Q&A: Body Tzitzit Undershirt
Body Tzitzit Undershirt
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Regarding the tzitzit undershirt (called “Guf-Tzitzit”), on the site they write that it has openings on the sides for most of its height up to the shoulder. In your opinion, is such a garment obligated in tzitzit by Torah law? And in general, is there any preference for regular tzitzit, or is a body-tzitzit undershirt also fine?
Answer
Why not? If it is cut in such a way that it has four corners, then it is obligated in tzitzit by Torah law. On the contrary, unlike the tzitzit we usually wear, which is just a square piece of cloth, here this is actually a shirt with four corners.
Discussion on Answer
I didn’t understand the question. Don’t those sizes exceed the halakhic minimum?
https://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/55953
Apparently they do not have a cubit in front, but if you go by three-quarters of a cubit, then maybe they do.
Maimonides has a different approach on this issue, and it is doubtful whether according to him there is even such a thing as a small tallit at all, so he is not the right source for this matter.
Regarding the size of the tzitzit garment (the available sizes are S/M/L etc.), Maimonides writes:
“A garment that a person is obligated to put tzitzit on by Torah law is a garment that has four corners, or more than four, and its size must be enough to cover the head and most of the body of a child who can walk by himself in the marketplace and does not need another person to watch him and walk with him.”
Is there a problem with taking a tzitzit garment in size S or M because it is below the size that is obligated by Torah law? Or perhaps one only needs to make sure there is one cubit in front?