The Mitzvot concerning Tzitzit can be found in two passages of Torah:
37 And YHWH spoke unto Moshe, saying:
38 Speak unto the children of Yisra’el and bid them, that they make them throughout their generations, tzitzit in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the tzitzit of each corner, a thread of tekhelet.
39 And it shall be unto you for a tzitzit, that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of YHWH, and do them. And, that you go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you use to go astray–
40 That you may remember and do all My commandments: and be Set-Apart unto your Elohim.
41 I am YHWH your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your Elohim: I am YHWH your Elohim.
(Numbers 15:37-41)
12 You shall make you twisted cords upon the four corners of your covering, with which you cover yourself.
(Deut. 22:12)
From these passages we know that the tzitzit must be worn on a garment with four corners (not belt loops) that they should be braided or “twisted” and that they should be visible. The reference to four corners implies that it is preferred that two tzitzit be placed in front, and two in back, such that one one surrounded by the tzitziyot.
Since one is commanded to wear tzitiyot, and one is commanded to wear the tzitiyot on the four corners of one’s garment, as a mater of deductive logic, is required to wear a four cornered garment, such as a tallit katan.
There are two basic commandments concerning the Tzitzit:
- make them throughout their generations, tzitzit in the [four] corners of their garments
- and that they put with the tzitzit of each corner, a thread of tekhelet.
One may ask if the first of these mitzvot, to make tzitzit in the [four] corners of our garments, is one mitzvah or four. Both the plain reading of the text, and the majority opinion recorded in the Mishna (m.Men. 3:7) is that they constitute a single mitzvah, although Rabbi Ishmael held the view that they constitute four distinct commandments (m. Men. 3:7).
The issue that arises from this conflict (see b.Menahot 37b) is the question of whether this is an “all or nothing” mitzvah. For example, if I am away from home, or otherwise unable to effect a repair, and discover one tzitzit is missing, is the whole garment invalid, or am I still, at least keeping three of the four mitzvot in continuing to use the garment until a repair can be effected.
Since there is a single commandment to place the four tzitzit on the garment, a garment that is missing one tzitzit is invalid, and does not fulfill three out of four mitzvot.
One might also ask if an inability to perform one of the two mitzvot, to place four tzitzit on the garment on the one hand, and to place a tekhlet thread in them on the other, renders either invalid (see b.Menahot 38a).
On the one hand, one might say that since these are two mitzvot, they are independent of one another. However, one might also say that the phrase “that you may look upon it” (Lev. 15:39) connects the two together such that they cannot be fulfilled separately (since “it” is singular” and refers to both as one (This was the position of Rabbi Judah). At issue is the question of wearing tziztit without tekhlet on the premise that we cannot be sure of what tekhelet is, or that tekhelet can no longer be obtained. This is the basis for the Rabbinic practice of wearing only white tzitzit without tekhelet on this basis.
Apart from the tekhelet thread, what color should the tzitzit be? The same color as the corner of the garment, since we read: tzitzit in the corners of their garments.
What is Tekhelet? Tekhelet is not merely “blue” as some translations render the word, it was a specific dye. Our tradition says that this dye was from an animal known as the hillazon. The Talmud gives us a vague description of the hillazon:
Our Rabbis taught: The hillazon resembles the sea [in its colour], and [in shape] it resembles a fish; it appears once in seventy years, and with its blood one dyes the blue thread; and therefore it is so expensive.
(b.Men. 44a)
And some information on how the dye was made:
Abaye enquired of R. Samuel b. Rab Judah, How do you dye the tekhelet thread? He replied, We take the blood of hillazon together with other ingredients and put them all in a pot and boil them together. Then we take out a little in an egg-shell and test it on a piece of wool; and we throw away what remains in the egg-shell and burn the wool. One can infer three things from this: [i] that the dye used for testing is unfit; [ii] that the dyeing must be for the specific purpose [of the precept]; and [iii] that the dye used for testing renders the rest unfit. Are not the rules that the test quantity is itself unfit and that the dyeing must be for the specific purpose [of the precept] identical in meaning? — R. Ashi answered, One states the reason for the other, as much as to say: Why is the test quantity itself unfit? Because the dyeing must be for the specific purpose [of the precept]. This, however, is a matter of dispute between Tannaim, for it has been taught: The test quantity is itself unfit, for it says, All of tekhelet. So R. Hanina b. Gamaliel. But R. Johanan b. Dahabai says, Even the second dyeing is valid, for it says, And scarlet.
(b.Men. 42b)
Clear identification of the animal known as the hillazon has been lost, beyond the vague description. There is room for Nazarenes of good conscience to disagree about the exact source of the tekhelet. If a Nazarene is convicted concerning a certain source for tekhelet, he should fulfill the mitzvah using that source.
Do not lengthen the Tekhelet – Yeshua our Messiah criticized those who lengthen the tekhelet thread saying ומורכין תכלתא דמרטוטיהון (Old Syriac and Peshitta Aramaic) Literally “And they lengthen the tekhelet of their mantles”(Matthew 23:5)
This halacha could be interpreted in one of two ways. On may interpret this that the tekhelet thread should not be substantively longer than the other threads. One may also interpret that the tekhelet should not be longer than the current cultural standard worn in the community, though perhaps longer than the other threads in the tzitzit.
In ancient times this dye (tekhelet) was very expensive, and clothes dyed with it were expensive, and indicated nobility. This could also explain the origin of Shem Tob’s reading “And they wear expensive clothes and tzitzit”.
Since “lengthen” is a culturally relative term, a Nazarene should not wear tekhelet longer than about 8 to twelve inches, about the length common in Israel today.
Can women wear tzitzit? The mitzvah is addressed to “b’nai yisrael” in the masculine, however a mixed group is regarded as grammatically masculine in Hebrew. Traditionally the mitvah has been understood as referring only to men. The mitzvah of tzitzit is considered a “time-dependent positive commandment”, as the Torah (Numbers 15:39) mentions “seeing” one’s tzitzit, and one could not necessarily see them (and could not see tekhelet, since night vision tends to be grayscale) in the darkness of night, but rather only in daytime. In Rabbinic tradition women are not required to perform time-dependent positive commandments,(see b.Kiddushin 29a) but may perform them if they choose to. If a woman wears tzitzit, she must not wear them “as the garment of a man”.
Tzittzit should not be worn in situations where they could create a threat to safety. For example, if one works around conveyor belts, etc. one should not wear tzitzit in those situations.
Tzitzit need not be worn in specialized clothing such as swimming attire.
The commandment to wear tzitziyot visibly, or at all, is subject to the principle of Pikuach Nefesh, When the life of a human life is in danger this commandment is loosed. For example in a situation where one might be unnecessarily exposed to terrorist attacks by antisemites, this commandment is loosed.
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