How to Choose Tzitzit Strings?

These days, a lot of people prefer to tie the tzitzit strings on their tallit all by themselves. In accordance with the Halacha, fulfillment of the mitzvah all by yourself is always preferable over having someone do the same for you. However, in some cases, making tefillin, bris mila, writing a mezuzah or shechita, to name a few, you should perhaps leave the task to the professional. Tying of the tzitzit however, doesn’t take too long to learn. Even when you decide to have someone tie the strings of the tzitzit for you, you’ll have to buy a tallit gadol or a tallit katan. You can find a number of tzitzit options such as niputz lishma, white or techelet, thin or thick, hand spun or machine spun.

THIN OR THICK?

Typically, the thin tzitzit strings are used on the tallit katan for the aesthetic reasons. However, there are people who still opt for a thick alternative as they are less likely to break. On the tallit gadol, the thin tzitzit are usually more preferred. Generally speaking, the black on white tallits are sold without the tzitzit and buyers again opt for the thick tzitzit strings purely for the aesthetic reasons.

SPINNING

In accordance to the Halacha, tzitzit must be tied with the principal intention of performing a mitzvah. This is perhaps the reason why there is no such thing as the tzitzit-tying machine. Surprisingly, this also means a 12 year old boy may not be allowed to tie a tzitzit for his own bar mitzvah tallit You must tie the tzitzit strings with an intention but these must actually be spun with intention. There is a certain debate in association with whether the Halacha must be designed with intention even earliest in the production stage i.e. from the carding process. As conveyed by the Rema, the custom basically is to be lenient however some people insist on niputz lishmah tzitzit that are designed using the intention starting with the carding stage. Generally, the decision has to be made between the machine-spun tzitzit or the hand-spun tzitzit. The latter are comparatively more expensive but according to the different halachic opinions, having intention while pressing the buttons of the machine is not said to be the real intention to conduct the mitzvah. So, obviously, the hand-spun tzitzit strings are kosher.

TECHELET

Presently, more and more people from varied streams of Judaism are opting for techelet tzitzit strings despite their steep prize. This has long been a matter of considerable debate – how to tie the knots, whether the current day techelet is the real thing and more that lies beyond the scope of this article.

CONCLUSION

So, after you have made a decision on the type of tzitzit you wish to buy, you can easily find the kosher tzitzit strings online. Since these are very light weight, the shipping cost is low. Go ahead and shop for the tzitzit strings of your choice from the web store of Avi Luvaton.