Reply To: Should I wear a Tallis?

Anyone can speculate on the reason for the minhag not to wear a tallis before marriage. However, I believe the Maharil mentions the difference of minhagim between b’nei Reinus (the Rhineland)for unmarried men to wear a tallis and of b’nei Ostreich (I’m not sure this is identical to modern-day Austria, but literally Ostreich means the “Eastern Country”) not to wear one until marriage. Apparently, the German Jews follow the minhag of b’nei Reinus and the Eastern Europeans go like the b’nei Ostreich.