Undershirt Tzitzit, Shirt Tzitzit and Sport Tzitzit – History and Background

 Tzitzit  No Responses »
Jun 192013
 

For hundreds of years, or perhaps even thousands, Jews who wanted to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzit all day wore an untailored tallit katan, which is essentially just a rectangular piece of fabric with a hole in the center for the head and a hole on each corner for the tzitzit strings. Made of either wool or cotton, a tallit katan (or “tallis koton”) is often referred to simply as tzitzit, which can generate a bit of confusion.

Wearing a tallit katan is an honor and a privilege, but some Jews found in somewhat cumbersome to wear three layers – undershirt, tallit katan and shirt – every day, autumn, winter, spring and summer. Then about 20 years ago the NeaTzit was invented. The NeaTzit was a cotton garment that was partially closed along the sides (if it’s closed entirely there is no mitzvah to wear tzitzit on the garment) and designed to be worn in place of an undershirt. Sometimes called a t-shirt tzitzit or an undershirt tzitzit, the NeaTzit design caught on fast in Israel and around the world.

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T-Shirt Tzitzit Innovation

Undershirt Tzitzit

Mishkan Hatchelet’s popular undershirt tzitzit, a.k.a. Cotton Comfort

NeaTzit has gone out of business, but their t-shirt tzitzit innovation is alive and well, whether it’s sold as TrimTzit or PerfTzitz or Cotton Comfort. T-shirt tzitzit and undershirt tzitzit designs vary slightly: while the original NeaTzit was made with snaps along the sides, today the Mishkan Hatchelet version is made with a patented side connector and v-neck while the Talitnia version (which is actually made by Malchut Yerushalayim) uses stitching and has a crew neck.

Another advantage of the t-shirt tzitzit is that it tends to stay in place better than the age-old tallit katan design. This is a big advantage for athletes and for parents of little tykes who have slim chances of keeping three layers neatly tucked in all day.

The undershirt tzitzit proved so popular that in recent years several variations have been introduced: the Sports Tzitzit or Tamir Goodman’s “Sport Strings,” a wool tzitzit undershirt and a shirt tzitzit designed to be worn alone, without a shirt on top.

Our top selling undershirt tzitzit is the Cotton Comfort, which is designed to make wearing tzitzit as comfortable as can be. In summer opt to wear it in place of an undershirt to eliminate one layer of clothing, and we even have customers who wear them all year round because of the contour fit.

We recently introduced a Wool Comfort as well, which offers the same contour fit and patented design, using a lightweight, soft, stretch wool fabric.

Buy T-shirt Tzitzit or Shirt Tzitzit>>>

Never Fear! Tzitzit Tying Made Easy

 Tzitzit  No Responses »
Jun 112013
 

Periodically I get customers who want to send me a tallit for repair work on the tzitzit. Bad idea! The last time someone did that Israel Customs decided to charge NIS 131 and it dragged on for weeks.

Tallit Repair - Tzitzit needs replacing

The tzitzit on one of the corners needs to be replaced.

And in his case it was a much more complicated tying custom (Chabad) and he had to do all four corners, whereas in most cases there’s just have one corner to replace. In the time it takes you to stand in line at the post office, you could get the job done.

Some tzitzit tying posts make it sound more complicated than it really is. Let me put it in very basic terms. For any given corner you take four tzitzit strings. Three of them will be a regular length and one will be longer. (A standard package of tzitzit strings comes with 12 regular length and four long strings.)

Then just before you insert them into the hole you say לשם מצוות ציצית (“lesheim mitzvas tzitzis“). You even them up on both sides and tie a double knot. Try to make it so the double knot touches the edge of the tallit, without scrunching it up.

So far, nothing to it.

Then you take the long string and wind it around the others seven times. (About three minutes of work.) Tie a double knot.

That’s really all there is to it. Afterwards you just repeat the windings and the double knot three times.

The only difference is the first time you count 7 windings, the second time 8, the third time 11 and the fourth time 13.

It should take you a total of 15 minutes, and it’s always best to do mitzvahs yourself.

You might even enjoy it! I no longer tie all our tzitzit myself, but I tie several times a week, usually in the evening, and I find it’s a really great way to unwind (forgive the pun).

Ashkenazi with Sephardic Tzitzit

 Tzitzit  No Responses »
May 072013
 

In my line of work, usually the questions customers email to me are fairly run-of-the-mill. Questions like, “Can I switch the atara on the Gvanim Tallit?” or “How do I have sidebands added to a Prima A.A. Tallit?” But occasionally I get a more piquant question, like this inquiry from Michael G.:

If I grew up Ashkenazi and want to tie the tzitzit in a Sephardic way, is that inappropriate? One friend said yes and the other no. The mitzvah is having tzitzit, but I am not sure.

Here’s my reply to Michael:

Malchut Talit with Netted Fringes

Malchut Tallit with Sephardic tzitzit

Thank you for your inquiry. I’m not qualified to answer your question – you should really try to get in touch with a good rav – but I’m going to put in my own two cents anyway. I would side with your friend who says no. Maintaining Jewish customs passed down through the generations should not be taken lightly. On one hand Sephardic tzitzit tying might be right for you, but when you look at the big picture it’s important that the Jewish people have a binding framework and don’t just follow the customs that appeal to them.

Just this week I was helping my son learn Mishnayos from Maseches Pesachim. In the fourth chapter there’s a series of cases where the Mishnah tells you there are two different customs and everyone must follow the local custom. Questions like: Can you work on Erev Pesach? Can you work on Tisha B’Av? Should you light candles for Yom Kippur?

The commentators explain that there is a good justification for each custom, it’s not just a case of being stricter or more lenient. And I think that applies to a certain extent to your question about tzitzit tying customs.

On the other hand, there is also value in creating your own personal pathway in Avodas Hashem. I know a redhead American with a Tennessee accent who decided he wants to follow the Rambam and Yemenite customs. He even wears traditional Yemenite attire. (He works as a realtor in Jerusalem, so as you can imagine, it’s a bid odd seeing him get into a car with with a client, wearing his robe and long peyos.)

And I have a neighbor in my building who is as Sephardic as they come. He never steps foot in the Ashkenazi shul across the street and he prays with a strong Baghdadi accent. Then one day his father came to visit and I saw the grandsons take him to shul and hand him a Nusach Ashkenaz siddur. That’s right: When my neighbor was a young man he went and “converted,” becoming Sephardic.

There are plenty of examples like that, and perhaps even more instances of Sephardim taking on various Ashkenazi customs. And who am I to judge them – especially since I myself adopted a special set of customs (the Gra, as per Maaseh Rav) over a decade ago.

So you see you really should consult with someone who knows you and is has a thorough understanding of halacha.

Michael also sent in a second, related question. If you’ve read this far into the post, you might find his other inquiry of interest as well.
On a Tallis Gadol, how would you tie them according to Sephardic custom – 7,8,11,13 the way I tie Ashkenazi, or 10,5,6,5? I tied one corner of my tallis katan 10,5,6,5 and the shamash was much longer than the others. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
On a tallit katan, the prevalent Sephardic custom is to tie 10-5-6-5, although many have a custom of tying Sephardic style 7-8-11-13. On a tallit gadol it’s almost never done 10-5-6-5.

Regarding the Shamash string, it’s always going to come out long when you tie 10-5-6-5. The manufacturer has to make it long enough to meet everyone’s needs, they don’t make a special set for 10-5-6-5. In fact usually the Shamash comes out a bit long, no matter how you tie.

I have a special set of ceramic (zirconium oxide) scissors. Of course most people don’t (unless they happen to be a tzitzit professional or a diehard angler), so to read about the issue of cutting tzitzit, see Long Tzitzit on Short Boys, Cutting Tzitzit and the fourth question listed in Tzitzit Tying Questions.

Chabad Tallis and Tzitzis: What Sets Them Apart

 Tallit, Tzitzit  No Responses »
Mar 132013
 

Chabad has a propensity for doing things their own way, and the Chabad tallis and Chabad tzitzis are no exception. The Chabad tallis has a unique, elaborate striping pattern and a second hole on each corner. The tzitzis tying method employs a very creative innovation of inserting the shamash through the second hole, which acts as an anchor to keep the tzitzit from sliding around the corner to the wrong side. And the Chabad tallis features another trait that sets it apart: it is just about the only tallit (besides the Turkish tallit) that does not have an atara.

Chabad tallis: No atara

The custom of sewing on an atara originated to ensure that the tallit was worn the same way each day; not simply to make sure it is not worn upside-down, but to keep the same two tzitzits in front and the same two tzitzits in back every time the tallit is worn. The Shlah explains this is in keeping with the teaching that in the Mishkan (the Tabernacle), the northern boards had an established merit to occupy the north side, the eastern boards the east side, etc.

However, some halachic authorities seemed to be concerned the atara would dominate the tallit, stealing the limelight from the essential mitzvah: the tzitzit.

Chabad tallis katan

Chabad tallis katanThe Lubavitcher custom is to sew a silk lining to the underside of the tallis where the head goes so that the Chabad tallis is always the same way, yet there is no atara to draw attention away from the tzitzit.

Chabad Tallis Katan

Similarly the Chabad tallis katan is a bit different from the standard wool tallit katan. Usually a tallit katan has a t-neck, whereas the Chabad tallis katan has a round neck. Like the Chabad tallit gadol there are silk fabric squares sewn onto the corner. While most Chassidim have horizontally aligned holes on their tallit katan, on the Chabad tallis katan the tzitzit holes are diagonally aligned. And while usually a wool tallit katan has fringes along the front bottom edge, the Chabad tallis katan has a straight hem.

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Tallit & Tzitzit

 Tallit, Tzitzit  No Responses »
Feb 142013
 

I recently received an interesting inquiry from a prospective customer. I’m not 100% sure what he meant, but I decided to write a detailed response that covers several points related to his question on tallit and tzitzit. His brief question was as follows:

I just wondered if the tallit and tzitzits you sell are of the same brand used by the Haredis of Jerusalem especially Mea Shearim?

Based on the question my assumption was that he wants to be sure the tallit and tzitzit he buys are completely kosher, so I touched on various topics related to the halacha of tallit and tzitzit:

Thank you for your inquiry. There are dozens of tallit and tzitzit manufacturers in Israel. The two leading companies are Mishkan HaTchelet (distributed in the U.S. by Keter) and Talitania (also spelled Talitnia). All of our traditional tallit and tzitzit products are made by Mishkan Hatchelet. They have three factory outlet stores in Geula, which is Jerusalem’s “Charedi downtown” and it borders Meah Shearim. Their products adhere to very high halachic standards. (If you can read Hebrew, click here.)

For instance, one of the important details to keep in mind when making a tallit or tallit katan is the placement of the tzitzit holes. The Torah says explicitly that the tzitzit must be placed on the kanaf, which literally means “corner.” The Karaites decided this means right on the corner itself. I’m not sure how they get tzitzit to stay there, but I’ve heard that’s what they do. On the other hand Chazal learned, based on various proofs, that kanaf means the corner, but not too close to the edge. It comes out that the holes for the tzitzit should be located 4.8-6.0 cm from the edges. That may sound easy, but I have come across products made by small manufacturers (and handwoven tallits) where the tzitzit holes are too far or too close to the edges, rendering the tzitzit invalid. This is fairly rare, but two or three times I’ve had to reject products.

If you are concerned about making sure the tallit and tzitzit you buy are perfectly kosher, I would advise you to avoid machine-spun tzitzit. Handspun tzitzit only cost about $6 more, and from a halachic standpoint it’s worth the money. (If you’d like to understand why, refer to my post, “Kosher Tzitzit: A Matter of Intent“.) Also, according to some opinions it’s best to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzit with a wool tallit or tallit katan, not cotton. (See my post, “Four Reasons to Opt for a Wool Tallit Katan” and another post titled “Tzitzit: Cotton or wool?“.)

One stringency that some (but not most) charedim insist on is tzitzit known as lashonot hatzemer. If I’m not mistaken this stringency is based on a psak (halachic ruling) by HaRav Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss zt”l. We have a few sets of these available, so if you’re interested, let me know. They cost a few dollars more than the standard handspun tzitzit strings.

Tzitzit strings…pre-tied and tzitzit made of colored yarn?

 Tzitzit  No Responses »
Feb 132013
 

If you do a Google search for the word “tzitzit,” some of the top-ranking websites you see are maintained by Christians. We recently received the following email from a woman in the state of Washington:

I see, while browsing on the Web, many tzitzit made from colored cotton yarns, including beads, and already tied, just with a loop at the top. Are these in conformance with Jewish practice?

I have seen these websites, too. The vast majority of them are sites maintained by Christians who like to observe certain biblical commandments in their own way (“Messianic Jews”).

Kosher tzitzit strings must be spun with the intent to fulfill the mitzvah (see “Kosher Tzitzit Strings: A Matter of Intent“). And tzitzit must be tied directly on a tallit or garment, not pre-tied, since the verse says, “And you shall make tzitzit on the corner of your garment” (Bamidbar 15:38).

I noticed that one of these websites offers “installation instructions.”

A third problem with these tzitzit, although less severe, is that the custom, according to the Shulchan Aruch, is to make white tzitzit, not colored tzitzit. The techelet (blue) strings mentioned in the same verse cited above is the exception, of course.

Yemenite Tzitzit

 Tallit, Tzitzit  No Responses »
Feb 032013
 

Rambam Tzitzit - TecheletWhen I first decided to learn how to tie Yemenite tzitzit, it wasn’t easy. The online videos I watched were very hard to follow, so I went to a local Yemenite Jew and he taught me very patiently, but I didn’t really get the hang of it. Then I went to an Ashkenazi yeshiva bachur who wore Ptil Tekhelet which he tied according to the Rambam. He kept telling me that if I understood the logic behind the form of the knot, it would be easier, but I actually found the opposite to be true. And my knots still came out wrong. Finally I went to another local Yemenite. He taught me just as his father had taught him when he was a kid. The technique was easier for me to grasp and the knots started to come out right.

Rambam Tzitzit - WhiteIn recent months the number of orders we receive for Rambam tzitzit tying has gone up, so I tried outsourcing some of the work, but they kept tying the knots really close, which I feel is less aesthetic. It also leaves you with a very short tied section and a very long loose section.

Although tying according to the Rambam tzitzit tying method seems complicated, once you get it down pat I find it to be less time-consuming than Sephardic tzitzit tying, and certainly Chabad tzitzit tying. Of course if you are tying with techelet strings, things get more complicated.

Techelet Tzitzit: Does the Dye Have to Be from a Kosher Animal?

 Tzitzit  No Responses »
Jan 262013
 

Over the past few months I have received several inquiries about whether the dye used to make techelet tzitzit has to be made from a kosher animal. For instance, just yesterday I received the following inquiry from someone in eastern Washington state who has been looking into various tzitzit and techelet topics:

In my research on tallit and tzitzit, I have noticed that there are at least two historical sources for the indigo dye: cuttlefish and the Murex trunculus snail. Also, I have seen that plant sources for the indigo dye are not acceptable for dyeing the blue cord of the tzizit. My question is this: If plants are considered kosher, and snails and cuttlefish are considered to be treif (no fins or scales), how is it that no plant-based dye can be used on the tzizit?

Does techelet dye have to come from a kosher animal?The Gemara discusses a concept referred to as mutar b’ficha, which means literally permitted to put in your mouth, i.e. kosher. This applies to tefillin, mezuzahs and Sifrei Torah, and the Magen Avraham concludes that this rule applies to all other mitzvahs as well. But upon further examination it appears that mutar b’ficha applies to all tashmishei kedushah (holy mitzvah objects) with the exception of dyes.

For an in-depth examination of this question, see The Hillazon and the Principle of Muttar be-Fikha by Rabbi Mois Navon of the Ptil Tekhelet Association. It was originally published in the Torah u-Madda Journal in 2001 and is available in PDF form here: www.tekhelet.com/pdf/Mutar_Beficha.pdf

Tzitzit Avodat Yad

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Dec 102012
 

If you are searching for tzitzit strings to tie yourself or are trying to decide which type of tzitzit to have tied on your next tallit or tallit katan, you may have come across the term avodat yad, which is Hebrew for “handmade.” In this context, a better translation is probably hand-spun. Do you really need hand-spun tzitzit? Why are hand-spun tzitzit strings better than machine-spun tzitzit?

Go to avodat yad tzitzit strings»
Tallit with avodat yad tzitzit strings»
Tallit katan with avodat yad tzitzit strings»

Ironically you will find machine-spun tzitzit come standard on less expensive tallits, on NeaTzit – and on many handwoven tallits, which typically cost $225-$500! The reason is that some of the very nice handwoven tallit makers are operations run by secular Jews who have never opened up the Shulchan Aruch in their lives.

Since tzitzit are the essence – the raison d’être – of a tallit or talit katan, we offer a broad range of options including machine-spun, tzitzit avodat yad (thin, medium and thick), lashonot hatzemer, niputz lishmah and techelet options.

Tzitzit Avodat Yad

Handmade tzitzit production line. Note the large sign on the wall reminding workers to keep the mitzvah in mind. Photo courtesy of www.COLlive.com

The Torah tells us to make tzitzit for ourselves – v’asu lahem tzitzis (Bamidbar 15:38). Based on this verse, the Sages of the Talmud and later the Shulchan Aruch ruled that tzitzit strings must be made with intent (“lishma“), i.e. when making the strings one must have intent from the outset that they eventually be used for the mitzvah of tzitzit.

The main stages in the tzitzit production process are gozez (shearing), libun (bleaching), niputz (carding), tevia (spinning) and shezira (plying). The basic halachic requirement stated in the Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 11:1) is that you must do tevia lishmah (spinning with intention). Since for the most part we say a machine cannot have intention to perform a mitzvah, tzitzit must be made manually, which is known as avodat yad.

Some people are under the misimpression that “machine tzitzit” can be tied by machine. There is no such thing as a machine that ties tzitzit and there is no allowance in halacha to permit such a thing. Tzitzit are always hand-tied. (Also, among Christians who observe certain Torah mitzvahs – so-called Messianic Jews – you will often see tzitzit that are tied and then simply clipped onto a belt or shirt. This is explicitly forbidden by halacha and clearly cannot be considered kosher tzitzit.)

Avodat Yad tzitzit strings: Thin or thick?

Machine-spun tzitzit are invariably thin, whereas tzitzit avodat yad come in thin, medium and thick. (We also have extra long available upon request.) For aesthetic reasons, thin tzitzit are generally used on a tallit katan, although some may prefer thick, which are less likely to break. On a tallit gadol, thin tzitzit generally come standard. Traditional black-and-white or white-on-white tallits may be sold with no tzitzit, and often buyers will choose to go with thick avodat yad tzitzit strings, again for aesthetic reasons.

Buy avodat yad tzitzit strings»
Buy a tallit katan with avodat yad tzitzit strings»
Buy a tallit with avodat yad tzitzit strings»

NeaTzit

 Tzitzit  No Responses »
Nov 292012
 

One of the most popular products we sell is the NeaTzit, which is designed to make wearing tzitzit as comfortable as can be. In summer many people opt to wear NeaTzit in place of an undershirt to eliminate one layer of clothing. And there are also those who wear it all year round because of the contour fit, which is especially important to those who lead an active lifestyle and want a tallit katan that stays neatly in place.

NeaTzit in CottonWe strive to keep our  NeaTzit priced lower than the competition, and offer a bulk discount for orders of three or more. Our main NeaTzit product is a V-neck made by Mishkan Hatchelet. Made of pre-shrunk, combed cotton, it features reinforced stitching at the neckline, corners and tzitzit holes, a patented side connector band and pockets in the corners where the tzitzit can be tucked in during washing.

We recently introduced a wool NeaTzit, which offers the same contour fit and patented design, using a lightweight, soft, stretch wool fabric.

Sizing a tallit katan can be complicated, but NeaTzit sizing is simpler. It comes in Small (Size 20), Medium (Size 22), Large (Size 24), XX Large (Size 26) and XX Large (Size 28). We also offer NeaTzit for boys in five different sizes. To spare our customers from data overload, we list separate sizing tables on each tallit katan product page.

NeaTzit – Choosing the Tzitzit

NeaTzit in Wool

New wool NeaTzit. Click on image for details.

Typically the tzitzit on a tallit katan – whether NeaTzit or the traditional design – are thin. Some people opt for thick tzitzit, either for aesthetic reasons or because they want extra insurance against broken strings. We also offer a third option: medium thickness tzitzit, which are a closer to thin than to thick. In fact, at a glance you can hardly tell the difference, but the medium thickness strings are a bit easier to tie and a bit stronger.

We offer both Ashkenazi and Sephardic tying, and can also do Yemenite, Ben Ish Chai or Yemenite by special request.

Of course another option is NeaTzit with techelet tzitzit, which we can tie according to a range of customs: Arizal, Yemenite/Rambam, Vilna Gaon, Sefer HaChinuch or Raavad.

For more information on the various tzitzit option, both all-white and techelet, refer to our Tzitzit Wizard.

NeaTzit>>

NeaTzit with Techelet>>

NeaTzit for Boys>>

 

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