Author: BenG

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What size tallit should I get for my husband (or chassan)?

We often get inquiries from women who want to be a tallit for their husband (or soon-to-be husband) and write to me saying they have no clue what size to get him. No need to apologize. He probably doesn’t know his tallit size either.

Here’s an exchange many of our readers might find helpful:

Hi
there. My husband lost his tallit bag last year at our wedding, and
also complains that his tallit is too hot and too small (he got it at
13) for his 6’4″ frame. I would like to get our wedding date
embroidered on a tallit bag for him, as well as a new tallit that is
lighter and bigger. What is the production time on that? Thanks! Abigail

Thank you for your inquiry and happy anniversary!


There are two ways to wear a tallit. One way
is resting on the neck with all four tzitzit hanging in front. When
worn this way it covers the upper back and shoulders (size 24) or about
half of the back and the shoulders and wraps around the top part of the
arms, again with all four tzitzit in front (size 36).

The other way is traditional style, draping all the way down the back, with two tzitzit in front and two in back.

I’m
guessing he wears it traditional style. If I’m right, he needs a size
70 or a size 80. Size 70 would be fairly short and manageable on him,
probably draping down to mid-thigh in back.


To
be sure, take his tallit and measure the height (i.e. not from one
fringed side to the other, but from the side that rests on the neck down
to the opposite side parallel to the floor).

If it’s around…

47 inches, then it’s a size 50
51 inches, then it’s a size 55
55 inches, then it’s a size 60
59 inches, then it’s a size 7

Once
you’ve ascertained the tallit size, figure out how much length he’d want to
add. As you can see, when you go up a size you get another four inches
in length. The width across the shoulders also increases proportionally.

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Tashbetz Tallit with side bands and half lining

The Tashbetz is a fabulous lightweight tallit and perhaps Mishkan Hatchelet’s best-selling tallit. In most cases adding side bands and/or a half lining is probably a bad idea. The following is an exchange with a customer explaining why.

Hi Ben,

Thanks for the response. Sorry for my long delay.

Yes,
I ordered my smaller blue tallit from you as well as some other stuff.
Kippot etc. I’ve been really pleased with the customer service and
prefer patronizing a business like yours than a giant like Eichlers. I
have moved from New York to South Carolina for a while.

I
think, given that it’s pretty hot here, and I’m between black and
white, that the Tashbetz gray and silver might be nice. My current
tallit is Hamefoar, and I love the fabric, but it can get a bit heavy in
summer if the shul is full. Is Tashbetz a solid tallit?

Do the side bands and half-lining prevent slipping?

And thanks for the size guidance; I’ll trust you and go with a 70.

Shavua tov,

Joe

The Tashbetz is one of the most popular tallits sold by Mishkan Hatchelet. No, the sidebands do not prevent slipping.
The sidebands are good for people who tend to tug at the sides a lot. 

The lining I don’t know for sure. On one hand, extra bulk sitting on
your shoulders might help stabilize the tallit. On the other hand cotton
is smooth, so it detracts from the nonslip properties of the fabric in a
critical area of the tallit. In your case, I would definitely forego a
lining because you want a lightweight tallit. The Tashbetz fabric
breathes nicely, and putting a second layer right on top of your
shoulders is going to ruin that.

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Do tzitzit need to have five knots? What about Yemenite tying?

There’s a lot of confusion and ambiguity over the question how one should tie techelet tzitzit. Recently we received this email from a customer who ordered a tallit with Rambam tying.

“I was
just approached about the Talit Gadol that I have received with the 13
chulyot tying method. And I was told that it is invalid and not up to
standard according to Halacha because it does not have 6 knots [sic. he means 5 knots]. I was
very surprised because I know how strict and careful your company is to provide the correct tying. Are the wraps themselves knots? I didn’t
know what to say. I’m assuming that they are just unfamiliar with
the minhag. Thank you for your time. By the way, I love the tallit. and
the tzitzit. I’m sure we can figure it out.”

I wrote him the following reply, which may be helpful for anyone out there wondering about Rambam/Yemenite tzitzit tying.

I’m glad you gave me the benefit of the doubt, despite the comment. I
have a feeling the person who spoke with you is not so familiar with
techelet tzitzit. You might want to refer him to this blog post,
especially the last two paragraphs [below].

The
next question, then is what about Rambam tying? Can we argue with the
Rambam? If you look up the various descriptions of how to tie techelet
tzitzit in the original sources, you will find certain ambiguities. But
the Rambam is quite clear (as usual). It’s right there, step-by-step, in
the beginning of Hilchot Tzitzit in the Mishneh Torah.

There
are a lot of Yemenites who follow the Rambam to this day, and who tie
their tzitzit exactly they way we tied yours. In fact, when I first
learned how to tie Rambam, I went to two Yemenites in my neighborhood.

Perhaps
one may argue that he is not a Yemenite, and therefore should not rely
on the Rambam. I don’t think that’s correct in the case of techelet,
where nobody has a chain of tradition.

There
are a significant number of Ashkenazim in Eretz Yisrael who also rely
on the Rambam’s tzitzit tying method. Once a yeshiva student asked Rav
Dov Lior, “Regarding all these people out there who tie according to the
Rambam, who are they relying on?” 

Rabbi Lior retorted: “The Rambam!”

What
he meant is that the Rambam is one of the most prominent Rishonim, and
in this case can be considered authoritative enough to be relied upon.

Regarding halachic authorities who propound Rambam tying, see remarks by Rabbi Mois Navon here.
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Types of tzitzit strings: Machine-spun, hand-spun and Niputz Lishmah

This week we received an order that looked a bit odd to me: several tallit katan products sized for very small boys and thick Niputz Lishmah tzitzit strings to tie on them. I contacted the customer to clarify, and discovered that the order was placed by a very conscientious mother who has a few gaps in her knowledge of tzitzit. I’m posting the exchange here, because I think it might be helpful for other customers wondering which type of tzitzit strings to use.

This note was appended to the order:

Hi,
I am confirming that the two undershirts that I am ordering with tzitzit will have Sephardic windings of 10-6-5-6.
Please email and/or call with any questions.
Thank you.
Abby

I sent an email to Abby:

Tying Sephardic 10-5-6-5 is no problem, but your choice of tzitzit
strings raised my brow. Are you sure you want to keep such a stringency
with a little tyke?

She replied:

What about our choice of tzitzit strings raised your brow? I am
interested in learning more and don’t understand your concern. If the
question is about the Sephardic winding 10-5-6-5, yes: our nusach is
very important to us, and this is part of it. We
want him wearing tzitzit in our tradition from the beginning. It is
part of helping him to develop a clear and consistent Sephardic
identity. If there is another aspect of the tzitzit strings that we
ordered that raised your brow, please let me know. Thanks!
P.S. Are you THE “Ben” of “Ben’s Tallit Shop?”


In response to her P.S., I told confirmed my identity, to Abby, “guilty as charged,” and explained to her as follows:

To prepare tzitzit for a customer, I need to know three things:

1) Which tzitzit garment to use

2) Which tzitzit strings to use

3) How to tie the tzitzit strings

In your case, (1) and (3) are crystal clear, but we need to clarify which tzitzit strings to use.

How
do you choose tzitzit strings? Thin or thick is just a matter of
aesthetics. Thick costs a tad more and holds up better. If you ask me,
thick tzitzit on a little kid looks a bit odd, but some people would
differ with me on that.

The
other question is halacha. There are three types of tzitzit strings
sold: machine-spun, hand-spun and niputz lishmah. To understand what
that’s all about, refer to this post.

Most
people use machine-spun for kids at least until the age of 10 or 11 or
12. Sometimes you will come across fathers who are fed up with their
kids’ tzitzit getting grungy and mangled (in bike chains, etc.) and so they
decide to buy some thick tzitzit strings and tie them on themselves.

Usually
the cost is prohibitive (we charge $12 for a set of hand-spun thick
tzitzit strings), but I’ll tell you a secret: sometimes it’s possible to
get thick machine-spun. We happen to have a dozen or so sets, although you
won’t find this as a product available on our store.

In
any case, what raised my brow was that you ordered Niputz Lishmah
tzitzit for a youngster. Hand-spun is considered a stringency for kids.
(Personally I try to get my kids to switch to hand-spun around the age
of 12.) So Niputz Lishmah is a super stringency.

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How to tie Breslov tzitzit

We don’t do a lot of Breslov tying, but we do offer it as an option. The following is an email exchange with a customer who wanted to try tying Breslov tzitzit himself.

BS”D

Shalom,

I
saw on your website that you now tie tzitzis according to the Breslov minhag. I would like to know how exactly you tie them, because I’m
interested in tying some myself. Could you give me some pointers? I
assume the chulyos are made like Rambam chulyos, correct? Also, please
note that I need to know how to tie them with techeiles.

By the way, where does the Breslov tzitzis tying minhag come from?

Thanks,

Ezra

————-

Breslov tzitzit tying is sort of a hybrid of Rambam, Arizal and Ashkenazi. You make four double
knots like with Ashkenazi and Arizal. In between the knots you tie
Rambam chulyot. But not every chulyah is three windings. In the first
section, you do 3-3-1 (i.e. a chulyah of three windings, another one of
three and the third a chulyah of one winding. In the second section you
do 2-3-3. In the third section you do 3-3-3-2 and in the fourth section
you do 1-3-3-3-3. (Notice you wind up with 7-8-11-13.)

That
very first one (i.e. the first winding of the seven in the 3-3-1) is
white and the very last one (i.e. the last winding at the end of the
1-3-3-3-3) is white, all the rest are blue. That means you have to make
sure you have enough shamash to go the distance.There
are two or three variations of Breslov tying. Our office is near a
fairly large Breslov kehilah, and most of them tie as described above.
– Ben

————

Thank you for the detailed instructions. I am considering tying my next
set of tzitzis according to this method. I was also considering
techeiles, because these are the days of Moshiach and it is a time to
act, in my opinion. 🙂 – Ezra

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Tzitzit Tying Activity for Campers

At this time of year we typically get inquiries both from parents preparing their kids for camp, and from Jewish camp staff members, asking about tzitzit tying activities. Here’s an inquiry we received this week:

I’m looking to purchase tzitzis strings and the beged
(separately) for 35 teenage boys to make tzitzis as a camp activity.
Can you tell me which items on your site you would recommend as well as
how long it would take to get to New Jersey in the US? Thank you! Raisy


We’ve helped yeshiva and camp staffers put together tzitzit tying projects for teens several times in the past.

I explained to Raisy that your typical MO teenager is fine with machine-spun tzitzit strings.
According to most opinions they are perfectly kosher, and of course
they have a respectable hechsher. (If you are okay with machine matzvahs
on Seder Nacht, then machine-spun tzitzit strings are fine, too, it’s
pretty much the same question in halacha.)

If you are working with yeshiva-leit, you might want hand-spun tzitzit strings.

As for the beged, on one hand I think most (or certainly a lot of) teenage boys wear this undershirt tzitzit. The advantage of going with the traditional untailored type
is that sizing is less complicated, because if you’re off a size
usually the boy can live with it. Like say a boy usually wears a size 7
and by the time you’ve passed out everything all that’s left for him is a
size 8, so he can tuck an extra inch or two into his pants.

It’s not always practical in terms of the timing, but ideally
you would pass out a sign-up sheet, ask everyone to write down their size (most
will know) and then place an order based on that.

From the time you place an order it will take us 2-5 days to put it together, and shipping time will be about one week.

Often the final question is whether we can offer a bulk discount on the tzitzit. You’ll find that the tzitzit
strings are already discounted (the discount is applied automatically
when you put 10 or more in your cart), and the way our shipping is set up,
you get a significant discount there as well. You wind up paying the
same for shipping whether you buy 5 or 50, which means we wind up paying
for much of the shipping cost on bulk orders.