Siman כ׳ · Buying and Selling a Talit (דיני לקיחת ומכירת טלית)

דיני לקיחת ומכירת טלית — the merchant's חזקה, the purchase from a non-merchant, and the prohibition of selling a tsitsit-fitted talit to a non-Jew

סימן כ׳ · ב׳ סעיפים

דיני לקיחת ומכירת טלית

🌱 Introductory level · Beginners

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A first approach to the ב׳ סעיפים: vocalized Hebrew text, clear English translation and pedagogical explanations on buying a tsitsit-fitted talit — from a Jew it is כשר; from a non-Jewish merchant (תגר) who says he bought it from a Jew, we rely on the חזקה known as לא מרע נפשיה; from a non-Jew who is not a merchant it is pasoul —, then the prohibition of selling a tsitsit-fitted talit to a non-Jew, its extension to pawning and depositing, and the exception לפי שעה — with a section of practical cases.

Topic: Buying and selling a tsitsit-fitted talit — the merchant's חזקה (לא מרע נפשיה), the purchase from a non-merchant, and the prohibition of selling, pawning or depositing with a non-Jew
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן כ׳ · ב׳ סעיפים

Compiled by: Rav Yossef Haim Samama
DAAT · daattorah.com

In the previous simanim we learned who makes the tsitsit (siman 14) and on which garments it is attached (simanim 18-19). The Shulchan Aroukh here turns to the moment of commerce: buying (לקיחה) and selling (מכירה) a talit already fitted with tsitsit. The principle is twofold. First, when buying, everything depends on from whom one buys: from a Jew, the talit is כשר; from a non-Jewish merchant (תגר) who says he bought it from a Jew, it is כשר as well — for the halakha recognizes a commercial חזקה: the merchant does not discredit himself (לא מרע נפשיה), his reputation is his livelihood; but from a non-Jew who is not a merchant, the talit is pasoul — for tsitsit attached by a non-Jew are not valid. Second, when selling: one does not sell a tsitsit-fitted talit to a non-Jew — the Talmud grounds this measure in a danger of the roads of antiquity, which we will study with sobriety — and even pawning or depositing it with him is forbidden, except לפי שעה (for a short while). We study here at the level of principle; for concrete conduct (provenance, certification), we refer to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. Buying a tsitsit-fitted talit — from a Jew → כשר; from a non-Jewish תגר who says he bought it from a Jew → כשר (חזקה: לא מרע נפשיה); from a non-Jew who is not a merchant → pasoul (seif 1)

B. אין מוכרין טלית מצוייצת לעכו״ם — one does not sell a tsitsit-fitted talit to a non-Jew; even pawning and depositing are forbidden, except לפי שעה (seif 2)

+ Practical cases and comprehension questions

A. Buying a tsitsit-fitted talit: from whom? (seif 1)

Original text (seif 1)

[א] דִּינֵי לְקִיחַת וּמְכִירַת טַלִּית. וּבוֹ ב׳ סְעִיפִים. הַלּוֹקֵחַ טַלִּית מְצוּיֶּצֶת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, אוֹ מִתַּגָּר עכו״ם [וְאוֹמֵר שֶׁלְּקָחָן מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל — נֶאֱמָן] [נ״י הִלְכוֹת צִיצִית] — כָּשֵׁר ; דְּכֵיוָן דְּתַגָּר הוּא, חֲזָקָה שֶׁלְּקָחָהּ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, דְּלָא מָרַע נַפְשֵׁיהּ. אֲבָל אִם לָקַח מֵעכו״ם שֶׁאֵינוֹ תַּגָּר — פָּסוּל.

[1] Laws of buying and selling a talit. It contains ב׳ סעיפים. One who buys a talit fitted with tsitsit (מצוייצת) from a Jew, or from a non-Jewish merchant (תגר) — [gloss: and who says he bought it from a Jew, he is believed (נאמן)] [Nimoukei Yossef, הלכות ציצית] — [the talit] is כשר: for since he is a merchant, there is a חזקה (presumption) that he bought it from a Jew — for he does not discredit himself (לא מרע נפשיה). But if one bought it from a non-Jew who is not a merchant — [the talit] is pasoul.

תַּגָּר (tagar) — "the merchant" — one whose trade is his occupation: he buys and resells, and lives by his reputation. The halakha distinguishes him from the occasional seller: the merchant has a lasting interest in selling only reliable merchandise — this is the foundation of the חזקה of this seif.

חֲזָקָה... דְּלָא מָרַע נַפְשֵׁיהּ (lo mera nafcheh) — "he does not discredit himself" — a commercial presumption: a merchant will not sell doubtful merchandise as "valid tsitsit," for if it became known, his customers would be lost. One may therefore rely on his word when he says he bought the talit from a Jew. This חזקה holds only for the תגר — not for the private individual.

Three cases in this seif:

Bought from a Jew → כשר: the tsitsit were attached by a Jew; there is nothing to fear.
Bought from a non-Jewish תגר → כשר: when he says he bought it from a Jew, he is believed (Nimoukei Yossef) — the merchant's חזקה (לא מרע נפשיה) guarantees the provenance.
Bought from a non-Jew who is not a merchant → pasoul: without the commercial חזקה, nothing guarantees that the tsitsit were attached by a Jew — and tsitsit attached by a non-Jew are invalid (see siman 14).

Seif 1 in one sentence: when buying a tsitsit-fitted talit, everything hinges on the provenance — from a Jew or from a non-Jewish תגר who says he bought it from a Jew, it is כשר (חזקה: לא מרע נפשיה); from a non-Jew who is not a merchant, it is pasoul.

B. אין מוכרין: not selling a tsitsit-fitted talit to a non-Jew (seif 2)

Original text (seif 2)

[ב] אֵין מוֹכְרִין טַלִּית מְצוּיֶּצֶת לְעכו״ם, שֶׁמָּא יִתְלַוֶּה עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּדֶּרֶךְ וְיַהַרְגֶנּוּ. אֲפִלּוּ לְמַשְׁכֵּן וּלְהַפְקִיד טַלִּית מְצוּיֶּצֶת לְעכו״ם — אָסוּר, אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן הוּא לְפִי שָׁעָה, דְּלֵיכָּא לְמֵיחַשׁ לְהָא.

[2] One does not sell a tsitsit-fitted talit to a non-Jew — lest he join a Jew on the road and take his life. Even pawning (למשכן) or depositing (להפקיד) a tsitsit-fitted talit with a non-Jew is forbidden — unless it is לפי שעה (for a short while), where this fear does not apply.

The Talmud's reason — to be read with sobriety: the Gemara (מנחות מ״ג ע״א) grounds this prohibition in a reality of the roads of antiquity, where travelers joined company for the safety of the way: one wearing a tsitsit-fitted talit was presumed to be a Jew, and a Jewish traveler would trust him and join him. A wrongdoer wrapped in such a talit could abuse that trust — to the worst end. The Sages therefore forbade placing a tsitsit-fitted talit in hands where this sign of trust could be misused. It is a protective measure born of its era; it has remained codified as such in the Shulchan Aroukh.

לְפִי שָׁעָה (lefi shaa) — "for a short while" — a brief and provisional pawn or deposit. Over so short a time, the fear of the seif — that the talit be used as a sign of trust on the road — has no place (דליכא למיחש להא): this is why only the לפי שעה is permitted.

Three degrees in this seif:

The sale (מכירה): forbidden — one does not pass a tsitsit-fitted talit into the lasting possession of a non-Jew.
The pawn and the deposit (משכון / פקדון): forbidden as well — even without transfer of ownership, the talit would be in his hands.
The exception לפי שעה: for a short while, it is permitted — the fear of the seif does not apply.

To remember: one does not sell a tsitsit-fitted talit to a non-Jew, and even pawning and depositing with him are forbidden — except לפי שעה, for a short while, where the fear of the seif does not exist.

Practical cases

Case 1 — Buying a talit or tsitsit: where and from whom?

Situation: one wants to buy a talit gadol, a talit katan or tsitsit strands, and several options present themselves: a Jewish shop, a general store, an unknown reseller.

Conduct: the simple ideal is to buy from a trustworthy Jewish merchant or from a house whose tsitsit carry a rabbinic certification (הכשר) attesting to proper manufacture. Seif 1 teaches the principle: from a non-Jewish תגר who says his merchandise comes from a Jew, the talit is כשר (חזקה: לא מרע נפשיה); but from a seller who is not a merchant, without established provenance, it is pasoul. In case of doubt about the status of the seller or the merchandise, one refers to the ruling of the Rav.

Case 2 — Selling, giving or lending a tsitsit-fitted talit to one who is not Jewish

Situation: a non-Jewish person — a colleague, a neighbor, a collector — wishes to buy or receive a tsitsit-fitted talit; or one considers leaving one's talit with him as a pawn or a deposit.

Conduct: seif 2 teaches that one does not sell a tsitsit-fitted talit to a non-Jew, and that even a lasting pawn or deposit is forbidden. Only the לפי שעה — a short while, for instance entrusting one's talit briefly — is permitted. If one wishes to offer an object of value, or a concrete case arises (a talit without tsitsit, the cloth alone…), the distinctions are delicate: one refers to the ruling of the Rav.

Case 3 — Buying a talit online: provenance in the modern era

Situation: one orders a talit or a talit katan from an online shop — a large marketplace or a specialized site — without seeing the seller.

Conduct: the principle of seif 1 carries over: everything hinges on the provenance and the reliability of the seller. An established Jewish house or a product bearing a recognized rabbinic certification offer the required חזקה; an anonymous reseller, without verifiable provenance, corresponds rather to the seller without a חזקה of seif 1. Verify provenance and certification — and, at the slightest doubt, have the tsitsit checked or refer to the ruling of the Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:

Why is a talit bought from a non-Jewish תגר כשר (seif 1)? Explain the חזקה לא מרע נפשיה.
What does the gloss in the name of the Nimoukei Yossef add: when is the merchant נאמן (believed) about the provenance?
Why is the talit bought from a non-Jew who is not a merchant pasoul (seif 1)? What is the link with siman 14?
Why does one not sell a tsitsit-fitted talit to a non-Jew (seif 2)? What reality of antiquity does the Gemara describe?
Are the pawn and the deposit permitted (seif 2)? What does the exception לפי שעה mean, and why does it remove the fear?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:

📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: for the pilpoul — the mechanism of the חזקת התגר (לא מרע נפשיה, מנחות מ״ב-מ״ג) and its limits; the נאמנות of the non-Jew (Rama / Nimoukei Yossef: ואומר שלקחן מישראל נאמן); the reasons for the prohibition of מכירה לעכו״ם and its extension to the משכון / פקדון; the exception לפי שעה; and the question of the kedousha of the talit (see siman 21)
✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: for review and quick memorization
👑 Level 4 — Daat HaRav (the Alter Rebbe): the shitah of the Shulchan Aroukh HaRav (ו׳ סעיפים) — the merchant's חזקה, the purchase from a non-merchant, and the sale, pawn and deposit of a tsitsit-fitted talit with a non-Jew and their reasons

Continue to the next simanSiman 21 →

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