Shulchan Arukh Orach Chayim · Siman 10

Shulchan Arukh Orach Chayim 10 — English translation

Translation: Wikisource Shulchan Aruch. Section numbers match the Hebrew text above.

1. 1A tallit with less than four corners is exempt [from the requirement of tzitzit ]. One with more than four corners requires tzitzit, and they should be put on the four corners that are the furthest from each other.
2. 2If a tallit has four corners and one gets cut off crosswise to make two, this has now made it a five-cornered garment which requires tzitzit.
3. 3If one folds the corners of his tallit and ties them up or sews them and it looks like it has been trimmed and no longer has corners, even so it is not exempt [from tzitzit].
4. 4A tallit made of cloth with corners made of leather requires tzitzit, while one made of leather with corners made of cloth is exempt.
5. 5A tallit with three corners on which one has put three tzitzit [one on each corner] and then made a fourth corner and put tzitzit on it too, it is invalid because of the rule of "ta'aseh velo min he'asuy," (lit. "you shall make, and not from that which is already made" - which requires one to actively make the tzitzit rather than have them passively made).
6. 6One should not fold the tallit and put tzitzit on the corners that result from folding [Rem"a: But one must put tzitzit on the four extreme corners (ie. the four original corners)][Beit Yosef] unless it is entirely sewn up... even on one side. [Rem"a: And there are those who say tzitzit are required even without it being sewn up and it is good to put tzitzit on such a garment, but one should not make a blessing on it."] [The Rif, the Rosh and the Tur]. . If one hangs tzitzit on a garment which already has tzitzit, if it is his intention to nullify the first, one cuts the first off and it is then valid, but if his intention was to simply add, then even though he cut either of them, it is invalid. [Rem"a: "And there are those who allow it to be done in any way and this is the main opinion], but before the first one is cut it is invalid regardless of how it was done.]
7. 7[Regarding] Garments which are open from the sides down and have four corners on the lower part but on the upper part they are closed: if the majority is closed they are exempt [from tzitzit] while if the majority is open they require tzitzit. And if half is open and half is closed one treats it stringently and it requires tzitzit, but one must not go out [in public domain] wearing it on the Sabbath.
8. 8A "kapa" [Ladino: overcoat] which is open, in a way in which it has four corners: if one has affixed "astringa" [Ladino: strings with metal at the ends used to fasten various articles of clothing] to close it up in order to exempt it from tzitzit, it is ineffective unless it fastens for at least half the length and down to the bottom and should also be fastened below the belt in order that the majority should be closed, a majority that appears to the eyes; if not, it is forbidden because of "marit ayin" [literally: how it looks; the term is used to forbid something that is technically allowed, but resembles a forbidden activity to a viewer, lest someone see and conclude that the forbidden activity is in fact permissible]
9. 9The corners must be squared off and not rounded.
10. 10A turban is exempt, even those from the Western lands where both its ends are tossed over their shoulders and body... and even though one covers with it one's head and the majority [of his body], it is exempt, because its main purpose is to cover the head, and "your garment" (Deuteronomy 22:12) is written in the Torah, and not the garment of the head.
11. 11A shawl that is worn on the neck [by the people living] in the kingdom of the land of Israel, which is called in Arabic Shid , and so too a Buka which was worn in Spain over their shoulders, are exempt.
12. 12Egyptian garments called Guchash and so too Mintin'ish, and Dulaman'ish, and Kaftan'ish, and Phirig'ish from Turkey... even if they have four corners, they are exempt. Rem"a: So too with the garments of the regions of the people of Ashkenaz and Spain, since their corners are not fashioned in a manner that places two before them and two behind them, aligned one opposite the other, they are exempt.

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