Question
Why are we required to wear a Tallit (Prayer Shawl) at morning services but not in the evening?
Answer
This is an excellent question. There is not really a “hard” halachic answer to this. The basic premise is that we are not, by Torah law, *required* to wear a Tallit at all for prayers. It is a Rabbinic institution that lends more honor to the prayer. The accepted practice has become to only wear a Tallit for prayers when one wears Tefillin (phylacteries, see Exodus 13:9) as well. With the exception being the one who leads the prayers for the congregation.
Be well,
Rabbi Moshe Rosenstein