The time of the blessing on tzitzit — and it contains 2 seifim: (1) Tzitzit is חובת גברא — an obligation of the person — ולא חובת מנא, and not of the object: as long as one does not wear the talit, he is פטור מציצית. Therefore אינו מברך על עשיית הציצית — one does not recite a blessing on the making of the tzitzit — for אין מצוה אלא בלבישתו: the mitzvah lies only in wearing it. (2) One who made a talit לצורך תכריכין (to serve as a shroud), אף על פי שלובשו לפעמים בחייו — even if he wears it at times during his lifetime — he is פטור. (The blessing להתעטף בציצית therefore accompanies the donning of the talit — see siman 8; on the absence of an obligation to acquire a talit, see siman 17, and on the value of wearing the talit katan, see siman 24. The case of תכריכין touches on the respect due to the departed — for practical conduct, a referral to the Rav.)
The 4 levels of study — Siman י״ט, 2 seifim
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רמת המתחיל
Level 1 — Beginner & Intermediate
Vocalized Hebrew text of the 2 seifim with a fluent English translation. Pedagogical, sober explanation: the yesod ציצית חובת גברא ולא חובת מנא — as long as one does not wear the talit, he is פטור; why no blessing is recited on the עשיית הציצית, for אין מצוה אלא בלבישתו; and a talit made לצורך תכריכין, exempt even if worn at times during one's lifetime. Modern practical cases: making or repairing tzitzit (no blessing — it comes when donning the talit), a talit that remains stored away, and the talit intended for shrouds (referral to the Rav).
In-depth pilpul: the yesod חובת גברא / חובת מנא (Menachot 41a-42a) and the status of the ציצית כשאינו לובשו; why mezuzah and maakeh — חובת הדר / הבית — receive a blessing at the affixing, whereas for tzitzit the עשייה is not the mitzvah; the question of שהחיינו at the making among certain rishonim, and the psak; and the talit of תכריכין — why exempt (it is not אשר תכסה בה) and the link to לועג לרש. Beit Yossef, Tur, Rambam, Rosh, Nimoukei Yossef, Mg״A, Taz, Mishna Berura and Beour Halakha.
Structured summary for review and memorization: חובת גברא ולא חובת מנא — the obligation rests on the person, not on the garment; no blessing on the עשיית הציצית, for אין מצוה אלא בלבישתו — the blessing comes when donning the talit; and a talit made לצורך תכריכין, exempt even if worn at times during one's lifetime. Conduct le-maaseh in everyday life, with a referral to the Rav for the case of shrouds and cf. siman 8, 17, 18 and 24.
The Choulhan Aroukh HaRav of the Admour HaZaken on Orach Chaim siman 19 (where the Rav develops ג׳ seifim): full text and the force of the psak relative to the Mechaber — the yesod חובת גברא (no blessing on the עשיית הציצית, unlike mezuzah and maakeh), the blessing when donning the talit, and the talit made לצורך תכריכין, exempt even if worn at times during one's lifetime. For in-depth study, a referral to a Chabad Rav.
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The obligation of tzitzit rests on the person: it is he who wears a four-cornered garment who must place tzitzit on it — שכל זמן שאינו לובש הטלית פטור מציצית.
וְלֹא חוֹבַת מָנָא
ולא חובת מנא
The obligation does not rest on the object: a talit that remains stored away, unworn, generates no obligation of itself — unlike the mezuzah, which is חובת הדר upon the inhabited house.
אֵינוֹ מְבָרֵךְ עַל הָעֲשִׂיָּה
No blessing on the making
No blessing is recited on the עשיית הציצית: the making is not the mitzvah but its preparation — unlike the maakeh, whose עשייה is itself the mitzvah (לעשות מעקה).
אֵין מִצְוָה אֶלָּא בִּלְבִישָׁתוֹ
The mitzvah is in the wearing
The mitzvah of tzitzit lies only in wearing the talit: it is therefore at the moment of donning — the עטיפה — that one recites the blessing (see siman 8).
טַלִּית שֶׁל תַּכְרִיכִין
The shroud talit
One who makes a talit לצורך תכריכין is exempt: this garment is not intended to cover the living in the sense of אשר תכסה בה — the subject, linked to the respect due to the departed, is treated with delicacy.
לוֹבְשׁוֹ לִפְעָמִים בְּחַיָּיו
Worn at times in his lifetime
Even if one wears this shroud talit at times during his lifetime, it remains פטור: its primary designation is not that of a garment — it is the garment's designation that fixes its status.
Structure of the Siman — landmarks in the 2 seifim
Seif
Subject
Theme
Detail
סעיף א
חובת גברא ולא חובת מנא
אינו מברך על העשייה
Tzitzit is an obligation of the person, not of the object: as long as one does not wear the talit, he is פטור מציצית. Therefore no blessing is recited on the עשיית הציצית — שאין מצוה אלא בלבישתו: the blessing comes when donning the talit.
סעיף ב
טלית לצורך תכריכין
✦ פטור
A talit made to serve as a shroud is exempt from tzitzit, אף על פי שלובשו לפעמים בחייו — even if worn at times during one's lifetime. A delicate subject, linked to the respect due to the departed: for practical conduct, a referral to the Rav.
חובת גברא / חובת מנא — the yesod and its consequences
Mitzvah
Nature of the obligation
Blessing
Central idea
ציצית
חובת גברא
When donning the talit
The mitzvah lies only in the לבישה (Menachot 41a-42a): the עשייה is merely a preparation — hence no blessing at the making, and the blessing להתעטף בציצית accompanies the donning of the talit (see siman 8).
מזוזה ומעקה
חובת הדר / הבית
At the affixing
The obligation rests on the inhabited house: the קביעת המזוזה and the עשיית המעקה are themselves the mitzvah — which is why their blessing accompanies the affixing (לקבוע מזוזה, לעשות מעקה).
טלית של תכריכין
Le-maaseh
✦ פטור
Made לצורך תכריכין, it is exempt even if worn at times during one's lifetime: it is not a garment in the sense of אשר תכסה בה. The precise conduct (and the link to the respect due to the departed) — see Level 4 and the referral to the Rav.
Frequently asked questions — Siman י״ט
Does one recite a blessing when making the tzitzit, according to Siman 19?
No. According to the Choulhan Aroukh, Orach Chaim 19:1, tzitzit is חובת גברא הוא ולא חובת מנא — an obligation of the person and not of the object: as long as one does not wear the talit, he is פטור מציצית. Therefore אינו מברך על עשיית הציצית, for אין מצוה אלא בלבישתו — the mitzvah lies only in wearing it. The blessing (להתעטף בציצית) is thus recited when donning the talit, not when making it.
What does ציצית חובת גברא ולא חובת מנא mean, according to Siman 19?
According to the Choulhan Aroukh (Orach Chaim 19:1), the obligation of tzitzit rests on the person (גברא) and not on the garment (מנא): a four-cornered talit that remains stored away generates no obligation of itself, שכל זמן שאינו לובש הטלית פטור מציצית. This yesod explains why no blessing is recited on the עשייה — unlike mezuzah or maakeh, where the obligation rests on the house and the blessing accompanies the affixing.
Is a talit made for תכריכין subject to the mitzvah of tzitzit, according to Siman 19?
According to the Choulhan Aroukh (Orach Chaim 19:2), one who made a talit לצורך תכריכין (to serve as a shroud) is exempt — פטור — אף על פי שלובשו לפעמים בחייו, even if he wears it at times during his lifetime: this garment is not intended to be a garment one covers oneself with in the sense of אשר תכסה בה. The subject touches on the respect due to the departed and is treated with delicacy — for practical conduct, one should consult his Rav.
When, then, does one recite the blessing on tzitzit, according to Siman 19?
Since אין מצוה אלא בלבישתו — the mitzvah lies only in the wearing — the blessing accompanies the donning of the talit: it is at the moment of the עטיפה that one recites להתעטף בציצית (and on the talit katan, על מצות ציצית), as developed in siman 8. Siman 19 fixes the principle: the making is only a preparation of the mitzvah, and a talit one does not wear obligates nothing — whence also the absence of an obligation to acquire a talit (siman 17), even though it is precious to wear the talit katan so as to keep the obligation present (siman 24).