interesting to do a “compare and contrast” between Orthodox and LDS rituals. Thank you for a thought-provoking blog.
I had a similar thought about the picture but thought instead that perhaps as Mormons we should not be surprised or react so harshly if others post a picture of Mormon garments, if done in good taste, as I believe your intentions are here with the tallit katan. More often than not it is not done in good taste and society at large has not come to the defense of the Mormons as they would if people paraded in front of a synagogue in New York making a complete mockery of the tallit or yarmulka. Perhaps that will come with time.
I think Mormon garments are viewed with greater suspicion than the tallit katan or other religious clothing because we do have a stronger element of ’secrecy’ in the way we interpret the charge to keep them sacred. We do not have fringe sticking out or do not outwardly have other signs of orthodoxy to act as visual cues; we do not talk about it them in our meetings and people are not exposed to them visually in society. I could have described a tallit and yarmulka when I was 6 having watched Fiddler on the Roof.
I think part of the issue is also in the design, just the fact that Mormon garments take an ancient tradition and put them on clothing that has a modern look and feel, i.e. boxers and a t-shirt and not of a pattern or design that has a stronger, shall we say, artistic or ethnic touch. The tallit katan in design and fabric still has an ‘ancient’ look to it. We can see Jesus wearing this same style of dress and it does not seem unnatural to us but perhaps the same could not be said about a shirt that is modeled after a modern t-shirt. It is that blurring of ancient ritual and orthodoxy and the modern look of business suits that throws people for a loop with the Mormons.
The Mormons view their garment as sacred and as such a civilized society should respect that view and consider it when they talk about the garment. But perhaps we as Mormons could speak more frankly about the garment and the deep meaning it has for us in appropriate settings and audiences.
Interesting comments. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Mormon garment posted on a website in good taste, and doubt that the Church would find it acceptable even if it was done in good taste. I believe that part of our covenant is to keep them private and not accessible visually to society at large. For this reason, only members of the Church can buy garments, whereas it appears anyone could purchase a tallit katan. Admittedly, these practices do contribute to the apprehension that people have of the garment that is not found as much with Judaism. The garment is more private.
As far as the form of the garment, that may have some effect of others understanding of them. For Mormons, of course, I think it matters little the form they take. The form of the garment, as with the form of the temple ordinances, has changed slightly over time to adapt to the needs and circumstances of the people by revelation through God’s chosen prophets and apostles. I believe the vestments of the Lord’s covenant people have always followed closely the most respectable and proper forms of the day.
As with all subjects temple-related, I agree that we should speak more about them with others, but always in an appropriate way according to what we’ve learned from the General Authorities and trusted scholars, or through the comparative study of other traditions as we’ve done here.