Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

String Theory

January 1, 2026

Q One string of my tzitzis tore. Is it still kosher?

A Last week we noted that tzitzis strings should be 12 etzbaos (thumb-breadths) long, about 11.5 inches. The Gemara (Menachos 38b) says that if the strings were tied to a garment and later tore, the gardumim (remnants) are kosher if they retain kedei anivah (enough to make a bow; see below). To understand this Gemara, note that tzitzis are made by inserting four strings into each corner of the garment, but they hang from both sides of the hole, so they look like eight strings.

There are two main interpretations of the Gemara:

• According to the Rosh, even if all four strings tore, but each still has kedei anivah, the tzitzis is kosher. If even one string is shorter, it is pasul.
• Rabeinu Tam is more stringent and holds that the kedei anivah allowance is limited to two of the four strings; the other two must remain completely intact for the full 12 etzbaos.

If one of the eight fringes tears with less than kedei anivah remaining, all agree that it is kosher, because the other half of that string is intact, and that suffices. If two of them tear that way, all agree that it’s pasul, because they might be the two ends of the same string. If you’re sure they are different strings, it’s kosher according to all. (This is difficult to ascertain unless the tzitzis-maker was careful to keep each string on the same side along the entire gedil, as the Shulchan Aruch recommends in O.C. 12:1.)

If three strings tore and all retain kedei anivah, it’s kosher according to the Rosh but pasul according to Rabeinu Tam (unless you know that two of them are the same string.)

The Shulchan Aruch rules like the Rosh but considers it commendable to follow Rabeinu Tam’s view (O.C. 12:1). The Rama seems to incline toward Rabeinu Tam. Practically, the Biur Halacha and Aruch Hashulchan (12:8) rule that one may rely on the Rosh and even make a bracha on the tzitzis. But new tzitzis should be purchased at the earliest opportunity.

How long is kedei anivah? Various lengths are offered by the poskim; the conclusion of the Biur Halacha is to follow the stringent view that it is two etzbaos, about 1.5 to 2 inches; measure the free-hanging portion beyond the last knot (Shulchan Aruch ibid. 3, citing Rashi). Bedi’eved, if no other tzitzis is available, one can rely on the Ri, who measures from the first knot off the garment (ibid.), without making a bracha (Mishnah Brurah ibid. 13).

If even one string tears between the garment and the first knot, it is pasul, and the tzitzis must be removed immediately. (If you are in an embarrassing situation, certain leniencies may be relied upon.)

In certain cases, the torn ends may be tied together; the details are beyond the scope of this discussion.