Tzitzis & Small Children

 

Questions:

Taleisim Ktanim worn by small children go through the washing machine very often, this raises several questionable situations:

(1) the length of the strings somehow seem to “shrink” away [thus not necessarily remaining twice the length of the 5 knots],

(2) the strings are often unraveled,

(3) even when the 5th knot is still tightly in place, the loops/circles below it seem to be a wreck, moved far apart etc. (Is this last issue מעכב?)

(4) Should one be as concerned with the kashrus of a small child’s tzitzis as one would be for an adult? They’re anyways cotton, and anyways way smaller than the shiur of an amah (size 2, 3, etc, the smallest sizes).

It seems quite impractical to be concerned at that age unless one invests the money (to buy dozens of pairs), and time (to examine every pair after laundry, something that would anyways be routinely pushed off, in which case one surely wouldn’t want the child to go without any pair if there’s no clean one on hand -that’s been examined- when the child is being sent off to school in a hurry).

 

Answers:

1.

Please see here:

What is the minimum size a Tzitzis garment can be? and that of the Tzitzis strings?

 

2.

Unraveled strings are as if they are not there. However, if the string is only split into two separate strings (but each has not unraveled), there is room to be lenient especially for small children.

ראה שוע”ר סי’ יב ס”ז. אבל בסידור אינו מחלק. וראה בציונים והערות לשו”ע אדה”ז שם.

 

3.

It should be set back in place. If they are far apart, it is not an issue.

 

4.

According to many Poskim, the Mitzvah of Chinuch does not just mean that the child thinks that he is doing the Mitzvah, but he has to actually be doing it for real. Therefore, the child has to be given Tzitzis which are Kosher. If this is difficult, (e.g. it is very normal for young children to constantly rip their Tzitzis,) perhaps there is room to rely on the lenient opinions between the ages of three and six, given that Chinuch does not Halachically begin until the age of six anyway, See here:

What is the minimum size Tzitzis for children under Bar Mitzvah?

 

You can look into different options, like washing them in a sock bag or using a special magen Tzitzis.

They must be checked in order for them to make a Beracha on them.

ראה שוע”ר סי’ ח סט”ו. אבל בנדו”ד אין כאן חזקה ואדרבה.

 

 

 

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