Kittel

A kittel (Yiddish: קיטל [ˈkɪtl̩]) is a white linen or cotton robe[1] worn by some religious Ashkenazi Jews on holidays, in the synagogue or at home when leading the Passover seder.

[5] In some communities, it is known by the Western Yiddish term sargenes, related to the Old French serge as well as Latin sericum.

As a tachrichim or burial shroud, the kittel signifies simple attire that assures equality for all in death.

Because Jewish law dictates that the dead are buried without anything else in the coffin other than simple linen clothes, a kittel has no pockets.

The wearing of a kittel on the High Holidays is symbolically linked to its use as tachrichim and to the verse "our sins shall be made as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18).