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I just learned a pretty shocking Halacha, and I am wondering if anyone else is familiar with this, or has heard of it before.
Apparently, the shaarei teshuva brings down in hilchos tzitzis, that it is an issur dirabanan to separate tzitzis string on shabbos when they are intertangled.
This is. rought down by the shmiras shabbos kihilchoso, in the new edition its on page 231, perek tes vav, seif 94, who quotes the shaarei teshuva that says it is assur.
This would mean that playing with tzitzis, and running our fingers through them while we schmooze, etc, would be an issur dirabanan, and in shul, may be considered chillul shabbos bifarhesya.
It would literally be no different to pick up a guitar and start playing, which is also a derabanan of mitaken mana.
It would be worse than walking around with your cellphone in your hand, because some opinions hold that muktzah is just to prevent a non shabbosdik atmosphere.Seemingly, it would be like having a business open on shabbos, also a dirabanan.
Is anyone familiar with this? Is anyone familiar of opinions who disagree?
Thanks
R’ Ovadia held that you can (and should) separate the strings on shabbat except for the first time wearing the tallit – if it is on shabbat you cannot separate the strings. I am going off of memory so I do not have a source. Sorry.
Separating tzitzis is not the same as playing with them.
It says in SA O’CH (8,7) to separate the tzitzis. Therefore, shabbos might be a finishing touch or makeh bepatish, mesaken rabbinically. The Yabia Omer (5,3) says, as besalel above, that it only applies the first time as if done once, it is complete. According to this, certainly playing around would not be assur.
If an entangled, maybe do it with a shinuy by shaking it.Deliberately separating them is forbidden, at least according to some opinions. Merely playing with them should be fine; if they happen to become separated in the process it was unintentional and therefore not a problem. There is no reason to invent a new gezera to avoid it.
It shouldn’t be so hard to simply not “play’ with your tzitzis during davening if you really are serious about equating an inadvertent disentanglement to opening you business on shabbos.
See the MB, Biur Halacha and Sharei Teshuva in above SA O’CH (8,7) there.
Am I the only one who thinks this whole “equating” idea is foolish?
See the Biur Halacha there from the GRA’s view. Playing is not a pesik resheh so its a safek pesik resheh miderabonon is mutar and certainly if only the first time.
Ashkenazim also hold it is forbidden to put your fingers through your tzitzis on shabbos for the melacha of unknotting on shabbos which is one of the 39 melachos.
What you might not know is the middle lane…. Some people just on shabbos when they put on their tallis and make the Bracha they just put their fingers between EACH SET OF STRINGS versus during the week when a person’s fingers go into the middle of each corner set in order to get the strings untied. Thus when you are just going by the group between each corners set of strings on shabbos they may in fact still be knotted up on the middle of the 8 strings since a person’s fingers only went between the 4 corners stick of strings
Why are they not equatable?
Why are you equating them? What’s the purpose?
The issur is separating TANGLED strings. But running your fingers through strands that are not tangled, or even that are only loosely intermingled but fall apart effortlessly does not fall into this issur.
(Though there are those who say that touching or moving ANYTHING mindlessly without any Shabbos purpose, may present it’s own problems (muktzeh and others).)
kesiva v’chasimah tovah
Sam Klein, bemechilas kovad tarohsa, you don’t know whqt you are talking about. Rav Ovadyah Yosef above would not be matir one of the 39 melochos of unknotting. The question is if considered mesaken miderabonon. Moving the fingers does not unknot when permanently tied.
I would imagine playing with your tzitzit is in the category of מתעסק and would be permitted in all circumstances according to all of the דעות irrespective of whether separating the strings is permitted or not (see the last few lines of masechet shabbat, as an example).
Rav Ovadyah above says that the entanglement is not permanent and stands to be opened, so untying prohibition does not apply.
Dear Meno,
You could be the only one who thinks equating them is foolish. I thought it was worse than that.
Having one string above another is not a situation of entanglement. That’s what happens when people have a poor understanding of English.
From the Oxford dictionary online: Entangle:to cause something to become caught in something such as a net or ropes”. Here, the tzitzit are not caught in anything.Separately, I’ll take Nomesorah’s wise words a bit further. Equating all d’rabonons is wrong and dangerous.
On this we say:
תלמוד בבלי מסכת עירובין דף יד עמוד ב
אמר ליה רב חנן לאביי; הלכתא מאי? אמר ליה: פוק חזי מאי עמא דבר.Go and see how the nation speaks. Explains Rashi how the nation behaves.
Entanglement is what often occurs after you wash tzitzis. Other than that, it would be unusual for them to become entangled.
Tbe Biur Halacha 8,7 explains from the Magen Avraham that currently since no techeles, separation is not realy necessary, so no mesaken mana applies whereas the GRA argues, so it might be assur according to him. The question is can you make a bracha on a talis if not separated?
The question is if it is forbidden. You are getting entangled in the wrong question.
n0mesorah, the two questions are related. If you cannot make a bracha, it is forbidden being a mesaken.
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