Short Tallit scarf blue and white (acrylic)

Why does halacha (Jewish law) require that we wear a talit gadol during Jewish prayer?

The Torah commands us to wear Tzitzit on all the clothes at the four corners that we wear during the day (Numbers 15:38). The paragraph of the Torah that includes this mitzvah is read each morning as the third paragraph of the Shema Israel prayer. Tzitzit are woolen cords that are attached to each of the four corners of the prayer shawl. According to Jewish tradition, the Tzitzit consist of eight white strings at each corner tied with five knots. Although there is no command to wear the Tzitzit if one is not wearing a four-cornered garment, Jewish men have always worn four cornered garments in order to fulfill the mitzvah of wearing the Tzitzit. According to Kabbalah, being wrapped in a four-cornered shawl with Tzitzit on it while praying elicits G-d’s mercy. For this reason, Jewish men wear a four-cornered shawl or talith during morning prayers and on Yom Kippur.