PART FOUR

Tying of Fringes

Adopted from http://www.tekhelet.com/guide.htm

How many strings on each corner?

(The Vilna Gaon claims that the correct version is that of the Sifre Shelach: "With three strings of white and a fourth of tekhelet.")

There are three different opinions of the Rishonim regarding the ratio of white to blue strings:

• Raavad and the Aruch - Based on the Sifre in Shelach hold that one full string (when folded it becomes two of the eight) must be tekhelet.
• Rashi and Tosafot - Two full strings (four of the eight) are tekhelet.
• Rambam - Half of one string (when folded becomes one of the eight strings) is tekhelet. The Rambam understands the posuk in Bemidbar in the following manner: - put upon the fringe of each corner (= white) a p’til of blue. Only the windings around the white core must be tekhelet.

Very often the numbers themselves are variously associated with other concepts and are therefore constrained with legal opinions.

Windings (krichot)

There is an argument as to the color of the windings:

• Rav Amram Gaon holds that the first chulya is white, the next is tekhelet, and so on alternating white and tekhelet for seven or thirteen chulyot.
• The Rambam holds that the first winding of the first chulya and the last winding of the last chulya are white, and all the other windings are tekhelet.
• The Raavad holds that the windings of each chulya alternate between white and tekhelet.

Knots

Rashi brings down two possibilities regarding the placement of the upper most knot.

1. Closest to the garment, in order to connect the strings to the garment
2. At the end of all the windings, which also adds stability to the windings

There is an argument as to the nature of the knots of the tsitsit. The Geonim hold that a knot can be one string tucked under itself. Rabbenu Tam compares the knots of tsitsit to knots in other laws like Shabbat and therefore requires a double knot.

The length of the windings and the strings

The blue thread respresents the Torah, the Word of God, but it is also called the “shammash,” in Tzitzit,  which actually means “the servant.”  Messiah Yahshua, the Servant of Yahweh who is also the living Torah, is represented in this blue string.  It is this that binds the universe together.  This is the  Word that became flesh and dwelt among us.

“For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”  (Heb 2:10)

And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

(Col 1:20)

The four strings represents the four promises of God.

·        “I will take you out;

·        I will save you;

·        I will redeem you; and

·        I will take you as my own.” 

In the process of making God’s own, i.e. to attain the ultimate redemption to the status of sonship, the tying of the blue thread become necessary.  Without that man cannot be made God’s Own.

Various opinions regarding the krichot for tzitzit with tekhelet

The following figure represents some of the popular methods of tying the Tzitzit.  Seven are represented there. 

                        1                       2                      3                  4                5                       6            7

1. The Radzyner/Chabad (Ariza”l) - has all the twists in tekhelet except the first and last. There are five knots: between the first and the second knot there are seven twists, between the second and third - eight twists, between the third and fourth - eleven twists and between the fourth and last - thirteen twists. Each group of three is separated by winding the tekhelet around and inside them to hold them together.

2. One understanding of the Rambam is that all twists are in blue except the first and last, with a double knot between each chulya.

3. The Vilna Gaon has  thirteen chulyot, alternating white and tekhelet distributed between five double knots. Between the first and second knot - four chulyot (white, tekhelet, white, tekhelet) and the same between the second-third, and third-fourth knots. Between the fourth and last knot - one chulya of white.

4. The Chinuch  has thirteen chulyot, alternating white and tekhelet distributed between five double knots. Between the first and second knot - three chulyot (white, tekhelet, white). After the second knot another three chulyot, (tekhelet, white, tekhelet). After the third another three (white, tekhelet, white), and after the fourth - four chulyot (tekhelet, white, tekhelet, white).

5. The Raavad quoting Rav Natronai Gaon gives five knots. Between each knot, seven or thirteen twists, with the twists alternating white then tekhelet. Between the second and third knot, the amount of twists is not definite.

6. Rav Amram Gaon  gives seven or thirteen chulyot alternating white then tekhelet. A knot at the beginning and at the end. (These knots are not double, but rather the winding string tucked under itself.) The Baal Haitur's shitta is virtually identical but he has a knot after each chulya.

7. The Rambam - all twists are tekhelet except the first and last. Seven or thirteen chulyot are tied with a knots keeping them together and separate from each other. The Yemenites have a tradition (even with white tsitsit) of tying a special knot that is the chulya.

Ready for tying

3 White + 1 Blue folded through the hole 

The fringe (tzitzit) on each corner is made of four strands, each of which is made of eight fine threads (known as kaful shemoneh). The four strands are passed through a hole (or according to some: two holes) 1-2 inches (25 to 50 mm) away from the corner of the cloth.

There are numerous customs as to how to tie the fringe. The Talmud explains that the Bible requires an upper knot (kesher elyon) and one wrapping of three winds (hulya). The Talmud goes on to explain that the Rabbis enjoined that between 7 to 13 hulyot be tied, and that the initial and final winds must be the color of the garment, the interving ones being the color tekhelet. As for the making of knots in between the hulyot, the Talmud is inconclusive, and as such poskim throughout the ages have varyingly interpreted this requirement. The Talmud described tying assuming the use of tekhelet, however, following the loss of the source of the dye, various customs of tying were introduced to compensate for the lack of this primary element.

Before tying begins, a blessing is said: L'Shem Mitzvot Tzitzit (For the sake of the Commandment of Tzitzit). Some Rabbis are of the opinion that one should instead say Baruch atah Adonai Elohainu Melech HaOlam, asher kiddishanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu la'asot tzitzit (Blessed are you, Lord, our God, king of the universe who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to make tzitzit).

There is no set way to tie, nor are the colors limited to just blue and white. The only requirement is a rib band of blue...the rest is up to you and it is usually the color of the body of shawl..  Here is a simple way.  The blue band is called “Shamazh” the servant which stands for the incarnate servant mesia who binds and integrates the world for redemption.

You can buy a conveniently thick string from any yarn shop.  Take 1 blue string  of 48” long, and 3 white strings each of 36” long. Combine the four strings together and make sure they’re lined up evenly with the blue string falling a foot longer than than the white.   

As shown above it will be convenient to use eyelets to  hand the four sets of such strings  folding them into halves doubling the strings 

This step starts the knot leaving enough length to hang onto the corners. The knot used is the simple reef knots to produce a tight point to start

Now make the second half knot to make the knot tight at that position

 tighten it this time up against the first one to create a tight knot.  Note that the blue thread is not used to tie.  You may put the blue through the middle and take it out without looping.

Separate the longer blue string from the others and wrap it around the no set of 6 white strings a total of n times to represent the letter you wish to spell out . For example if you are using the 10+5+5+6 method to spell the world for (Yahweh). You give it 10 windings for the first letter.  To show that the first letter has ended you need to take only the white threads and do the knot as we used the beginning as shown in the picture above. 

Repeat this process of spelling out. 

A commonly formed pattern of windings is 7-8-11-13 (totalling 39 winds - the gematria of the "God is One"). Others, especially Sephardim, have 10 and 5 and 6 and 5, a combination that represents directly the spelling of the Tetragrammaton.

Tying Tzitzit is a Jewish art, a form of macramé