Which aspects of tzitzis-making must be done lishmah?



Tzitzis strings must be spun lishmah--for the sake of the mitzvah of tzitzis—or they are not kosher. The lishmah intention must be articulated; it is not sufficient to merely think it. Some Rishonim hold that the wool for the tzitzis strings must also be combed lishmah. Although l’chatchilah one should be stringent and follow this view, the custom is to be lenient. It is recorded that some gedolei Yisroel were careful to even shear the wool from the animal with a lishmah intention. This is not the halacha, however.

[סעיף א, וס"ק א, ג ו־ד; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 3]




Can one rely on the lishmah intention of another person?



It is sufficient to state at the onset of the spinning that it is being done lishmah. If the process was started by one person, the poskim disagree about whether someone who takes over is also required to state that the work is being done lishmah. If a spinner only articulated his intention after he started spinning, the wool which was already spun is invalid. In some instances, some of the wool is spun while the rest is being combed. If the combing was not done lishmah, it does not disqualify the small amount of wool that was spun. It is sufficient if most of the spinning is done lishmah.

[סעיף א וס"ק ה-ו; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 2 ו־7]




Can a child spin the tzitzis threads?



L’chatchilah, spinning should be done by a Jewish adult man or woman without disqualifying conditions. If this is not possible, a child, deaf-mute or shoteh can also spin the threads if an adult supervises and instructs the person to do it lishmah.  A non-Jew can also spin the wool under these conditions if need be. The poskim disagree about whether these supervised sessions would be permissible if they were to extend over a long period of time. Without adult supervision, tzitzis spun in these circumstances are not acceptable.

[סעיף א-ב, ס"ק ז, ח, ט ו־יב, וביה"ל ד"ה טוָאן וד"ה וישראל; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 19]
  • Only garments which are designed to cover one’s body are obligated in tzitzis. Garments which are meant to wrap the head or neck are exempt from tzitzis. Although in some instances they also cover the body, they are not classified as garments for the body since this function was not intended in the original design.

  • Presently, the common practice is to wear a four-cornered garment just for the mitzvah and not for enjoyment. This seems to contradict the previously mentioned halacha that only garments which are worn for enjoyment (i.e. for the benefits that clothing provide) are required to have tzitzis. The Achronim offer two explanations for this practice.

  • In earlier times, there were various shirt-like garments with two corners on top and two on the bottom. Nevertheless, the custom was not to affix tzitzis to these garments. Rema explains that this was because they did not have two sets of corresponding corners on the front and back of the garment. The Achronim are not satisfied with this reason, and they suggest rounding off one of the corners to clearly exempt such garments from tzitzis




  • How many threads should make up each tzitzis string?









  • Is it possible to wear tzitzis with more than eight strings on the corner?









  • Can the ends of the strings be knotted?
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.
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