Daf HaYomi B'Halacha Daily Email - 27 Adar II/March 30

Can the corners of a garment be relocated?

If the entire edge of a garment is folded and sewn down, tzitzis should be affixed on the newly formed corners and not in their original spots. If the sides were only folded but not sewn, Shulchon Aruch rules that the tzitzis should be connected to the original corners and not to the newly formed corners. Rema maintains that they should be attached to the newly formed corners but concedes that a brocha should not be made on such a tallis. Some Achronim understand the Rema’s position to be that tzitzis should be affixed on both the former and present corners.

[שו"ע י, ו, משנ"ב יח, וביה"ל ד"ה אלא; וראה עוד שם; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 15]

Is a garment which is too long to be worn required to have tzitzis?

As we have explained, there is an uncertainty regarding a garment on which the sides were folded but not sewn down. Preferably, one should avoid wearing such a garment. If one had no choice but to wear this folded garment, he should follow the view of the Shulchon Aruch. If a garment is so long that it cannot be worn unless it is folded, the poskim disagree about whether it is required to have tzitzis. Practically, if one must wear this garment, he should place the tzitzis on the original corners and wear it without a brocha.

[שו"ע י, ו, משנ"ב טז ו־יט, ושעה"צ כז]

Can a person wear a tallis with five tzitzis?

If one adds tzitzis strings to a garment which already has sufficient tzitzis with the intention of adding to the mitzvah, he transgresses the prohibition of bal tosif (adding to a mitzvah). The tallis is not kosher until the extra strings are removed. Shulchon Aruch rules that all the strings must be removed and then the correct number of strings should be retied to the garment. If, however, the new strings were originally added with the intention of nullifying the first strings, it is sufficient just to take off the original strings. The Rema maintains that under all circumstances, as soon as the extra strings are removed (whether from the original or new strings), the tzitzis are kosher.

[שו"ע י, ו, ומשנ"ב כא-כג]

A garment with only three corners is exempt from tzitzis even if it originally had four corners and one corner was later cut off. A five-cornered garment, however, is obligated in tzitzis. The tzitzis should be affixed on the four corners which are farthest from each other.

A four-cornered garment on which one of the corners was rounded off by folding it down and sewing it is still obligated in tzitzis. It can be assumed that the stiches will eventually be removed and the garment will revert back to being a four-cornered garment. Otherwise, the corner would have been severed.

Tzitzis can only be affixed to a garment when it has four corners and is required to have tzitzis. If they were affixed when the garment was exempt, they are not valid even if the garment was later changed into a proper four-cornered garment.

To what extent do the sides of a tallis koton have to be open?

Can buttons close the side of a garment?

When is wearing tzitzis considered carrying on Shabbos?

PLEASE NOTE: The information in this email is for learning purposes only. Please review the Mishna Berura and Biurim U'Musafim before making a halachic decision. Hebrew words are occasionally transliterated to enable a smoother reading of the text. Common Ashkenazi pronunciation is generally used in these cases.