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Source
and Explanation:
According
to the
Bible, God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to attach special
fringe to the four corners of their outer garments. The fringe
is knotted in a unique way. This fringe, which looks more like
a tassel, is called a tzizit. Historically, this unique configuration
of knots has its origins in clothing worn by the servants of great
lords and kings, which always had a special mark or fringe to
indicate whom they served.
The wearing of tzitzit is meant as a constant reminder to Jews
and others that they are servants of the God of Israel. Tradition
considers the tzitzit to be a powerful shield against immoral
behavior, because wearing such holy symbols reminds one to think
twice about breaking God's commandments.
The Torah contains many reference to the importance of this symbolic
garment: "The Lord said to Moses: speak to the Israelite
people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the
corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach
a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. That shall be your
fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord
and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes
in lustful urg. Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments
and to be holy to your God. I the Lord am your God, who brought
you out of the land of Egypt to by your God; I, the Lord you God."
(Numbers 15:37) I wrap myself in a Tallit with fringes to fulfill
the mitzvah of my creator, as written in the Torah: "They
shall put fringes on the corners of their garments in every generation."
(Numbers 15:38)
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The
Tallit - Shawl prayer
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The
Arba Kanfot - Tzitzit
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We
wear a tallit every morning during services. On, the
9th day of Av, the memorials date of the destruction
of both Holy Temples. we wear the tallit at the afternoon
service instead
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This
is a simple four-cornered garment that's worn by observant
Jews. They wear it all-day under their clothes; simply
every moment of wearing the arba kanfots adds a new
additional good-deed.
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Simple
guidance on how to put-on & wear
Putting
on the tallit - Shawl Prayer
Before you put on the tallit - shawl prayer.
1) You hold the tallit in
front of you.
2) Say the special blessing...
| English: |
Praised
are You, Lord are God, King of the Universe whose
mitzvoth add holiness to our life and who gave us
the mitzvah to wrap ourselves in tzitzit. |
| Phonetic
Hebrew: |
Baruch
atah, Adonai eloheinu, melech ha-olam, asheh kid’shanu
b’mitzvotav, vitzivanu l’heetatayf ba-tzizit.
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3
) Then
place the tallit
over your head and on, you then may kiss the strings.
Putting on the Arba Kanfot - Tzitzit
1)
Put on the Arba Kanfot over your head and on.
2) Hold the strings and say the special blessing...
| English: |
Praised
are You, Lord are God, King of the Universe whose
mitzvoth add holiness to our life and commanded
us concerning the mitzvah of tzitzis. |
| Phonetic
Hebrew: |
Baruch
atah, Adonai eloheinu, melech ha-olam, asheh kid’shanu
b’mitzvotav, vitzivanu al mitzvat tzitzit. |
3
) Then you may kiss the strings.
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1.
Practice first before you start making real
tzitzit. Start by cutting your twine or kite
string into four pieces -- three short strings
measuring 40 inches in length, and one long
string measuring 60 inches in length. The
long string is called the shamash, or caretaker.
It will be used to wrap around the other strings.
2. Hold one end of all four strings together
evenly. Push them through the hole in your
small piece of cardboard. Pull the strings
until the cardboard is dividing the shorter
strings exactly in half. The shamash string
will remain longer on one side. This will
be the string you use to wrap around the other
strings. It may help you to remember which
string is the shamash by tying a single knot
at the bottom of its' long end.
3.
With the four short even strings in one hand
and the three short string and shamash in
the other, tie two knots about two inched
from the hole in the cardboard.
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In
order to fulfill the mitvah of tzitzit, it
is customary for you to say "l'shem
mitzvat" for the sake of the mitvah
each time you tie a knot.
4. Hold the shamash in one hand and the
other seven strings in the other. Tightly
wrap the shamash around the group of seven
strings seven times. Count the wraps very
carefully. Make sure that the wraps start
and end on the same side.
5. Continue wrapping and tying in the
same order seen in the illustration to the
right -- two knots followed by eight wraps,
two knots followed by eleven wraps, two knots
followed by thirteen wraps, and two knots.
Be sure to carefully check the number of wraps
before each pair of knots.
6. Traditionally, it's OK to even out
the ends of the strings by biting them off.
You don't have to on practice tzitzit, especially
if you've used jute or twine.
7. If you don't like your practice tzitzit,
do another one. If you're satisfied with the
practice version, you're ready to start on
the the real tzitzit. Begin by picking up
your scissors and carefully cutting very small
holes into the 4 corners of your tallit. Each
hole should be placed one inch from the vertical
edge and one inch from the horizontal edge.
8.
Repeat steps 1 through 6 for each of the four
tzitzit.
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