Menachot 41b (מא:) — the Talmud in English

provided that it is not severed

rather, all its threads must be intact 69.

And one should not disqualify it on account of the principle: “you shall make it, and not from that which is already made,” since one must return and wind it and repair it in the second garment as it was initially; and this is its making.

And we say:

Learn from this:

from the law stated by the beraita concerning one who brings tekhelet from elsewhere and attaches it to the garment, that they

permit

tzitzit

from one garment to another

and did not prohibit it on account of disrespect, as he thereby disgraces the first tallit.

And we reject this:

Perhaps

in truth, the law is that one may not transfer tzitzit from one garment to another because of the disrespect shown to the first garment, and the beraita that permits it is speaking

when

it is worn out

[that the first tallit has become worn out] and is no longer fit to be worn; in such a case, there is no disrespect in removing the tzitzit.

The Sages taught: A tallit that is entirely

dyed

with tekhelet, all types of

threads

of other colors exempt it,

for fulfilling the mitzva of white. Since they derived from the verse “and they shall place upon the tzitzit of the corner” that the tzitzit must be of the same kind as the corner, and in a garment of tekhelet it is impossible to provide tzitzit that are tekhelet like the color of the corner, since two kinds—white and tekhelet—are required, and since in any event the white is not of the same kind as the corner, one may place threads of any colors in it.

Except for kela ilan

which is a dye resembling tekhelet but is not valid for tekhelet. Nevertheless, they prohibited placing kela ilan in a tekhelet garment even for the mitzva of white, since everything appears to be the color of tekhelet, and it is not apparent that there are two colors here for fulfilling the mitzva of white and tekhelet. 70.

And we challenge this:

It was objected: A tallit is exempted only by [threads of] its own kind

for if it is red, he should place red tzitzit in it and likewise, with a tallit of other colors, its tzitzit should be the same color as it, so that the tzitzit is of the same kind as the corner [and he should place two additional tekhelet threads in it]. And

a tallit that is entirely tekhelet—he brings

two threads of

tekhelet and something else

for the sake of white

and attaches them to it. But he should not bring kela ilan; and if he brought it, it is valid.

This is difficult, for in the earlier beraita it says that all types of colored threads exempt it except kela ilan, implying that even after the fact it is ineffective, whereas here it says: “And if he brought it, it is valid”!

And we answer:

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: This is not difficult.

Here, it is referring to a tallit with four threads,

and therefore it is invalid even after the fact, since there are not two types of color here;

and here,

the beraita that validates it after the fact is speaking

of a tallit with eight threads,

half tekhelet and half white. He wishes to add four more threads to it, and the law is that he should not do so initially, lest he sell it to another person as this tallit, and that person assume that they are tekhelet, remove them from here, and place them in another garment in place of tekhelet together with white, thereby failing to fulfill the obligation of tekhelet. Nevertheless, if he brought kela ilan and placed it in the garment, it is valid after the fact, since this tallit was already exempted by four threads of tekhelet and something else.

And we say:

Learn from this

from the law that it is prohibited initially to add threads of kela ilan to the tzitzit, out of concern that one might remove the tzitzit from this garment and place them in another garment, that they

permit

tzitzit

from one garment to another 72.

And we reject this:

Perhaps

it is prohibited initially to remove tzitzit from one garment to another, and nevertheless they were concerned because

if he did so!

It was stated: Rav said: One may not remove

tzitzit

from one garment to another. And Shmuel said: One may remove

tzitzit

from one garment to another. 73.

Rav and Shmuel also disagreed regarding the following:

Rav said: One may not light

the Hanukkah lamp

from one lamp to another, and Shmuel said: One may light from one lamp to another.

Rav and Shmuel also disagreed in the laws of Shabbat concerning the dispute between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Shimon regarding an unintended act on Shabbat—for example, dragging a bench in a place where there is concern that he may make a furrow in the ground and thereby violate the prohibition of plowing. Rabbi Shimon permits this, since his intention is only to drag the bench and he does not intend to make a furrow; an unintended act is permitted. Rabbi Yehuda maintains that even if he does not intend to do so, it is nevertheless prohibited. Rav and Shmuel disagreed with regard to the halakha:

Rav said: The halakha is not in accordance with Rabbi Shimon with regard to

the law of

dragging, and Shmuel said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Shimon with regard to dragging.

Abaye said: In every matter of the master

[Rabba]

he acted in accordance with Rav,

[in all his rulings, Rabba ruled and acted in accordance with Rav]

except for these three

laws

in which he acted in accordance with Shmuel.

And these are:

One may remove

tzitzit

from one garment to another. And one may light from one lamp

to another. And the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Shimon with regard to dragging.

And the law of dragging is the one

as it is taught in a beraita: Rabbi Shimon says: A person may drag a bed, chair, or bench, provided that he does not intend to make a furrow.

The Gemara returns to discuss the concerns that perhaps kela ilan will be placed in the tzitzit in place of tekhelet. Some were concerned about this even when one gives his tallit to a launderer, lest a tekhelet thread become detached and the launderer place kela ilan in its place. 74.

And we say:

Rav Yehuda

was not concerned about this, and he

gave it

his tallit

to the launderer

[the launderer]. But

Rav Ḥanina

was concerned, and

he made it into a bundle.

That is, when he gave his tallit to the launderer, he folded it into the form of a bundle so that no threads would be detached from the tallit.

Ravina sewed them with a needle.

He made a kind of hem for his tallit, concealed the threads inside it, and sewed the hem so that the threads would not be torn.

The Sages taught: How many threads does he place

in the tzitzit?

Beit Shammai say: Four

threads; he places them in the corner of the tallit and folds them to make eight.

And Beit Hillel say: Three

threads; he places them in the corner of the tallit and folds them to make six.

And how long must it be braided?

That is, how long must the anaf—the threads hanging beyond the end of the knots of the tzitzit [after the wound section]—be?

? Beit Shammai say: Four

fingerbreadths.

And Beit Hillel say: Three

fingerbreadths.

And the three

fingerbreadths

that Beit Hillel said

are measured such that each finger is

one of four in the handbreadth of every person,

for each finger measures one-quarter of a handbreadth.

Rav Pappa said: A Torah-defined handbreadth

is composed of

four

parts

in a thumbbreadth.

If one divides a handbreadth into thumbbreadths, one finds that it contains four thumbbreadths; and it is composed of

six

parts

in a

finger

of the small

[little finger], for if one divides a handbreadth into little-finger widths, one finds that it contains six such widths. And it is composed of

five

parts

in a finger and one-third,

for if one divides it into fingerbreadths, one finds that it contains five and one-third fingerbreadths.

Rav Huna said:

He places

four

threads in the tallit, in accordance with Beit Shammai, and places them

within four

fingerbreadths from the edge of the corner, so that he does not distance them from the edge by more than this.

And

it must be

braided to a length of four!

The length of the anaf must be four fingerbreadths.

And Rav Yehuda said:

He places

three

threads

within three

fingerbreadths from the edge of the anaf, and it shall be

braided to a length of three,

in accordance with Beit Hillel.

Rav Pappa said: The halakha is:

He places

four

threads

within three

fingerbreadths from the edge of the garment, and it shall be

braided to a length of four. 76.

And we challenge this:

Does this mean that they have a prescribed measure

for the threads of the tzitzit?

And we juxtapose

a contradiction to this from what we learned in a beraita:

As it is taught: Since it is stated

“tzitzit,”

I know that

“tzitzit” means something that protrudes.

And tzitzit means something minimal.

The meaning of the word tzitzit indicates that the tzitzit must hang and protrude slightly from the corner.

The elders of Beit Shammai and the elders of Beit Hillel had already ascended to the upper chamber of Yonatan ben Beteira and said: “Tzitzit has no measure. Similarly, a lulav has no measure.”

Does this not mean

that the intention is that

it has no measure whatsoever?

This is difficult, since the dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel above proves that everyone agrees that there is a measure for the length of the threads; they differ only as to what that measure is?