- published: 14 Oct 2010
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A tallit (Hebrew: טַלִּית) (talet in Sephardic Hebrew and Ladino) (tallis, in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish) pl. tallitot (talleisim,tallism, in Ashkenazic Hebrew and Yiddish) is a Jewish prayer shawl. The tallit is worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers (Shacharit). The tallit has special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four corners. Most traditional tallitot are made of wool. Tallitot are often given as gifts to children on their Bar Mitzvahs. In orthodox circles, a Tallit is customarily presented to a groom before marriage as part of the dowry.
The Bible does not command wearing of a unique prayer shawl or tallit. Instead, it presumes that people wore a garment of some type to cover themselves and instructs them to add fringes (tzitzit) to the 4 corners of these (Numbers 15:38, Deuteronomy 22:12). These passages do not specify tying particular types or numbers of knots in the fringes. Nor do they specify a gender division between men and women, or between native Israelite/Hebrew people and those assimilated by them. The exact customs regarding the tying of the tzitzit and the format of the tallit are post-Biblical and rabbinical and can vary between various Jewish communities.
Toufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn (Greek: Τουφικ Βενέδικτος "βενι" Χιν, Arabic: توفيق بندكتوس "بني" الحن, Hebrew: תאופיק בנדיקטוס (בני) הין; born December 3, 1952) is a televangelist, best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades" – revival meeting/faith healing summits that are usually held in large stadiums in major cities, which are later broadcast worldwide on his television program, This Is Your Day.
Hinn was born in Jaffa, in 1952, in the then newly-established state of Israel to Palestinian Christian parents. He was raised within the Eastern Orthodox tradition.
Soon after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War (a.k.a. "The Six-Day War)", Hinn's family emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he attended but later prematurely left the Georges Vanier Secondary School. In his books, Hinn states that his father was the mayor of Jaffa at the time of his birth, and that as a child, he was socially isolated and was handicapped by a severe stutter, but was nonetheless a first-class student. These claims, however, have been disputed by critics of Hinn. As a teenager in Toronto, Hinn converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Pentecostalism, eventually joining a singing troupe made up of young evangelicals. According to a 2004 CBC report on Hinn, his newfound religious devotion during this period became so intense that his family became concerned that he was turning into a religious fanatic. Hinn was taught the bible and mentored by Dr. Winston I. Nunes of Broadview Faith Temple in Toronto.