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Source
and Explanation:
According to the Bible, God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites
to attach special fringe to the four corners of their outer
garments. The fringe is knotted in a unique way. This fringe,
which looks more like a tassel, is called a tzizit. Historically,
this unique configuration of knots has its origins in clothing
worn by the servants of great lords and kings, which always
had a special mark or fringe to indicate whom they served.
The
wearing of tzitzit is meant as a constant reminder to Jews
and others that they are servants of the God of Israel. Tradition
considers the tzitzit to be a powerful shield against immoral
behavior, because wearing such holy symbols reminds one to
think twice about breaking God's commandments.
The Torah contains many reference to the importance of this
symbolic garment: "The Lord said to Moses: speak
to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves
fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages;
let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner.
That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments
of the Lord and observe them, so that you do not follow your
heart and eyes in lustful urg. Thus you shall be reminded
to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God.
I the Lord am your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt to by your God; I, the Lord you God." (Numbers
15:37) I wrap myself in a Tallit with fringes to fulfill the
mitzvah of my creator, as written in the Torah: "They
shall put fringes on the corners of their garments in every
generation." (Numbers 15:38)
| The
Tallit - Shawl prayer |
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The
Arba Kanfot - Tzitzit |
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| We
wear a tallit every morning during services. On,
the 9th day of Av, the memorials date of the destruction
of both Holy Temples. we wear the tallit at the
afternoon service instead |
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This
is a simple four-cornered garment that's worn
by observant Jews. They wear it all-day under
their clothes; simply every moment of wearing
the arba kanfots adds a new additional good-deed. |
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Simple
guidance on how to put-on & wear
Putting on the tallit - Shawl Prayer
Before you put on the tallit - shawl prayer.
1) You hold the tallit in front of you.
2) Say the special blessing...
| English: |
Praised
are You, Lord are God, King of the Universe
whose mitzvoth add holiness to our life and
who gave us the mitzvah to wrap ourselves in
tzitzit. |
| Phonetic
Hebrew: |
Baruch
atah, Adonai eloheinu, melech ha-olam, asheh
kid’shanu b’mitzvotav, vitzivanu l’heetatayf
ba-tzizit. |
3
) Then
place the tallit
over your head and on, you then may kiss the strings.
Putting on the Arba Kanfot - Tzitzit
1)
Put on the Arba Kanfot over your head and on.
2) Hold the strings and say the special blessing...
| English: |
Praised
are You, Lord are God, King of the Universe
whose mitzvoth add holiness to our life and
commanded us concerning the mitzvah of tzitzis. |
| Phonetic
Hebrew: |
Baruch
atah, Adonai eloheinu, melech ha-olam, asheh
kid’shanu b’mitzvotav, vitzivanu al
mitzvat tzitzit. |
3
) Then you may kiss the strings.
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1.
Practice first before you start making real
tzitzit. Start by cutting your twine or
kite string into four pieces -- three short
strings measuring 40 inches in length, and
one long string measuring 60 inches in length.
The long string is called the shamash, or
caretaker. It will be used to wrap around
the other strings.
2. Hold one end of all four strings together
evenly. Push them through the hole in your
small piece of cardboard. Pull the strings
until the cardboard is dividing the shorter
strings exactly in half. The shamash string
will remain longer on one side. This will
be the string you use to wrap around the
other strings. It may help you to remember
which string is the shamash by tying a single
knot at the bottom of its' long end.
3.
With the four short even strings in one
hand and the three short string and shamash
in the other, tie two knots about two inched
from the hole in the cardboard.
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In
order to fulfill the mitvah of tzitzit,
it is customary for you to say "l'shem
mitzvat" for the sake of the mitvah
each time you tie a knot.
4. Hold the shamash in one hand and
the other seven strings in the other. Tightly
wrap the shamash around the group of seven
strings seven times. Count the wraps very
carefully. Make sure that the wraps start
and end on the same side.
5. Continue wrapping and tying in the
same order seen in the illustration to the
right -- two knots followed by eight wraps,
two knots followed by eleven wraps, two
knots followed by thirteen wraps, and two
knots. Be sure to carefully check the number
of wraps before each pair of knots.
6. Traditionally, it's OK to even out
the ends of the strings by biting them off.
You don't have to on practice tzitzit, especially
if you've used jute or twine.
7. If you don't like your practice tzitzit,
do another one. If you're satisfied with
the practice version, you're ready to start
on the the real tzitzit. Begin by picking
up your scissors and carefully cutting very
small holes into the 4 corners of your tallit.
Each hole should be placed one inch from
the vertical edge and one inch from the
horizontal edge. 8.
Repeat steps 1 through 6 for each of the
four tzitzit.
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