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Today’s Halacha…

The question was asked in Halacha if a person must recite the Beracha of ‘LiHitatef BiTzitzit’ again if he removed his Talit for just a moment. For example, a person may remove his Talit to go to the bathroom. Another example would be of a Talit that accidentally fell off someone. Do these people have to recite the Beracha again when putting the Talit back on?

If the Talit was off for a period of a half-hour or longer, then this time-frame constitutes a Hefsek, an interruption in the performance of the Mitzvah, and the individual must then recite a new Beracha when he puts the Talit back on. Even if he intended when removing the Talit to wear it again within a half-hour, once this time-period passes, he must recite a new Beracha when he puts it back on. So for example, on Yom Kippur, when we remove the Talit after Musaf with the intention of wearing it again for Mincha, if a half-hour passes before Mincha begins, one must recite a new Beracha, even if he had intended to put it on again within a half-hour.

So what about when a person puts his Talit back on within a half hour?

Interestingly, Maran (author of the Shulchan Aruch) rules that in both cases (bathroom and when the Talit fell off) one must indeed recite the Beracha when putting the Talit back on. Other Poskim (authorities on Halacha) however disagree, arguing that since in both these cases the individual had no intention of removing the Talit for a half-hour period, the time spent not wearing a Talit would not constitute a Hefsek in the Mitzvah’s performance, and thus one should not repeat the Beracha. Halacha Lema'ase, in these instances we do not follow Maran’s position given the controversy surrounding the issue, based on the rule of ‘Safek Berachot LiHakel.’ This rule means that we do not make a Beracha when there are Poskim who argue on whether or not to make a Beracha. Therefore if one’s Talit was removed or fell off and he puts it back on within a half-hour, he does not recite a new Beracha.

This Halacha gives rise to an interesting question regarding a person’s whose Talit was removed or fell off towards the end of Tefilah. The end of Tefilah refers to the prayers of ‘ Tefila Le’David’ or ‘Kaveh’. If the Talit falls off or is removed at this late juncture, should the person still put the Talit back on or not? Chacham Ben Tzion Abba Shaul rules that in such a case one should put his Talit away, rather than putting it back on. Since there is a disagreement between Maran and other Poskim as to whether one should recite a Beracha when wearing the Talit again, (and in any event one has already worn his Talit for the bulk of the service), it is therefore suggested and preferable to avoid this predicament and not put the Talit back on at all. Rather than putting oneself in a situation subject to a dispute among the Poskim, one should opt to refrain from putting the Talit back on, since he has already worn it for most of the Tefilah (prayer service). He writes that this was the practice of Chacham Ezra Attie A"H.

Conclusion: If one’s Talit was off for a period of half-hour or longer, he must repeat the Beracha when putting it back on, even if he had intended to remove it for just a moment. If one’s Talit fell off or if he removed it temporarily, and he wears it again within a half-hour, he does not recite a new Beracha. If this occurs towards the end of Tefilah, he should preferably not put his Talit back on at all, thereby avoiding the debate surrounding this issue.