The earliest time for tallit and tzitzit

Hi,

There is an "earliest time" for the mitzvah of donning tzitzit or a tallit; before that time, one who puts on tzitzit or a tallit does not recite a blessing on them. Many calculate this time as 45 or 60 minutes before sunrise.

One who puts on tzitzit or tallit before the "earliest time" should wait until the earliest time arrives, then recite the blessing, then shift the tzitzit/tallit around somewhat and re-settle them in place.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 8:16; Mishneh Berurah 8:43)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Overnight tzitzit

Hi,

One who does not remove his tzitzit at night, but instead sleeps in them, he should recite a new blessing on them in the morning. There is some debate on this point, though, and so it would be better to mentally include the tzitzit in the blessing he recites on the tallit.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 8:16; Mishneh Berurah 8:42)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

If a tallit falls off

Hi,

If one's tallit or tzitzit fall entirely off, he must recite a new blessing before putting them back on. This is true even if he picks it up and puts it back on immediately.

Among Sephardic Jews, one who removes his tallit intentionally must recite a new blessing before putting it back on. Among Ashkenazic Jews, though, one who intentionally removes the tallit need not recite a blessing before putting it back on, so long as he did not travel far and did not wait a long time before putting it back on. It is difficult to define "a long time;" ask your local authority for more information.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 8:14-15; Mishneh Berurah 8:40)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

One berachah for both tzitzit and tallit

Hi,

There is debate as to whether the blessing one recites on the tzitzit (tallit katan) in the morning can include the tallit he will don in the synagogue, because the two garments are donned in different locations. Therefore, one should recite separate blessings for each, and not try to include both in one blessing.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 8:13; Mishneh Berurah 8:33-34)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Multiple tzitzit garments

Hi,

One who wears many four-cornered garments simultaneously is obligated to put tzitzit-strings on the corner of each of them. However, one who dons more than one such garment at the same time need recite only one berachah.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 8:12)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Tzitzit Visibility

Hi,

One should make sure the strings of his tzitzit are visible when he recites the blessing on the garment, even if he will need to tuck them into his clothing later.

Ideally the strings (and even the garment, according to some) should always be visible, as a reminder of the mitzvot of the Torah, but the sages were lenient for Jews who would mix among non-Jews, if there was concern for mockery or violence. [There are also those who keep the strings inside their garments for mystical reasons.]

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 8:11; Mishneh Berurah 8:25)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Tzitzit Check

Hi,

One should make sure, daily, to examine the strings of his tzitzit and tallit before reciting berachot (blessings) and donning these garments, to make sure the strings are whole and the knots have not come undone.

One should even do this on Shabbat, according to many authorities, even though he might be tempted to fix the strings, which is prohibited on Shabbat. The concern for an improper berachah is greater than the concern that he might re-tie the strings.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 8:9; Mishneh Berurah 8:20)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shehechiyanu on a Tallit?

Hi,

One who acquires a new set of tzitzit, or a new tallit, recites the blessing of "Shehechiyanu." One does this upon acquiring/making the item, but if he didn't do it at that time then he does it before donning it for the first time, after reciting the normal blessing.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 22:1; Mishneh Berurah 8:14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The berachah for tzitzit and tallit

Hi,

The general practice among Ashkenazic Jews is to differentiate between the berachah (blessing) recited on the tallit and the berachah recited on the tzitzit, because one cannot fully wrap himself in the small tzitzit garment.

Therefore, we recite a blessing thanking Gd for instructing us "al mitzvat tzitzit," "on the mitzvah of tzitzit," instead of the tallit berachah of "lehit'atef batzitzit," "to cloak ourselves in tzitzit."

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 8:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Two in front, two behind

Hi,

Regarding both the small "Tzitzit" garment and the large Tallit, one should keep two of the corners in front of him and two of them behind him, so that he will be surrounded with the mitzvah.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 8:4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Atarah of the Tallit

Hi,

Many people have the practice of making an Atarah (literally: crown) - lining a segment of the broad side of the Tallit with silver, a special fabric or a special design, marking that side as the external and "Up" side of the Tallit.

The idea behind making an Atarah is that this guarantees that specific corners will always remain the same - the front-right strings will always be in that corner, the front-left in the other front corner, the back-left in their spot and the back-right in their spot. Once you guarantee that a certain side is both external and "Up," this automatically follows.

This is done because of the belief that each corner has a unique type of sanctity, and so the 'inhabitants' of the more elevated corners should not be shifted down from their positions to lesser positions.

Some authorities insist that corner-constancy is not a requirement, and therefore there is no need for an Atarah at all. It's a matter of family and local custom.

(Mishneh Berurah 8:9)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachah on tallit and tzitzit simultaneously

Hi,

Many maintain the practice of reciting a blessing only upon the large Tallit worn for Shacharit (the morning service), and therein including the Tzitzit, since the Tzitzit are donned fairly close to the time one puts on the Tallit.

One who does this need not enwrap himself in the Tzitzit before putting them on; he fulfills that practice when he enwraps himself in the Tallit.

(Mishneh Berurah 8:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Wrapping in the tallit

Hi,

We have said that one should wrap himself in his tzitzit garment when reciting the blessing. One should specifically wrap the garment around his head, as a means of inducing introspection and humility.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 8:2; Mishneh Berurah 8:4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Tzitzit

Hi,

Today we begin a new topic, the Mitzvah of wearing "Tzitzit."

Tzitzit, also known as Arba Kanfot, are four-cornered garments with strings on each corner. The Mitzvah of wearing Tzitzit is detailed in Bamidbar 15:37-41.

One should don Tzitzit as part of dressing in the morning; this set of tzitzit is often called "Tallit Katan," or "mini-tallit," One stands, holding the tzitzit before himself, as he recites the blessing. Then he wraps the tzitzit around himself, and then he dons them as he will wear them.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 8:1; Mishneh Berurah 8:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Muktzeh on Yom Tov

Hi,

The laws of muktzeh apply on Yom Tov as well as Shabbat.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 21:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Keychains on Shabbat

Hi,

One who has a keychain with muktzeh items on it - car keys or nailclippers, for example - should remove the muktzeh items before Shabbat. One who did not do so may handle the keychain on Shabbat.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 20:82-83)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Chanukah

Hi,

With Chanukah coming up in three weeks, here are links to past posts on different laws of Chanukah:

Menorah Lighting

Menorah Lighting on Friday and on Motzaei Shabbat

Recitation of "Al haNisim"

Recitation of Hallel

The Torah Reading for Chanukah

Please note that any lighting-times mentioned in those emails were for Allentown and for a different year.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Swiss army knives on Shabbat

Hi,

Swiss army knives are not considered muktzeh as kli shemelachto l'issur or basis l'davar ha'assur, even though some of the attachments may not be used on Shabbat; one may use the permissible attachments.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 20:81)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Muktzeh hanging on a door

Hi,

A door does not become a basis l'davar ha'assur for muktzeh items that are hanging on it, because the door is naturally more significant than the muktzeh item, as a key component of the house or cabinet to which it is attached.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 20:74)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A coin in a pocket on Shabbat

Hi,

If there is a coin in one's pocket from before Shabbat, and one left it there intentionally, then the garment as a whole might be muktzeh as a basis l'davar ha'assur. This status would remain even if the garment were upended and the coin fell out.

If the pocket incorporates the garment itself as a wall of the pocket, then the garment is muktzeh as a basis.

If the pocket is an independent piece of material which is only suspended from the garment, then the garment is not a basis.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 20:70-72)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Drawers containing muktzeh

Hi,

A drawer containing muktzeh and non-muktzeh items does not become muktzeh as a basis l'davar ha'assur, if one intends to use the non-muktzeh items on Shabbat, or if the non-muktzeh items are more important to him than the muktzeh items.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 20:55, 20:67)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Tablecloths

Hi,

The part of a tablecloth which is not beneath the candlesticks is not considered a basis l'davar ha'assur, and one may handle it and shift it on Shabbat.

It is not entirely clear that the part of the tablecloth that is under the tablecloths becomes a basis, either, and this may be grounds for leniency in cases of need. Please consult a competent authority.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 20:60)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Of tables and candlesticks

Hi,

We have said that a table becomes muktzeh if it supports or holds a muktzeh item when Shabbat enters.

However: If the table also supports or holds a permitted item, and that permitted item is more important to the owner than the muktzeh item, then the table does not become muktzeh and may be moved on Shabbat.

Example: If challah for Shabbat is on a Shabbat table when Shabbat begins, and candlesticks are on the table as well, the table does not become muktzeh.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 20:55, 20:59)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Contents of a box

Hi,

If a muktzeh item is left atop a container before Shabbat, the container itself becomes muktzeh under the laws of "basis" we have defined in earlier emails. However, the contents of the container are not muktzeh.

Therefore, if the container could be emptied without opening a lid on top (on which the muktzeh object rested when Shabbat began) and without moving the container, then the contents could be used.

(Shemirat Shabbat K'Hilchatah 20:58)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A "basis" beneath a kli shemelachto l'issur

Hi,

We have begun to discuss basis l'davar ha'assur, an item which enters Shabbat with a muktzeh item on top of it. [I recommend reading the previous email, if you have not yet done so.]

If the upper item is in the category of kli shemelachto l'issur, which is a light form of muktzeh [one may move it in order to use it for a permitted purpose, and in order to use its space] then the basis beneath it has the same light status, and may be moved for those purposes.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 20:48)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Basis l'Davar ha'Assur

Hi,

A fourth category of muktzeh is: Basis l'Davar ha'Assur - a base for a prohibited item.

If one placed a muktzeh item upon an otherwise permitted item before Shabbat began, then the lower item gains the muktzeh status of the upper item, and it retains that status all through Shabbat, even if the muktzeh item is removed from its location.

This law applies only if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The muktzeh item was placed there by the base's owner, or his agent, or someone acting to benefit him;
(2) The muktzeh item was placed there intentionally, or this is the normal place for storing the muktzeh item;
(3) The base serves the muktzeh item, and not the reverse (as opposed to a case in which one places a muktzeh stone as a paperweight to keep pages from being blown away, for example);
(4) One's intent when placing the muktzeh item there was to leave it there at least through nightfall at the start of Shabbat;
(5) The muktzeh item is of significance to him, and is more important than any non-muktzeh items which were also atop the permitted item when Shabbat began;
(6) The muktzeh item rests atop the actual permitted item, as opposed to a case in which it is placed atop a less significant item that is attached to the permitted item.

Hopefully, the next several emails will help clarify these rules.

(Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 20:49-56)

Have a great day,
Mordechai