Is cotton Tzitzis kosher according to Halacha and could you make a Bracha on it?

 

Answer:

When one wears a woolen four-cornered garment, he is certainly fulfilling a Mitzvah Min Hatorah. However, when one wears a cotton four-cornered garment, there is a dispute as to whether he is fulfilling a Mitzvah Min Hatorah or Miderabanan. That is why it is generally preferred to wear woolen four-cornered garments, and this is Minhag Chabad.

Another dispute concerning a cotton four-cornered garment is whether one may attach to them Tzitzis strings made out of wool, or whether the strings must be made of cotton. The Alter Rebbe confirms that the custom is like the lenient opinion, but adds that every G-d fearing person should nevertheless be stringent and use only cotton Tzitzis strings on a cotton four-cornered garment. It must be noted that cotton Tzitzis strings are not commercially manufactured at present, which means that all cotton four-cornered garments available for purchase use woolen Tzitzis strings, and are thus not the ideal way of performing this Mitzvah.

In such a case of wool tzitzis on the cotton garment, a Bracha should ideally not be made on the tallis katan. However, there is room to justify the practice of those who make a bracha on it. (The Alter Rebbe says only “nachon hadavar”, not an issur. He doesn’t use the regular lashon of safek brachos lhakel, as we don’t hold that way, and it’s only a chumra. Furthermore, b’pashtus it’s only talking about when he has another proper tallis shel tzemer. In any event, the Alter Rebbe says that the minhag clearly is to put tzemar tzitzis in meshi. And in the place of a minhag, we don’t say safek brachos lhakel).

For both of these reasons, the Alter Rebbe states that one who wishes to keep this Mitzvah in the best way should ensure that both the four-cornered garment as well as the Tzitzis strings are made of wool.

 

 

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