Tzitzit precursor and method therefor
A method of tying tzitzit including forming a tzitzit precursor that comprises unfinished knots separated by groups of windings.
The present invention relates generally to tzitzit for four cornered garments.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONTzitzit (also referred to as tzitzis or tzitzith, depending on the locale and dialect) are strings used in carrying out a positive commandment from the Torah, or Bible. The commandment requires tying a set of strings to each of the four corners of a four cornered garment. The commandment is set forth in the Books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, and its laws are expounded in the Tractate Menachot of the Babylonian Talmud and codified in the halachic (Jewish Law) work, the Shulchan Aruch, in the section of Orach Chaim.
As defined in Jewish Law, tzitzit comprises four strings placed through a hole (or two holes according to some customs) formed near the corner edges of the four cornered garment. The strings are tied into a (double) knot and one of the strings is wound about the others so as to form a series of windings separated from each other by a (double) knot. In general, there are a total of five double knots spaced by four groups of windings. The remaining lengths of the strings dangle downwards from the last double knot. Since the four strings have been doubled over in the tying process, there are eight strings that hang downwards from the last knot in the finished tzitzit.
There are many requirements that must be followed in order for tzitzit to be valid. One of the requirements is that the tzitzit be tied on the garment. That is, one cannot pre-form or pre-tie tzitzit on a piece of cloth and then sew that cloth with the ready-made tzitzit on to the four cornered garment. Rather a positive action must be performed on the strings so as to tie the tzitzit to the garment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention seeks to provide a novel tzitzit precursor, that is, pre-formed tzitzit, which although being pre-formed, still enable fulfilling the requirement of being positively tied on to the four cornered garment, as is described more in detail hereinbelow. Tying the tzitzit precursors of the present invention on to a four cornered garment may significantly reduce the time for tying tzitzit (in some cases, perhaps ten times less than the normal time). It may also be tied by someone not necessarily skilled in tying regular tzitzit.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the method of tying tzitzit includes tying tzitzit strings in a noose-like manner that comprises knots separated by groups of windings. The tzitzit strings may be first placed through a hole in a four cornered garment before tying them. Alternatively, the tzitzit strings may be placed through the hole in the four cornered garment after forming at least one knot.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:
Reference is now made to
Initially, four strings 10 may be placed on a mandrel 12. The strings 10, as is well known in the art, are generally made of wool, which may be specially carded and spun by hand. One of the strings is generally longer than the other three, and is referred to hereafter as the winder string 10. The mandrel 12 may be made of any suitable material, such as but not limited to, metal, plastic, wood, bone, ceramic and the like. The mandrel 12 may be formed with a passageway 14 for eventually passing the strings 10 therethrough. For example, without limitation, passageway 14 may take the form of a lumen 16 formed through the length of the mandrel 12. As another example, passageway 14 may be an aperture 18 formed at one end of the mandrel 12, resembling the eye of a needle.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The process may then repeat itself so as to form a finished tzitzit precursor 33 (
It is important to note that the tzitzit precursor 33 does not consist of finished knots or tzitzit, rather it comprises unfinished knots, which may be unstable. By “unstable, unfinished knot” it is meant that if the tzitzit precursor 33 were pulled it would come apart. For example, the illustrated tzitzit precursor 33 is a noose (or equivalent non-knot). Thus, even though the tzitzit precursor 33 is pre-formed, it still can and must be actively tied on to a four cornered garment to become a series of stable, finished knots, thereby fulfilling one of the halachic requirements of tzitzit, as is now described.
It is further noted the pre-knots do not have to be pre-double-knots. For example, the first and last knots may be looped and formed as pre-single-knots, and the person tying the tzitzit precursor to the four cornered garment finishes tying these into double knots.
Referring to
It is appreciated that various features of the invention which are, for clarity, described in the contexts of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination.
Claims
1. A method of tying tzitzit comprising:
- forming a tzitzit precursor that comprises unfinished knots separated by groups of windings.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising tying the tzitzit precursor on a four cornered garment to form a series of stable, finished double knots separated by the groups of windings.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein forming the tzitzit precursor comprises winding four strings about a mandrel into unfinished knots separated by the groups of windings.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein tying the tzitzit precursor on the four cornered garment comprises passing the strings through a hole formed in the four cornered garment and through a passageway formed in the mandrel, separating the tzitzit precursor from the mandrel, and tightening the strings to form finished tzitzit.
5. The method according to claim 3, wherein winding the four strings about the mandrel forms a noose.
6. A tzitzit precursor that comprises unfinished knots separated by groups of windings.
7. The tzitzit precursor according to claim 6, wherein the unfinished knots and the groups of windings comprise four strings wrapped and looped about a mandrel.
8. The tzitzit precursor according to claim 7, wherein said mandrel is formed with a passageway for passing the strings therethrough.
9. The tzitzit precursor according to claim 8, wherein said passageway includes a lumen formed through a length of the mandrel.
10. The tzitzit precursor according to claim 8, wherein said passageway includes an aperture formed at one end of the mandrel.
11. A method of tying tzitzit comprising:
- tying tzitzit strings in a noose-like manner that comprises knots separated by groups of windings.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the tzitzit strings are first placed through a hole in a four cornered garment before tying them.
13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the tzitzit strings are placed through a hole in a four cornered garment after forming at least one knot.
Type: Application
Filed: May 10, 2005
Publication Date: Nov 17, 2005
Inventor: Aharon Follman (Jerusalem)
Application Number: 11/125,218