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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION
Siman ט״ו · Transferring the tsitsit from one garment to another and the torn talit
אם להתיר ציצית מבגד לבגד ודין נקרע הטלית — detaching the tsitsit for another talit, the transplanted corner and the talit torn near the corner
סימן ט״ו · ו׳ סעיפים
אם להתיר ציצית מבגד לבגד ודין נקרע הטלית
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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A first approach to the ו׳ סעיפים: vocalized Hebrew text, clear English translation and pedagogical explanations on transferring the tsitsit from one talit to another — permitted, but not removing them without replacing them (and the talit of the dead, Rama) —, the corner already fitted with its tsitsit that one does not sew onto another garment (על כנפי בגדיהם), the talit cut in two, the talit torn within the ג׳ אצבעות of the edge (the machloket רש״י / רב עמרם), the tear from the tsitsit hole downward, and the seams near the corner with a thread of the same מין as the tsitsit — with a section of practical cases.
Topic: Transferring the tsitsit from one garment to another, the transplanted corner, and the talit torn or resewn near the corner
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ט״ו · ו׳ סעיפים
Compiled by: Rav Yossef Haim Samama
DAAT · daattorah.com
In simanim 13 and 14 we saw the tsitsit on Shabbat, then who may place it. The Shulchan Aroukh here turns to the concrete life of the talit: one wants to recover one’s tsitsit for another garment, the talit tears, one sews it back. Two great principles run through the siman. First, the respect of the mitzva: it is permitted to detach the tsitsit from a talit in order to put them on another — but not to remove them and leave the garment bare (seif 1). Second, the עשייה בכשרות — the placing must be valid at the moment it is done: the corner must belong to the garment at the time of the placing (seif 2), a talit cut in two keeps its tsitsit if each half has the שיעור (seif 3), and a tear within the ג׳ אצבעות of the edge raises the great machloket of רש״י and רב עמרם: may one sew it back, and does the resewn corner remain a "corner" (seifim 4–5)? Finally, even a simple reinforcing seam near the corner, made of a thread of the same מין as the tsitsit, must be watched (seif 6). We study here at the level of principle; for concrete conduct, we refer to the ruling of the Rav.
📑 Study outline
A. Transferring the tsitsit — permitted from one talit to another; not removing them without replacing them; talit of the dead (Rama) (seif 1)
B. The transplanted corner — not sewing the corner with its tsitsit onto another garment: על כנפי בגדיהם (seif 2)
C. The talit cut in two — if each half has the שיעור and keeps 1–2 tsitsit → no תעשה ולא מן העשוי (seif 3)
D. נקרע תוך ג׳ אצבעות — not to be resewn: the machloket רש״י / רב עמרם; ירא שמים יוצא את כולם (seif 4)
E. Torn from the hole downward — if the placing preceded the tear → kosher; resewn then tsitsit placed: wool / other materials (seif 5)
F. Seams near the corner — the sewn piece, the reinforcement around the hole, the thread of the same מין (Rama) (seif 6)
+ Practical cases and comprehension questions
A. Transferring the tsitsit from one talit to another (seif 1)
Original text (seif 1)
[א] אִם לְהַתִּיר צִיצִית מִבֶּגֶד לְבֶגֶד וְדִין נִקְרַע הַטַּלִּית. וּבוֹ ו׳ סְעִיפִים.
מֻתָּר לְהַתִּיר צִיצִיּוֹת מִטַּלִּית זֶה וְלִתְּנָם בְּטַלִּית אַחֵר, אֲבָל שֶׁלֹּא לְהַנִּיחָם בְּבֶגֶד אַחֵר — לֹא. הַגָּהּ: וְדַוְקָא בְּטַלִּית שֶׁל בַּר חִיּוּבָא, אֲבָל מֻתָּר לְהַתִּיר צִיצִית מִטַּלִּית שֶׁל מֵתִים (מָרְדְּכַי וְתוֹס׳ פֶּרֶק ב״מ דַּף כ״ב).
[1] Whether it is permitted to detach tsitsit from one garment for another garment, and the law of the torn talit. It contains 6 seifim. It is permitted to detach (להתיר) the tsitsit from one talit and put them on another talit; but [to detach them] without putting them back on another garment — no. Glose (Rama): and specifically from a talit of a בר חיובא (someone bound by the mitzva); but it is permitted to detach the tsitsit from a talit of the dead.
בַּר חִיּוּבָא (bar hiyouva) — "someone bound by the obligation" — a person subject to the mitzva of tsitsit. The talit of a living person is a "mitzva garment": stripping it of its tsitsit for no purpose would offend the mitzva. The talit destined for the dead, however, is no longer a garment of obligation — a dead person is exempt from the mitzvot — which is why the Rama permits detaching its tsitsit.
Three ideas in this seif:
- Transferring: permitted. Detaching the tsitsit from one talit in order to place them on another is not a contempt of the mitzva — the threads continue to serve.
- Removing without replacing: no. Detaching the tsitsit without destining them for another garment leaves the talit stripped of its mitzva — that, one does not do.
- Talit of the dead (Rama): from a talit that is not of a בר חיובא — such as the talit of the dead — it is permitted to detach the tsitsit.
Seif 1 in one sentence: one may detach the tsitsit from a talit in order to put them on another; one does not remove them for nothing — and from a talit of the dead (which is not of a בר חיובא), it is permitted (Rama).
B. The transplanted corner: על כנפי בגדיהם (seif 2)
Original text (seif 2)
[ב] אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לִקַּח הַכָּנָף כְּמוֹ שֶׁהוּא עִם הַצִּיצִית וּלְתָפְרוֹ בְּבֶגֶד אַחֵר, מִשּׁוּם דְּעַל כַּנְפֵי בִגְדֵיהֶם בָּעִינַן, וְכָנָף זֶה לֹא הָיָה מִבֶּגֶד זֶה בִּשְׁעַת עֲשִׂיָּה.
[2] One cannot take the corner (כנף) as it is, with its tsitsit, and sew it onto another garment — for we require « עַל כַּנְפֵי בִגְדֵיהֶם » (« on the corners of their garments »), and this corner was not of this garment at the moment of the עשייה (the placing of the tsitsit).
שְׁעַת עֲשִׂיָּה (shaat assiya) — "the moment of the placing" — the Torah says "on the corners of their garments": the tsitsit must be placed on a corner that already belongs to the garment at the moment it is placed. A corner fitted with its tsitsit and sewn afterwards onto another garment was never "the corner of this garment" at the time of the placing — the mitzva was not validly performed there for this garment.
What this seif distinguishes:
- The threads alone: yes (seif 1) — one detaches the tsitsit and validly places them again on the other talit: the placing is redone there.
- The whole corner: no — sewing the already fitted corner onto another garment does not count as a placing: at the moment of the עשייה, this corner was not of this garment.
- The principle: validity is decided at the moment of the placing — the same spirit as the תעשה ולא מן העשוי that we meet again in seif 3.
To remember: one transfers the tsitsit, not the corner: the corner must be of the garment at the moment of the placing (על כנפי בגדיהם) — a corner transplanted with its tsitsit does not make the other garment valid.
C. The talit cut in two (seif 3)
Original text (seif 3)
[ג] טַלִּית מְצֻיֶּצֶת כַּהֲלָכָתָהּ שֶׁחֲלָקוּהָ לִשְׁתַּיִם, וּבְכָל חֵלֶק יֵשׁ בּוֹ כַּשִּׁעוּר לְהִתְעַטֵּף, וְנִשְׁאַר לְכָל אַחַת מֵהֶם צִיצִית אַחַת אוֹ שְׁתַּיִם — אֵין בּוֹ מִשּׁוּם תַּעֲשֶׂה וְלֹא מִן הֶעָשׂוּי.
[3] A talit fitted with tsitsit according to the law (מצוייצת כהלכתה) that was divided in two: if each part has the measure (שיעור) sufficient to wrap oneself, and each of them retains one or two tsitsit — there is in this no תעשה ולא מן העשוי ("you shall make — and not from the already made").
תַּעֲשֶׂה וְלֹא מִן הֶעָשׂוּי (taasse velo min heassouy) — the mitzva must be made validly, and not "find itself made" of its own accord. If the tsitsit had been placed at a moment when the garment was not fit, validity cannot "arrive" afterwards by itself: one would have to detach and place again. Here, each remaining tsitsit had been placed on a real corner of a real talit — the division changed nothing in that: the original placing remains valid.
The conditions of the seif:
- Each half has the שיעור: a measure sufficient to wrap oneself — each half is thus, in itself, a "garment" subject to tsitsit.
- Each half keeps 1–2 tsitsit: these tsitsit were validly placed when the talit was whole — they remain valid.
- No תעשה ולא מן העשוי: it suffices to complete the missing tsitsit on the new corners — without having to detach those that remain.
To remember: a valid talit cut in two — each half having the שיעור to wrap oneself and keeping one or two tsitsit — does not fall under the תעשה ולא מן העשוי: the remaining tsitsit stay valid, one completes the others.
D. נקרע תוך ג׳ אצבעות: רש״י and רב עמרם (seif 4)
Original text (seif 4)
[ד] נִקְרַע הַטַּלִּית תּוֹךְ ג׳ אֶצְבָּעוֹת סָמוּךְ לִשְׂפַת הַכָּנָף — אֵינוֹ רַשַּׁאי לְתָפְרוֹ. וּפֵרֵשׁ רַשִׁ״י דְּחָיְשִׁינַן שֶׁיִּשְׁתַּיֵּר מֵחוּט הַתְּפִירָה וְיַנִּיחֶנּוּ וְיוֹסִיף עָלָיו שִׁבְעָה חוּטִין לְשֵׁם צִיצִית ; וּלְטַעַם זֶה אֲפִלּוּ נִקְרַע כָּל שֶׁהוּא לֹא יִתְפֹּר. וּלְפִי זֶה, טַלִּית שֶׁל צֶמֶר שֶׁנִּקְרְעָה תּוֹךְ שְׁלֹשָׁה מֻתָּר לִתְפֹּר הָאִידְּנָא, דְּאֵין דֶּרֶךְ לִתְפֹּר בְּחוּטֵי צֶמֶר. וְרַב עַמְרָם פֵּרֵשׁ דְּטַעְמָא מִשּׁוּם דְּנִקְרַע תּוֹךְ שְׁלֹשָׁה לֵית בֵּיהּ תּוֹרַת בֶּגֶד וּכְמַאן דְּלֵיתֵיהּ דָּמֵי, וְאַף עַל גַּב דִּתְפָרֵיהּ — כְּמַאן דִּפְסִיק חָשׁוּב, וְאִי עָבֵיד בֵּיהּ צִיצִית לֹא פָּטְרָה לַטַּלִּית ; וּלְפֵרוּשׁ זֶה, אִם נִקְרַע וְנִשְׁתַּיֵּר כָּל שֶׁהוּא — כָּשֵׁר. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים דִּלְרַב עַמְרָם לֹא נִפְסַל אֶלָּא צִיצִית שֶׁהָיוּ בּוֹ בְּעֵת שֶׁתְּפָרוֹ, אֲבָל אִם אַחַר שֶׁתְּפָרוֹ הֵטִיל בּוֹ צִיצִית — כָּשֵׁר. וִירֵא שָׁמַיִם יֵצֵא אֶת כֻּלָּם הֵיכָא דְּאֶפְשָׁר.
[4] If the talit tore within the ג׳ אצבעות (three fingers) near the edge of the corner — one is not permitted to sew it back. רש״י explains: we fear that [a piece] of the sewing thread might remain, that one would leave it and add to it seven threads to make of it a tsitsit [placed invalidly]; and by this reason, even a minute tear (כל שהוא) is not to be sewn. Accordingly, a woolen talit torn within the three [fingers] may be sewn nowadays (האידנא), since it is not customary to sew with woolen threads. And רב עמרם explains: the reason is that a [strip] torn within the three fingers no longer has the status of a garment (תורת בגד) and is as if it did not exist; even resewn, it is considered as cut, and if one places a tsitsit on it, it does not render the talit exempt. According to this explanation, if the tear left a minute remnant (כל שהוא) [attached] — it is kosher. And some say (י״א) that according to רב עמרם, only a tsitsit that was on it at the moment it was resewn is invalidated; but if after resewing it one placed a tsitsit on it — it is kosher. And a ירא שמים (a God-fearing man) satisfies all [the opinions], where possible.
ג׳ אֶצְבָּעוֹת (gimel etsbaot) — "three fingers" — the band of the talit close to the edge of the corner, three fingers wide: this is where the tsitsit is placed. A tear within this zone touches the "corner" itself — hence its gravity: for רש״י, sewing there is suspect (its thread could serve as a tsitsit thread); for רב עמרם, the torn piece loses there its status of בגד.
The machloket in two words:
- רש״י — the sewing thread: we fear that a remnant of the sewing thread might serve as a tsitsit thread (placed invalidly). Hence even a כל שהוא is not to be resewn — but a woolen talit, today when one does not sew with woolen threads, may be resewn.
- רב עמרם — the status of בגד: the piece torn within the three fingers is no longer a "garment"; even resewn, it is as if cut, and a tsitsit placed on it is invalid. But if a כל שהוא remained attached — kosher.
- The י״א and the ירא שמים: some limit רב עמרם to the tsitsit already present at the resewing; and the God-fearing man satisfies all the opinions when possible.
To remember: a tear within the ג׳ אצבעות of the edge → one does not resew: fear of the sewing thread (רש״י — hence the present-day permission for wool) or loss of the status of בגד (רב עמרם — but a remaining כל שהוא saves); the ירא שמים satisfies all the opinions.
E. Torn from the tsitsit hole downward (seif 5)
Original text (seif 5)
[ה] אִם נִקְרַע מִנֶּקֶב שֶׁהַצִּיצִית תָּלוּי בּוֹ וּלְמַטָּה — אִם קָדַם הֲטָלַת צִיצִית לַקֶּרַע, שֶׁאוֹתוֹ צִיצִית הָיָה שָׁם בִּשְׁעַת הַקֶּרַע — כָּשֵׁר. וְאִם נִקְרַע וְנִשְׁתַּיֵּר מִמֶּנּוּ כָּל שֶׁהוּא וּתְפָרוֹ, וְאַחַר כָּךְ הֵטִיל בּוֹ צִיצִית — אִם הוּא שֶׁל צֶמֶר, כָּשֵׁר לְכֻלֵּי עָלְמָא ; וְאִם הוּא שֶׁל שְׁאָר מִינִים, שֶׁדֶּרֶךְ לִתְפֹּר בְּחוּטִין שֶׁל אוֹתוֹ הַמִּין — לֹא יִתְפֹּר לְדַעַת רַשִׁ״י. וְאִם נִקְרַע וּתְפָרוֹ וְאַחַר כָּךְ הֵטִיל בּוֹ צִיצִית — אִיכָּא לְסַפּוּקֵי.
[5] If [the talit] tore from the hole where the tsitsit hangs, downward: if the placing of the tsitsit preceded the tear — that tsitsit being already there at the moment of the tear — it is kosher. And if it tore leaving a minute remnant (כל שהוא), and one resewed it and afterwards placed a tsitsit on it: if [the talit] is of wool — kosher according to all (לכולי עלמא); and if it is of other materials, which one customarily sews with threads of that same material — one shall not sew, according to רש״י. And if it tore [without remnant], one resewed it and afterwards placed a tsitsit on it — there is room for doubt (איכא לספוקי).
קָדַם הֲטָלַת צִיצִית לַקֶּרַע — "the placing preceded the tear" — the decisive criterion: if the tsitsit was already validly placed when the tear occurred, the tear does not invalidate what was well done. The whole problem arises when one places the tsitsit afterwards — on a torn or resewn corner: the placing is then done on a corner whose status is disputed.
The three cases of the seif:
- Placing before the tear → kosher: the tsitsit was there at the moment of the קרע — nothing to redo.
- Remnant כל שהוא + resewn + tsitsit placed afterwards: a woolen talit → kosher לכולי עלמא; other materials (which one sews with threads of the same מין) → not according to רש״י.
- Without remnant + resewn + tsitsit placed afterwards: a doubtful case (איכא לספוקי) — one does not rely on it; in practice, we refer to the ruling of the Rav.
To remember: everything depends on the chronology — a tsitsit placed before the tear remains kosher; placed after a resewing, it depends on the remnant (כל שהוא) and the material (wool → kosher for all; other materials → the fear of רש״י); without a remnant, it is a case of doubt.
F. Seams near the corner: the piece and the reinforcement of the hole (seif 6)
Original text (seif 6)
[ו] הַתּוֹפֵר חֲתִיכַת בֶּגֶד בְּכַנְפֵי הַטַּלִּית, וְכֵן מַה שֶּׁנּוֹהֲגִים לִתְפֹּר סָבִיב הַנֶּקֶב שֶׁהַצִּיצִית בּוֹ — אִם הַטַּלִּית שֶׁל מֶשִׁי וּתְפָרוֹ בְּחוּט מֶשִׁי לָבָן, יֵשׁ לָחוּשׁ בַּדָּבָר לְדַעַת רַשִׁ״י, שֶׁלֹּא תְּהֵא שׁוּם תְּפִירָה לְמַטָּה מִג׳ וּלְמַעְלָה מִקֶּשֶׁר גּוּדָל. הַגָּהּ: וְהוּא הַדִּין בְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁתּוֹפֵר בְּחוּט שֶׁהוּא מִין הַצִּיצִית, דְּחָיְשִׁינַן שֶׁמָּא יִקַּח אוֹתוֹ חוּט לְחוּט הַצִּיצִית (ת״ה סִי׳ מ״ו בְּשֵׁם הַגָּהוֹת מַיְמוֹנִי).
[6] One who sews a piece of cloth on the corners of the talit — likewise what people customarily sew around the hole through which the tsitsit passes —: if the talit is of silk and one sewed it with a white silk thread, there is reason for concern in the matter, according to רש״י — that there be no seam below ג׳ [אצבעות] and above the קשר גודל. Glose (Rama): and the same applies (וה״ה) wherever one sews with a thread that is of the same מין (material) as the tsitsit, for we fear lest one take that thread as a tsitsit thread (ת״ה סי׳ מ״ו in the name of the הגהות מיימוני).
קֶשֶׁר גּוּדָל (kesher goudal) — the distance of a thumb joint from the edge: it is the lower limit of the zone where the tsitsit hole is pierced, whose upper limit is ג׳ אצבעות. The whole band between the קשר גודל and the three fingers is the "tsitsit zone" — it is there that the fear of רש״י applies to the seams.
What the seif watches:
- The piece sewn on the corner and the reinforcement around the hole — ordinary seams, but located right in the tsitsit zone.
- Silk on silk: a silk talit sewn with a white silk thread → the fear of רש״י (the sewing thread could serve as a tsitsit thread): no seam between the קשר גודל and the ג׳ אצבעות.
- The Rama generalizes: the same rule for any thread of the same מין as the tsitsit — we fear lest one take that thread as a tsitsit thread (Teroumat haDeshen in the name of the הגהות מיימוני).
To remember: in the tsitsit zone (between קשר גודל and ג׳ אצבעות), no seam with a thread of the same מין as the tsitsit — silk on silk according to רש״י, and any thread of the same מין according to the Rama: the sewing thread must never be able to pass for a tsitsit thread.
Practical cases
Case 1 — Recovering the tsitsit of an old talit for a new one
Situation: one has bought a new talit and would like to place on it the beautiful, still kosher tsitsit of the old talit.
Conduct: this is exactly the case of seif 1 — permitted: one detaches the tsitsit from the old talit in order to place them on the new one. What one does not do is remove them without putting them back on another garment. And beware of seif 2: one transfers the threads, never the whole corner with its tsitsit — the placing must be redone on the corner of the new talit (על כנפי בגדיהם).
Case 2 — A talit katan torn near the corner: to resew or not?
Situation: the talit katan tore close to the corner, within the band of the ג׳ אצבעות of the edge.
Conduct: this is the machloket of seif 4. According to רש״י, the fear concerns the sewing thread — hence, for a woolen talit today, room for permission (one does not sew with woolen threads); according to רב עמרם, the torn piece has lost its status of בגד and the sewing does not "resurrect" it — unless a כל שהוא remained attached. The ירא שמים seeks to satisfy all the opinions. Where exactly does the tear run, which material, which remnant? These measurements are delicate: we refer to the ruling of the Rav.
Case 3 — The reinforcements sewn around the tsitsit hole
Situation: many talitot carry a reinforcing piece at the corner, or a seam around the hole through which the tsitsit passes — sometimes with a thread of the same material as the tsitsit (silk on silk, etc.).
Conduct: this is seif 6: in the tsitsit zone (between the קשר גודל and the ג׳ אצבעות), a seam made of a thread of the same מין as the tsitsit is to be feared according to רש״י — and the Rama extends this to any thread of the same מין, lest one take that thread as a tsitsit thread. Checking the material of the reinforcement of a silk talit is a delicate point: we refer to the ruling of the Rav.
Comprehension questions
Check your understanding:
- May one detach the tsitsit from a talit (seif 1)? On what condition? What does the Rama permit for the talit of the dead?
- Why can one not sew onto another garment the corner already fitted with its tsitsit (seif 2)? What does על כנפי בגדיהם mean?
- A talit cut in two: under what conditions is there no תעשה ולא מן העשוי (seif 3)?
- Explain the machloket רש״י / רב עמרם on the talit torn within the ג׳ אצבעות (seif 4): what are the two reasons, and what practical differences (wool today, a remnant כל שהוא)? What does the ירא שמים do?
- When does a tear below the tsitsit hole leave the tsitsit kosher (seif 5)? And why does one watch the seams near the corner made of a thread of the same מין (seif 6, Rama)?
Going further
If you wish to deepen this siman:
📖Join the khavroutha
- 📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: for the pilpoul — why the transfer of the tsitsit is not a contempt of the mitzva and the prohibition of removing them without replacing them; the yesod of the על כנפי בגדיהם (the corner must be of the garment at the עשייה) and its link with תעשה ולא מן העשוי; the machloket רש״י / רב עמרם (מנחות מ״א) and its nafka mina; and the fear of רש״י extended to the seams (ת״ה סי׳ מ״ו)
- ✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: for review and quick memorization
- 👑 Level 4 — Daat HaRav (the Alter Rebbe): the shitah of the Shulchan Aroukh HaRav — transferring the tsitsit without removing them לבטלה, the corner sewn from another garment, the talit cut in two, the נקרע תוך ג׳ (wool and other materials), and the seams near the corner with a thread of the same מין