TZITZIT. Text 1 SECTION 1 - TALMUDIC BACKGROUND. The theme of the mitzvah of tzitzit, its psychological effect on our behavior, and its reward.

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2 2» Clothes shape the way others perceive us, and the way we feel about ourselves. What message does wearing tzitzit give off, and how does it make you feel when you wear them?» What is techelet?» What is the minimum size for a pair of tzitzit?» What happens if the strings rip off or unravel?» Are tzitzit meant to be worn at night?» What is the kabbalistic meaning of tzitzit? SECTION 1 - TALMUDIC BACKGROUND The theme of the mitzvah of tzitzit, its psychological effect on our behavior, and its reward. תלמוד מנחות מג, ב 1. Text 1 וראיתם אותו וזכרתם - ראה מצוה זו וזכור מצוה אחרת התלויה בו, ואיזו זו? זו קרית שמע, דתנן: מאימתי קורין את שמע בשחרית? משיכיר בין תכלת ללבן. תניא אידך: וראיתם אותו וזכרתם את כל מצות ה - שקולה מצוה זו כנגד כל המצות כולן. ותניא אידך: וראיתם אותו וזכרתם... ועשיתם - ראיה מביאה לידי זכירה, זכירה מביאה לידי עשיה. ת ר: חביבין ישראל שסיבבן הקב ה במצות, תפילין בראשיהן ותפילין בזרועותיהן וציצית בבגדיהן ומזוזה לפתחיהן, ועליהן אמר דוד: השבע ביום הללתיך על משפטי צדקך; ובשעה שנכנס דוד לבית המרחץ וראה עצמו עומד ערום, אמר: אוי לי שאעמוד ערום בלא מצוה! וכיון שנזכר במילה שבבשרו נתיישבה דעתו.. תניא, היה ר מאיר אומר: מה נשתנה תכלת מכל מיני צבעונין? מפני שהתכלת דומה לים וים דומה לרקיע ורקיע לכסא הכבוד, שנאמר: טותחת רגליו כמעשה לבנת הספיר וכעצם השמים לטהר, וכתיב: וכמראה אבן ספיר דמות כסא.

3 3 Talmud Menachot 43b [The Torah says about tzitzit] That you may look upon them and remember look upon it, and remember another mitzvah that is dependent upon it, namely, the reading of the Shema. As we have learnt: From what time in the morning may the Shema be read? From the time that one can distinguish between blue strings and white. And another [Baraita] taught: That you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the L-rd : this mitzvah is equal to all the mitzvot together! And another [Baraita] taught: That you may look upon it and remember and do them : looking [upon it] leads to remembering [the commandments], and remembering leads to doing them Our Rabbis taught: Beloved are Israel, for the Holy One, blessed be He, surrounded them with mitzvot: tefillin on their heads, tefillin on their arms, tzitzit on their garments, and mezuzot on their door-posts; concerning these (2 tefillin, 4 tzitzit, and 1 mezuzah) David said, Seven times a day do I praise You, because of Your righteous ordinances. Then, as David entered the bath and saw himself standing naked, he exclaimed, Woe is me that I now stand naked without any mitzvot! But when he reminded himself of the circumcision his mind was set at ease It was taught: R. Meir used to say: Why is blue chosen from all the other colors [for tzitzit]? Because blue resembles the color of the sea, and the sea resembles the color of the sky, and the sky resembles the color of [a sapphire and a sapphire resembles the color of] the Throne of Glory, as it is said, And there was under His feet, as it were, a paved work of sapphire stone The Torah tells us that wearing tzitzit that hang out of our clothing serves as a constant reminder to fulfill all other mitzvot, and specifically to recite the Shema. Simply, this means that wearing tzitzit wherever you go will serve as a constant reminder to fulfill all other mitzvot (another explanation follows in source 3). The mitzvot of tefillin, tzitzit, mezuzah, and milah all serve as constant reminders of our Jewishness and connection to Torah and G-d. They shape our thought processes and our consciousness. The Torah writes that one string of each tzitzit must be dyed blue with techelet dye that comes from a certain Mediterranean sea creature. Since the destruction of the second Temple, the exact dye has been lost. The significance of this dye too was to remind one of G-d s Throne of Glory, which is described as blue sapphire. Today, there are those who claim to have rediscovered the techelet, and again dye a string on their tzitzit blue. However, most authorities do not accept this view and therefore advise wearing only white-string tzitzit. TOPIC 5

4 4 תלמוד מנחות מד, א Text 2 א ר נתן:...מעשה באדם אחד שהיה זהיר במצות ציצית, שמע שיש זונה בכרכי הים שנוטלת ד מאות זהובים בשכרה, שיגר לה ארבע מאות זהובים וקבע לה זמן. כשהגיע זמנו... הציעה לו ז מטות, שש של כסף ואחת של זהב, ובין כל אחת ואחת סולם של כסף ועליונה של זהב, עלתה וישבה על גבי עליונה כשהיא ערומה, ואף הוא עלה לישב ערום כנגדה, באו ד ציציותיו וטפחו לו על פניו, נשמט וישב לו ע ג קרקע, ואף היא נשמטה וישבה ע ג קרקע. אמרה לו: גפה של רומי, שאיני מניחתך עד שתאמר לי מה מום ראית בי. אמר לה: העבודה, שלא ראיתי אשה יפה כמותך, אלא מצוה אחת ציונו ה אלקינו וציצית שמה, וכתיב בה אני ה אלקיכם שתי פעמים, אני הוא שעתיד ליפרע ואני הוא שעתיד לשלם שכר, עכשיו נדמו עלי כד עדים. אמרה לו: איני מניחך עד שתאמר לי מה שמך ומה שם עירך ומה שם רבך ומה שם מדרשך שאתה למד בו תורה, כתב ונתן בידה. עמדה וחילקה כל נכסיה, שליש למלכות ושליש לעניים ושליש נטלה בידה, חוץ מאותן מצעות, ובאת לבית מדרשו של ר חייא. אמרה לו: רבי, צוה עלי ויעשוני גיורת ולעה ב איני יודע כמה! Talmud Menachot 44a Rabbi Nattan said: There was once a man who was meticulous in the observance of the mitzvah of tzitzit. He heard that there was a harlot in a faraway city who charged four hundred gold talents for her services. He sent her the exorbitant fee and set an appointed time to meet her. When he arrived at the appointed time... she prepared for him seven beds, one atop the other -- six of silver and the highest one was made of gold. Six silver ladders led to the six silver beds, and a golden ladder led to the uppermost one. The prostitute unclothed herself and sat on the uppermost bed, and he, too, joined her. As he was unclothing himself, the four fringes of his tzitzit slapped him in his face. He immediately slid off the bed on to the floor, where he was quickly joined by the woman.

5 5 I swear by the Roman Caesar, the harlot exclaimed, I will not leave you until you reveal to me what flaw you have found in me! I swear, the Jew replied, that I have never seen a woman as beautiful as you. However, there is one mitzvah which we were commanded by our G-d, and tzitzit is its name. Concerning this mitzvah it is twice stated in one verse of the Torah I am the L-rd your G-d (Numbers 15:41) this implies that I am the one who will seek retribution, and I am the one who will reward. Now the four tzitzit appeared to me as four witnesses, testifying to this truth. I still will not leave you, the prostitute said, until you provide me with your name, the names of your city, rabbi and the school in which you study Torah. He wrote down all the information and handed it to her. The woman sold all her possessions. A third of the money she gave to the government (as a payoff so that they would allow her to convert to Judaism), a third she handed out to the poor, and the remaining third she took with her along with the silver and gold beds and she proceeded to the school which the man had named, the study hall of Rabbi Chiya. Rabbi, she said to Rabbi Chiya, I would like to convert to Judaism!... In this Talmudic episode, we see how wearing tzitzit saved a man from the gravest of sins. Perhaps the Talmud means that when this man realized what tzitzit truly represent, and how far he had strayed in his mindless desires and temptations, this truth slapped him in the face and did not allow him to go through his intended sin. Many times, although we know what is right and wrong, we still need a physical reminder or barrier to actually save ourselves from our own moments of weakness. Think about it: Even the woman, who was so terribly sunken in sin, was so impressed by this man s self-control at the eleventh hour, that she transformed her entire life and converted! TOPIC 5

6 6 And the reward (for tzitzit) in the World-to- Come? That we cannot even fathom! Now I am being taken before the supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who lives and endures forever and ever, whose anger - if He is angry with me - is an everlasting anger, who if He imprisons me imprisons me forever, who if He puts me to death puts me to death forever, and whom I cannot persuade with words or bribe with money! And in addition, there are two ways before me, one leading to the Garden of Eden and the other to Gehinnom, and I do not know by which I shall be taken. Shall I not weep? In general, the word fear has a negative connotation. Perhaps we should replace it with the word respect. A Yirai Shomayim is one who reveres and respects G-d. They said to him: Master, bless us! He said to them: May it be [God s] will that the fear of heaven shall be upon you like the fear of [man of] flesh and blood. His disciples said to him: Is that all [i.e. shouldn t the fear of G-d be greater than the fear of a fellow man]? He replied to them: If only [you could attain this]! You can see [how important this is,] for when a man wants to commit a transgression, he says, I hope no man will see me. Summary: Wearing tzitzit daily serves as a constant reminder of who you are, what you represent, and what is most important in life. There also used to be a blue techelet string on each fringe of the tzitzit, but today that dye has been lost. Tzitzit also have a special connection to reciting the Shema, and they are used to define when it is time for the morning Shema, and the paragraph in the Torah about tzitzit is read after the two paragraphs of Shema.

7 7 When, what, where, and how. SECTION 2 - CODE OF JEWISH LAW Text 3 קיצור שולחן ערוך סימן ט, סעיף א גדולה מצות ציצית, שהרי הכתוב שקלה ותלה בה את כל המצות כולן, שנאמר, וראיתם אותו וזכרתם את כל מצות ה, ציצית בגימטריא ת ר, ח חוטין וה קשרים הרי תרי ג. לכן צריך כל איש להיות נזהר, שיהיה לו טלית קטן, שיהא מלובש בו כל היום, ויהיה של צמר רחלים לבן, וגדול כשיעור, דהיינו ג רבעי אמה באורך וחצי אמה ברוחב, ויש אומרים אמה על אמה. Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 9:1 Great is the commandment of wearing tzitzit; for it is written that all the commandments are dependent on it as it, as is said: That you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of Hashem. The numerical value of (the letters of the word) tzitzit (ציצית) is six hundred,, x2 צ= 90 ), x2 י= 10 with the eight threads and the five (ת= 400 knots, we get six hundred and thirteen (the amount of the mitzvot). Therefore, one must take care that he has a tallit kattan (a small pair of tzitzit, as opposed to the large tallit gadol shawl) that he wears all day. This should be made of white lamb s wool, measuring about 3/4 of a cubit (aprox. 13 1/2 inches) in length and half a cubit (9 inches) in width; other (authorities) hold one square cubit (aprox. 18 by 18 inches). The Torah says, You will see [the tzitzit] and thus remember all the commandments of G-d. From this verse it was deduced that this mitzvah is relegated to the daytime the natural time for seeing. Nighttime clothing is exempt from tzitzit, and the blessing for tzitzit may only be recited during daylight hours. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that according to the kabbalistic teaching of the Arizal, it is beneficial to wear tzitzit even at night.[i] TOPIC 5

8 8 Text 4 קיצור שולחן ערוך סעיף ט אין מברכין על הציצית אלא ביום, ולא בלילה. ולכתחילה יזהר שלא יברך עליהם עד שיהא כל כך שיכיר בין תכלת ללבן. אם לובש את הטלית קטן ביום וידיו נקיות, יברך עליו על מצות ציצית (הוא ו בפתח), ואם לובשו כשאינו יכול לברך עליו, אזי אחר כך כשהוא יום וידיו נקיות, יקח את הציצית בידיו, ויברך על מצות ציצית. ואם ישן בטלית קטן, לא יברך עליו אחר כך כלל... Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 9:9 You only make the blessing over the tzitzit during the day and not at night. Care should be taken not to bless over them until it is light enough to distinguish between their blue and white strings.[1] If you put on the small tallit while it is still dark out or (immediately upon awakening) before your hands are washed (netilat yadayim), and thus cannot bless over it then later on when it is daytime and after your hands are washed, take the fringes in your hands and say the blessing, concerning the commandment of the tzitzit. If you slept with the small tallit on, you should not bless over it at all The Blessing for Tzitzit בּ רוּך א תּ ה ה א -לק ינוּ מ ל ך ה עוֹל ם א שׁ ר ק ד ש נוּ בּ מ צ וֹת יו ו צ ו נוּ ע ל מ צ ו ת צ יצ ת. Baruch atta Ado-noy Elohai-nu Melech ha olam asher kid-sha-nu b mitz-vo-tav v tzivanu al mitzvat tzitzit. [Blessed are you, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the mitzvah of tzitzit.] Text 5 קיצור שולחן ערוך סעיף יד חוטי הציצה צריכין להיות שזורין ואם איזה חוט נפרד משזירתו, אזי כל הפרוד נחשב כאלו נקצץ ואינו.

9 9 Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 9:14 The threads of the tzitzit must be twisted, and if any thread has become unraveled, the unraveled part is considered as entirely cut off and non-existent. If too many tzitzit strings tear or unravel, your tzitzit may become not kosher. Here are some basic rules: If one of the eight strings is ripped off entirely, the tzitzit are still kosher. If a second one is ripped completely off, the tzitzit may or may not be kosher, depending on various factors. If three strands rip, it may not be kosher, even if they are not ripped off completely.[ii] Text 6 קיצור שולחן ערוך סעיף יט ואפילו ציצית שנפלו והסירן מן הטלית, לא יזרקן לאשפה משום ביזוי מצוה. ויש מדקדקין לגנזם בספר, ולעשות מהן סימן בספר, משום דאיתעבד בהו מצוה חדא זימנא, ליתעבד בהו מצוה אחריתא, וגם הטלית שנתישן ואינו לובשו עוד למצוה, לא יעשה בו תשמיש מגונה. Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 9:19 Tzitzit strings that fall off or are removed from the tallit should not be thrown into the garbage, because doing so would degrade a mitzvah. Some people are careful to place them in a book to serve as a bookmark, because since they have once been used for a mitzvah, let another mitzvah be performed with them. Similarly, one should not use an old tallit for a degrading purpose. There are five (double) knots on each of the tzitzit tassels. In the spaces between these knots, one of the fringes which is longer than the others is coiled around the rest. Seven coils in the first space, eight in the second, eleven in the third, and thirteen in the fourth. These 39 coils have the same numerical value as Hashem Echad G-d is One. TOPIC 5

10 10 Text 7 רמב ם הלכות ציצית, פ ג, הל יא אף על פי שאין אדם מחוייב לקנות לו טלית ולהתעטף בה כדי שיעשה בה ציצית אין ראוי לאדם חסיד שיפטור עצמו ממצוה זו אלא לעולם ישתדל להיות עטוף בכסות המחוייבת כציצית כדי שיקיים מצוה זו ובשעת התפלה צריך להזהר ביותר גנאי גדול הוא לתלמידי חכמים שיתפללו והם אינם עטופים: Maimonides Laws of Tzitzit, Ch. 3:11 Even though a person is not obligated to purchase a tallit and wrap himself in it so that he must attach tzitzit to it, it is not proper for a person to release himself from this commandment. Instead, he should always try to be wrapped in a garment which requires tzitzit so that he will fulfill this mitzvah. In particular, care should be taken regarding this matter during prayer. It is very shameful for a student of Torah to pray without being wrapped [in a tallit]. Although you are only obligated to wear tzitzit if you are wearing a fourcornered garment, it has become customary to wear tzitzit daily, or at the very least, during prayer. This is due to the fact that the theme of tzitzit is constantly remembering all mitzvot, which is only possible if you are continuously seeing them, and it is also an opportunity to be doing a mitzvah all day, effortlessly. Summary: For those wearing only a tallit katan, (the personal garment tzitzit, as opposed to the prayer shawl customarily only worn by Ashkenazim after marriage) put it on in the morning, and say the blessing later, after washing netilat yadayim. Take the four tassels in your hand while saying the blessing, and then kiss them. Although not a binding obligation, it is preferable to wear tzitzit all day, and at the very least, during prayer and Shema.

11 11 NOTES TOPIC 5

12 A PROJECT OF: