Tzitziot (English)

You can choice for the 4 or 8 thread which are typically white:

You can choice for the 1 thread which is typically blue:

Composition: 100% cotton.

Hand made Tzitziot!

* Approximate measurements

Prayer shawl

A white prayer shawl, 100% cotton. 37” x 70” (aprox.) Lightweight and without holes for the tzitziot, they are integrated into the shawl. The tzitziot can be made following any of the traditions listed on this page.

Price:

• Prayer shawl: US$89 plus the delivery expenses
• Tzitziot: for free.

Background

The specified color in the Torah is the “techelet” color.  This color was a dye extracted from the blood of a mollusk called “kilazon”. This bluish-colored dye was very expensive. The romans (who conquered Israel in 63 BCE) decreed that only royalty, the “blue-blooded,” could wear garments of that color due to its high value. Consequently, Jewish experts in this field kept the knowledge secret. With the Arab conquest, the secret of “techelet” had already been lost around 639 CE. For this reason, some argue that, in the absence of the “techelet” color, the tzitzit (fringes) should be white (Rambam, Hilkhot Tzitzit 1:5). However, this is a human conclusion, not one found in the Torah. Generally, there are two factions among Jews on this issue: one that supports the use of blue, and another that maintains that it should only be white in the absence of the exact “techelet” color.

On the other hand, Rashi states that the gematria, that is, the numerical value of the Hebrew word “Tzitzit” (צִיצִית), is 600.

El color indicado en la Torá es el color de “tejélet”. Tal color era una tintura extraída de la sangre de un molusco llamado “jilazón”. Dicha tintura con tonalidad azulosa era muy cara. Debido a su gran  valor, los romanos (quienes conquistaron Israel en el año 63 AEC) decretaron que sólo la realeza “de sangre azul” podía usar prendas de dicho color. En consecuencia los especialistas judíos en la materia se ocultaron. Entorno al año 639 EC, cuando la conquista árabe, el secreto del “tejélet” ya se había perdido. Por esta causa, algunos señalan que ante la ausencia del color “tejélet”, los Tzitziot deben ser de color blanco (Rambam, Hijilot Tzitzit 1:5). Sin embargo, eso es conclusión humana, no indicada en la Torá. Hay en general dos bandos entre los judíos, uno que defiende el uso del azul y otro que defiende que sólo debe ser blanco en ausencia del color exacto que era el “tejélet”.

Rashi, por su parte dice que la gematría, es decir, el valor numérico de la palabra “Tzitzit” en hebreo (צִיצִית) es 600:

    צִ =  90

+  י  =  10

+  צִ =  90

+  י  =  10

+ ת = 400

________

   600

Furthermore, he states that by adding the 8 threads and the 5 knots to the “Tzitzit” gematria, we have a total of: 600 + 8 + 5 = 613. This corresponds to the 613 mitzvot, or commandments/instructions.

However, the previous hypothesis, although widely accepted and often used, is untenable. The following image is a fragment from the Complutensian Polyglot Bible. It shows the word “Tzitzit” in Hebrew written in the Torah, but one “yod” (י) letter it is missing:

The Complutensian Polyglot Bible is shown as an example of an ancient text, as it is not subject to copyright restrictions. However, the same phenomenon is observed in all versions of the Torah: in each case, the second “yod” (י) letter is missing.

Therefore, Rashi’s calculation is missing 10 units.

For the reasons mentioned above, you will find Tzitziot with 8 white threads instead of 3, and one blue thread, available at www.escuchalapalabra.com.

In this way, we obtain 16 white ends instead of only 6. By adding the blue thread, we get a total of 18 ends instead of 8. With this, we now have that the word “Tzitzit” has a gematria value of 590; we add 18 thread ends and 5 knots, for a total of 613.

Alternatively, if you prefer, you can find the traditional ones with only 3 white threads.

On the other hand, in the entire America, from Argentina to Alaska, cotton is used much more frequently than wool in clothing. Therefore, you can find cotton tzitziot (fringes) at the moment at www.escuchalapalabra.com.

Finally, there are several coding systems used to indicate the number of twists of the blue thread:

The first one that many people think of is:

10, 5, 6, 5; which is the gematria of the tetragrammaton: יְהוָֹה (YHVH) (Sephardic tradition)

However, for many, it is preferable not to wear the name of the Eternal God, given the risk that if one is careless, the name of the Lord could end up on the floor or become soiled. For example, if someone wears a Katan tallit and the “Tzitzitot” are hanging down while they are in the restroom, they could accidentally get splashed. Therefore, for many, this is a responsibility that they prefer to avoid.

Another common one is:

7, 8, 11, 13; where 7 is “sheva,” the number seven in Hebrew. It symbolizes the Shabbat, the creation, the sabbatical year, etc. 8 represents new beginnings. At the same time 7 + 8 = 15, which is the gematria for the יְה “YH” which is 10+5 = 15. Then, when that 15 is followed by 11, the Name is completed, 11 is the gematria for וָֹה “VH”, the last two letters of the name of God. And 13 because that one is the gematria of “Echad” (אֶחָד; 1 + 8 + 4), recalling the Shema Israel pray. (Ashkenazi tradition)

The “Escucha la palabra” proposal:

10, 5, 13, 7; thus encoding the contraction of the Name of God with the letters Yod (י; 10) and Hey (ה; 5). It sounds as “Yah” (יָה) followed by Echad (13; אֶחָד). Followed by sheva, 7; regarding the Shabbat, the creation, the sabbatical year, etc.

However, you can also get a “traditional” coding.

Examples