Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Orach Chaim/11
11: The Laws of the Fringe Strings.
1 The strings have to be spun for their purpose.
(Gloss: And some are stringent to even comb them for their purpose. And the custom is to be lenient regarding combing) (Mordechai and Agudah, Section 23) That he should say at the start of the spinning that he is doing it for the purpose of fringes. Or that he should say to the woman: "spin me fringes for a shawl." And if they were not spun for their purpose, they are unfit.
2 If they are spun by a heathen and a Jew stands behind him and tells him to make the strings for its purpose, they are unacceptable according to Maimonides and acceptable according to Rabbi Asher. Gloss: And it is our custom that the Jew should help a bit as stated below, Chapter 32, Paragraph 9, and in Yoreh Deah, Chapter 171, regarding tefillin and a Torah scroll. And they require interweaving. And that the interweaving must be done for their purpose.
3 If the interwoven threads separated and they became 16, they are acceptable, and that is when it remains interwoven enough for a loop. [Gloss: And for best observance, it's good to tie a knot on the strings below; as below in paragraph 14 in this chapter. [Beis Yosef in the name of the Rokeach].
4 The length of the 8 strings should not be less than 4 thumb-widths, and there are those that say 12 thumb-widths, and that is the custom. And the upper bound has no measurement. [Gloss: And if the length was made longer than necessary, one is able to cut it and there is no concern for "you should make, and it should not be made"] [Mordechai in H"K]. One of the strings should be longer, in order to wrap the fringe with it; that's that part of the tzitzit that is not combined. Gloss: And the aforementioned measurement is for the tzitzit after they are tied, excluding that which is left on the corner of the garment. (reasoning of the Beit Yosef).
5 One should not make tzitzit from the wool that became attached with thorns when the sheep were lying between them, and not from the hairs that were plucked from the animal, and not from the remnants of the woof that the weaver leaves over at the end of the garment; and the reason is because of embarrassment to the commandment.
6
If he made them from stolen wool, they are invalid, since it is written "and it should be made for them" – from that which is theirs.
Gloss: And this is precisely that the strings were stolen, but if the wool was stolen, and it was made into strings, it is valid, however, from the outset, it is forbidden to do that [Beis Yosef in the name of Nimukei Yosef in the laws of tzitzit] [And with regards to a blessing, see later on at the beginning of chapter 649]. See what is written at the beginning of chapter 15.
7 Borrowed strings – they are a loan that the object is not returned, and they are considered his.
8 One who bows to an animal, its wool is invalid for tzitzit. One who bows to planted flax, it is valid for tzitzit because they were changed.
9 He makes a hole in the length of the talit not above 3 fingerbreadths [which are the thumbs] (Kol Bo, chapter 22, and Maimonides and Hagahot SM"K chapter 31) because it is not called the corner. And not below the measurement from the joint of the thumb until the end of its fingernail, because it says "on the corner" and if it were to be below the full joint of the the thumb, it would be below the corner. Gloss: And this measurement is the straight measurement and not the diagonal from the corner (Beis Yosef).
10 If it was further from the corner, the measurement of the full knuckle of the thumb, and the fabric was torn from the strings until this measurement no longer remained, it is valid, since it had the correct measurement at the time that these tzitzit were placed on it. Gloss: And we are accustomed to make a rim around the hole so that it shouldn't tear there and be less than the correct measurement. And so too, we make a rim on the edges of the garment below because of this reasoning (Beis Yosef in the name of SM"K and Kol Bo). There are those that say that with the width of the garment there is no measurement, and there are those that say that the law of the width of the garment is the same law as the length, and their words seem correct.
11 If the corner, what we call אורילייו, is wide, tzitzit shouldn’t be put on it. And if one did put on it, it is invalid since it is written "on the corner of their garments" and this is not considered from the garment. But it is counted for the measurement of the joint of the thumb and for the distance of 3 fingers since the hole is in the garment. Gloss: And it is good to measure the joint of the thumb without the fringes and it should be within 3 fingers including the fringe (Beis Yosef in the name of Rashi and Rabbi Shlomo ibn Aderet).
12 The number of the tzitzit threads on all corners is four strings folded over, which is eight. If more were added, they are invalid. One should trim the tips of the four threads then insert them in the corner. And should double them over and then there will be 8.
13 One should be careful the cut the tips of the threads into 8 before wrapping them. For if he wrapped even one hulya (meaning the part of the tzitzit that is between one knot and another) and tied even one knot and afterwards cut them, this is invalid because of "do, and not from which has been done" since they were made defective.
14
One should take 4 threads from this side and 4 threads from the other side and tie them two times, making a double knot. And afterwards, he should wrap the long thread around the seven with a few wraps and make a double knot. And should repeat and wrap. And this should be repeated until five double knots are made with four spaces between them filled with windings. There is no set measurement for the windings other than that all the wrapping and the knots should be four thumb widths wide and the protruding threads eight thumb widths.
(Gloss: And if the tzitzit are longer, one should make sure that one the tassels should be one third of the length and the branch should be two thirds) (Maimonides, chapter 1).
It is the custom to have 7 wrappings in the first space, and 9 in the second, and 11 in the third, and 13 in the fourth, which all add up to forty, as the numerical value of "God is one", which equal 39, and with the Name, are forty. It is customary to tie a knot at the end of every thread so that they should remain intertwined.
15 There are those who require the tzitzit to hang by the length of the talit since they must drop on the angle (meaning "hung on the angle"). And if it would be on its width, they would not drop but would hang facing the ground. Some say that no material should be in the holes of the talit containing the tzitzit. And there are those who do allow, and so is the custom.