Definition of tzitzit : the fringes or tassels worn on traditional or ceremonial garments by Jewish males as reminders of the commandments of Deuteronomy 22:12 and Numbers 15:37–41.
What do tzitzit symbolize?
The numerical value of tzitzit, coupled with the number of knots and strings used to make these fringes, is 613, equal to the number of commandments. Beyond feeling God’s presence, one, through the wearing of tzitzit, has a constant awareness of responsibility to God’s law.
What does Torah say about tzitzit?
In rabbinic law, tzitzit is considered a “time-dependent positive commandment”, as the Torah (Numbers 15:39) mentions “seeing” one’s tzitzit, and one could not see them in the darkness of night, but rather only in daytime.
What is the difference between tallit and tzitzit?
Tzitzit are the fringes that religious Jewish males wear under their shirts, while the tallit is the traditional Jewish prayer shawl.
What does tallit mean in Hebrew?
cloak or sheet
Tallit literally means cloak or sheet but in Talmudic times already referred to the Jewish prayer shawl.
What does the tallit and tzitzit symbolize?
Tzitzit are the fringes that religious Jewish males wear under their shirts, while the tallit is the traditional Jewish prayer shawl. Most of the Torah’s commandments govern Jews’ behavior toward one’s fellow man and toward God.
What do tassels represent?
History and use
In the Hebrew Bible, the Lord spoke to Moses instructing him to tell the Israelites to make tassels (Hebrew tzitzit) on the corners of their garments, to help them to remember all the commandments of the Lord and to keep them (Numbers 15:37-40), and as a sign of holiness.
Can a woman wear a prayer shawl?
There is no universal thought about women using the tallit, Zanerhaft said, but a general rule is that it is a ritual obligation for men and optional for women. However, in an all-female venue, it should be worn. The prayer shawl is worn only during morning prayers, and on the eve of Yom Kippur.
How does the tallit symbolize the 613 commandments?
Jewish prayer shawls are called tallit. The elaborately braided fringes, the tzitzit, on the four corners of the shawls, represent God’s 613 commandments to the Jews.
Why is the tallit blue and white?
The tallit, or Jewish prayer shawl, is customarily made in a white fabric with black stripes and one blue string, Wertheimer says. This blue fringe comes from the blue snail dye that is mentioned throughout the Torah. The color blue is also mentioned extensively throughout other religious texts, according to Chabad.
Why do Jews wear prayer shawl?
The Torah instructs us to wear these fringes on the corners of our garments; that we will see them and be reminded of all God’s commandments (Numbers 15:37-41). The mitzvah (commandment) is to remember God, to further holiness in our lives, and to keep the commandments; the tzitzit are the visual reminder.
What does tassel mean in Hebrew?
Techelet is the Hebrew word used to refer to an ancient special blue dye. In the Torah God commands the Hebrews to attach tassels (tzitzit) to the four corners of their garments to remind them of the commandments of the Torah, and that one of the strings should be Techelet, a blue colour.
How many strings are on a tassel?
Tie your looped silver string around the middle of your 14 folded gold strands.
Who can tie tzitzit?
The Aruch Hashulchan (OC 14:7) writes as well that tzitzis may be made at night, and he offers the following proof. Shulchan Aruch (OC 14:1) allows women to tie the strings of tzitzis onto the garment (although Rema writes that lechatchila, as a stringency, women should not do so).
How do you make a tzitzit Sephardic?
The Sephardic Tzitzit are made with the shammash spiraling the cords with four sets of wraps separated by knots in a numerical 10-5-6-5 pattern. The symbolism for this tying pattern is the Set-Apart Name of Elohim.
Do you wear tzitzit on Shabbat?
Since one only wears tzitzis for the sake of the mitzvah, it may be forbidden to wear such tzitzis outside of an eruv on Shabbos because the actual strings would not be considered a necessary part of the garment, but rather a “burden”.
What color should a prayer shawl be?
In addition to certain emotions and qualities, colors in prayer shawls are also believed to give strength and healing to individuals suffering from specific ailments and diseases. Red and yellow shawls are given to sufferers of HIV; blue and yellow are given for Down syndrome. Pink is for breast cancer.
Is prayer shawl in the Bible?
An interesting, albeit sacred, aspect of Jewish worship is the donning of a prayer shawl when one enters the sanctuary, prepared to worship. In Torah, the Jewish Bible, we are instructed in the Book of Numbers 15: 37-41, to do this.
What does the Star of David symbolize?
The star was almost universally adopted by Jews in the 19th-century as a striking and simple emblem of Judaism in imitation of the cross of Christianity. The yellow badge that Jews were forced to wear in Nazi-occupied Europe invested the Star of David with a symbolism indicating martyrdom and heroism.
What are Payot for?
Payot are worn by some men and boys in the Orthodox Jewish community based on an interpretation of the Tenach injunction against shaving the “sides” of one’s head. Literally, pe’ah means “corner, side, edge”. There are different styles of payot among Haredi or Hasidic, Yemenite, and Chardal Jews.
When was yamaka invented?
Yarmulke. European Jews started wearing the yarmulke, or kippa, in the 17th and 18th centuries, turning the skullcap into a religious symbol. Pious Jews are expected to cover their heads, but the fabric isn’t that important, and a hat or scarf is acceptable, too.
