Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 13 - Laws Relating to Tzitzis on Shabbos

SECTION 13 Laws Relating to Tzitzis on Shabbos. (1–9)

1 Since all four tzitzis constitute a single mitzvah,1 each one is indispensable. As long as a tallis does not have all four tzitzis, it does not have tzitzis as required by law. [Hence,] one who goes out to the public domain on Shabbos wearing [such a garment] is liable for a sin-offering:2 since the tzitzis which are attached to it do not constitute a mitzvah, they are considered a burden. Though they are connected to the tallis, they are not considered subordinate to [it],3 because he values them; he is concerned with them until he completes the insertion of all four tzitzis.

Even if all four tzitzis become disqualified because [some of] the threads have been severed and less than a knottable length remains, the threads which remain intact and not severed are important to [the owner of the tallis] and he intends to supplement them with additional threads. Therefore, though they are connected to the tallis, they are not considered as merely subordinate to it but as a burden. Having become disqualified, they now serve the tallis neither as an adornment nor as a functional element; they are of no use to it at all.

[Different rules apply,] however, if all the threads of all four tzitzis are severed without even one long thread remaining intact, and some of the threads are now of less than knottable length, in a manner that renders all the tzitzis invalid and beyond repair.4 Since they must be replaced by new tzitzis, [the remnants of] the severed threads [attached to the tallis] are not valued at all by [their owner], and are considered as subordinate to the tallis. It is therefore permitted to go out [wearing them on Shabbos] even to the public domain, provided it is a borrowed tallis that is not obligated to have tzitzis.5 For otherwise, it is forbidden to wear a four-cornered garment without tzitzis, as stated in sec. 8[:28].

2 It is, [by contrast,] permitted to go out to the public domain [on Shabbos] wearing a tallis to which tzitzis are attached as required by law. This applies even in the present age, when techeiles is no longer available,6 both with regard to a tallis katan and a tallis gadol, both by day and by night. Though the night is not a time when [the mitzvah of] tzitzis applies, valid tzitzis are an adornment that decorates the garment, like a fringe or the like. Hence they are not considered a burden.

One must, however, take care that he not rest his tallis on his shoulder differently from the way he wears it on weekdays, as stated in sec. 301:35;7 consult that source.

3 There is no need to check the tzitzis8 when going out to the public domain if they have already been checked that day, for we rely on the presumption of continuing validity referred to in sec. 8[:13]; see there.

4 If a person standing in the public domain on Shabbos discovers that the tallis he is wearing — whether a tallis katan or tallis gadol — is invalid according to Scriptural Law, he must remove it, even if doing so will leave him standing naked in the marketplace. [The rationale is that] the consideration of personal dignity does not supersede a Scriptural prohibition;9 as it is written,10 “Neither wisdom nor understanding nor counsel are of any account when countering G‑d.” (See Yoreh Deah 303:1;11 the same principle applies in this instance.)

[Different laws apply,] by contrast, on a weekday.12 If it is a tallis katan, there is no obligation to remove it [immediately]. Though the individual is negating a positive Scriptural commandment by wearing a four-cornered [garment] without tzitzis, [leniency may be shown] since he is not performing an actual deed to nullify the observance of the mitzvah, but instead the mitzvah is nullified as a matter of course. For the consideration of personal dignity is so weighty that it supersedes [even] a Scriptural prohibition [when it is violated] passively, without the performance of an action. Nevertheless, this individual should hurry home and remove [the tallis katan. This applies] even if he is involved in a matter associated with a mitzvah, e.g., he is in the synagogue or in the house of study, for a Scriptural prohibition is involved.13

[More stringent laws apply] with regard to a tallis gadol. Since in our days it is not worn as a garment, but only for the sake of the mitzvah, it is not embarrassing to remove it. It must therefore be removed, even in the marketplace.

5 If one goes to the synagogue and discovers that his tallis has become disqualified, he is forbidden to put it on, even though he is embarrassed to pray without a tallis. [This applies] even if he does not recite a blessing. [The rationale is that] it is not very humiliating to sit [there] without a tallis, and minor discomfort is not sufficient cause to supersede a positive Scriptural commandment.

6 When does the above apply? On a weekday, for then, since it is possible to attach tzitzis to his tallis, by wearing it he performs an action [that negates the commandment].

On Shabbos, however, when the laws of Shabbos do not allow him to attach tzitzis to it,14 there is no Scriptural prohibition against wearing a tallis without tzitzis. For the Torah did not state, “Do not wear a garment without tzitzis.” Rather, after one has put on [a four-cornered] garment, there is a positive commandment to attach tzitzis to it. [Thus, in the situation described above,] since one may not attach [tzitzis on Shabbos], he is not transgressing.

The Sages, however, forbade wearing [such a garment], for ultimately this would negate a Scriptural commandment. Nevertheless, they did not uphold their ordinances at the expense of personal dignity,15 even if all that is involved is slight discomfort. Therefore, if one is embarrassed to pray without a tallis, he may put it on without reciting a blessing.

7 When does the above apply? When the person did not know before Shabbos that his tallis had become disqualified. If, however, he knew of this before Shabbos, he is forbidden to wear it on Shabbos, for he should have made it valid on the previous day.

8 On Shabbos, if one discovers [that his tallis is invalid] while he is in a karmelis,16 [a domain] in which the prohibition [against carrying on Shabbos] is only of Rabbinic origin, he does not have to remove it, for the Sages did not uphold their ordinances at the expense of personal dignity.17 This [leniency] applies even with regard to our tallisos which are worn only for the sake of fulfilling the mitzvah, and it is not embarrassing to remove them. [The rationale is that] there is only a Rabbinic prohibition involved, since according to Scriptural Law it is permitted to wear a tallis without tzitzis on Shabbos. Since [our Sages] did not decree that one must remove a tallis in a karmelis, they did not want to make a distinction between one type of tallis and another. Hence there is no need to remove any garment in a karmelis.

9 [The following rules apply when] one sees that the tzitzis which a fellow Jew is wearing have become disqualified. If that person is standing in a place where he must remove [the tallis, the onlooker] should not tell him of this until he reaches his home. Out of consideration for personal dignity, one should not spare him from an unintentional transgression. One must, however, call him and tell him to come home immediately, and there he should advise him to remove [the tallis].

A similar ruling applies in a situation where [the person wearing the tallis] is not required to remove it, but must hurry home to do so, as stated above [in subsection 4]. One who observes [the difficulty] must tell him to hurry home and remove it there.18