Folding a Tallit on Shabbat

Is it permissible to fold one’s tallit on Shabbat, and, if so, may it fold be folded regularly, or must it be folded in a special manner?

Tosafot (a collection of Talmudic commentaries from Medieval French and German scholars) write explicitly that folding a Tallit is forbidden on Shabbat, since it is done in preparation for the following day (Shabbat 113). When one folds a tallit at the end of the prayer service on Shabbat, he obviously does not plan to wear it again that day. As such, the folding is considered an act of preparation for the following day, which halacha forbids on Shabbat.

The Shulchan Aruch, however, approvingly cites the view that allows folding a tallit on Shabbat in a different manner from the way one normally folds it (Orech Chaim 302). Meaning, according to the Shulchan Aruch, it is permissible to fold one’s tallit even along the creases.

Importantly, however, Rav Chaim Sittichon of Aleppo, in his work Eretz Hachaim, notes that the practice in Aleppo was to fold one’s tallit on Shabbat in the normal fashion. It appears that this was the custom there stretching back even before the time of the Shulchan Aruch, and we generally assume that we may continue following a custom that dates back to before the times of the Shulchan Aruch, even if the Shulchan Aruch rules otherwise.

Therefore, people who fold their tallit in the normal fashion on Shabbat may continue doing so. This is especially so for those who have a special tallit designated for use on Shabbat, in which case they fold not in preparation for the weekday, but rather for the next Shabbat, which is permissible.

Summary: There is a custom that permits folding one’s tallit on Shabbat, even in the usual manner, along the creases.

Courtesy of Rabbi Eliyahu Mansour of DailyHalacha.com