Welcome to the Daily Halacha. Can one make a Berachah (blessing) on a Talit (prayer shawl) that's not theirs? Let's say somebody goes to Shul (synagogue) Shabbat morning or during the weekend. They don't have a Talit; they forgot it at home, whatever the case is. Can they go and use their friend's Talit, when their friend isn't there, without permission?
So the Halacha (Jewish law) is a Talit. In order for one to make a Berachah, one has to own the Talit. It has to be yours. Let's say your friend is there, and you go over to him and ask, “Can I borrow your Talit?” That itself is a Machloket (dispute). If your friend allows you to use his Talit, you're allowed to use it, but there's a Machloket about whether you make a Berachah on it. Maran (our master) HaShulchan Aruch holds that you're allowed to make a Berachah on a Talit that your friend gave you permission to use, even though it's his. A lot of people—a lot of Poskim (halachic authorities)—argue against that. Maran Chacham Ovadia Yosef says that if your friend lets you use the Talit with permission, you can be Somech (rely on), you can be lenient to make a Berachah. But it's better to have in mind that you're not fully buying the Talit, you're just borrowing it, and then you don't make a Berachah.
Let's say your friend is not there, but you know where his Talit is. Can you go use his Talit? Chacham Ovadia Yosef says that if the Talit is closed in the Talit bag or in a shtender (bookstand), and you know that your friend doesn't like others using it without permission, then a person is not allowed to use that Talit. But if you know your friend doesn't mind, even though he's not there to give permission, you're allowed to use it, don't make a Berachah, and also on condition that you put it back in the right place, exactly the way it was. Even the way it was folded, it has to be put back the way it was.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef writes that if you use your friend's Talit without permission and don't put it back folded the way it was when you took it, it could be Gezel Lemafre'a, it could be as if you stole the Talit, and that's in itself an Averah (sin). Therefore, if you're going to use it without your friend's permission, put it back. But even if you're going to use it, put it back. If you use it, you cannot make a Berachah.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef does say there is room to be lenient and make a Berachah on a Talit if you know for a fact your friend doesn't mind if you use it. However, the best thing to do, says Maran Chacham Ovadia Yosef, is to have in mind not to actually own the Talit, and put it on like a borrowed Talit. On a borrowed Talit, you don't make a Berachah, but you could be mekayem (fulfill) the mitzvah (commandment) to a certain extent.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef, for Enquiry, but you could be you're not the only Berachah on your platform. And to find out how to make a Berachah on a Talit, and make a Berachah on a Talit, you have to work hard. For example, a Berachah on a Talit, you can do it with your own hand, then in a lifetime, you can use it in your own way. You can use it as a temporary. That's how often you've had your hand back. In the norm, you might make a Berachah yourself. In a nation, probably, it's the same. There are also many, many ways of making a Berachah. Chacham Ovadia Yosef does say...