Tzitzis

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The Mitzva of Tzitzis

The mitzva (commandment) of tzitzis is mentioned twice in the Torah, once in Bamidbar (Numbers) 15:38-40:

"Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them that they shall make themselves tzitzis (tassles) on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations and they shall place upon the tzitzis of each corner a thread of blue wool. These shall be your tzitzis, and when you see them, you shall remember all of God’s commandments so as to keep them. You will then not stray after your heart and eyes after which have led you to immorality. You will thus remember and keep all My commandments, and be holy to your God."

"You shall make for yourselves twisted threads on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself."

A Talis is any four cornered garment which has tzitzis on it. There are two kinds:

Talis gadol

This is the large talis worn during prayers. In Ashkenazi communities it is usually worn by married men only but there are different customs about this. It should be large enough to cover most of the wearer’s body.

Talis katan

This is the small talis worn by men and boys almost always. It is usually worn under the clothing. It should be at least 16 x 16 inches in the front and in the back. This talis is usually referred to simply as tzitzis.

Strictly speaking, the Torah does not require us to wear tzitzis unless we are wearing a garment with four or more corners. Nevertheless, we wear tzitzis at all times to take advantage of an opportunity to do a mitzva.

Ideally all talleisim should be made from wool but they don’t have to be. A talis gadol is almost always wool. Frequently, however, a tallis katan is made from cotton so that it will be more comfortable. (Synthetic materials may not bear any mitzva of tzitzis and should therefore not be used to make a tallis.)

The strings which are used to make the tzitzis must be made especially for the mitzva of tzitzis. You can buy these strings from any decent Jewish book store. The strings must have rabbinical certification.

How to make tzitzis

The tzitzis themselves are attached to the corners of the talis. There are four strings inserted into each corner one of which is longer than the others, this longer string is called the shamash (servant). The standard procedure for attaching the tzitzis strings is as follows: (These instructions are paraphrased from Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s instructions in his book Tzitzith.)

1. Take all four strings and insert them through the hole. Adjust them so they are even (except for the shamash which remains longer on one side). The four strings are now doubled into eight.
2. Make a double knot with four strings on each side. Before making the first knot. You should say, "I am doing this to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis".
3. Take the shamash (the long string) and wind it around the other seven strings seven times.
4. Make another double knot.
5. Make eight windings.
6. A double knot.
7. Eleven windings.
8. A double knot.
9. Thirteen windings.
10. A final double knot.
11. Repeat this procedure by each corner.

The Blue Thread

The Torah tells us to insert a blue thread into each corner of the talis. This particular blue is known as techailis and can only be obtained from an animal known as the Chilazon. Since we no longer know the identity of this animal we are unable to perform this part of the mitzva of tzitzis. Nevertheless, tzitzis which do not contain the blue thread are perfectly valid.

Symbolism

There are two basic symbolic aspects in the making of tzitzis.

1. The numerical value of the word tzitzis is 600, which, together with the eight strings and five knots on each corner, adds up to 613, the total number of mitzvos in the Torah.
2. The first three groups of windings 7, 8, 11 add up to 26, which is the numerical value of one of the names of HaShem, while the remaining group, 13, is equal to the numerical value of the word echad- one. The tzitzis thus symbolize the words "HaShem Echad"- HaShem is one.