Tzitzit Tying Activity for Campers

Posted by Ben G. on 28th Jun 2016

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.