KITTEL

plural Kittel, in Judaism, a white robe worn in the synagogue on such major festivals as Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The rabbi wears it, as does the cantor, the blower of the shofar (ritual ram's horn), and male members of Ashkenazi (German-rite) congregations. Before a Seder dinner, the leader of the Passover (Pesah) service dons a kittel, and in Orthodox communities the bridegroom wears it at his wedding. Pious Jews use the kittel as a burial shroud.