Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Fringe Fabrics

June 25, 2026

Q Do leather or synthetic four-cornered garments require tzitzis?

A Wool and linen are obligated in tzitzis mideOreisa, and there is a machlokess in the Gemara (Menachos 39b) whether other fabrics are obligated mideOreisa or mideRabanan. The Mechaber (O.C. 9:1) rules that it is mideOreisa, but the Rama rules that it is mideRabanan. The Mishnah Brurah (ibid. 5) recommends that a yerei Shamayim wear a woolen tallis katan and tallis gadol in order to fulfill the mitzvah mideOreisa according to all.

But only a beged is subject to the mitzvah, and beged means a fabric made from woven threads, so leather is excluded (O.C. 10:4; Levush). This is also explicit in the Torah itself, which says (Vayikra 13:49) “beged o or (a garment or leather),” indicating that these are distinct categories (Aruch Hashulchan 10:9).

Even if leather is cut into thin strips that are then woven into a garment, it is exempt from tzitzis (Igros Moshe O.C. 2:1). Conversely, wool, linen, cotton, and other natural fibers, even if not woven but matted and pressed into felt (leved)—like some sweaters and high-end coats—are nonetheless considered beged and are obligated in tzitzis if they have four corners (Lehoros Nasan 2:3).

Recent poskim debated whether synthetics like nylon, polyester, and polyethylene are like leather or like natural textiles. On the one hand, synthetics, like leather, begin as a unified substance (petroleum). Though they are later processed into threads and woven, is this different from cutting leather into strips? On the other hand, processing synthetics into threads and weaving them into fabric is standard practice today, unlike weaving leather.

R’ Moshe Feinstein (ibid.) rules that synthetic fabrics are exempt from tzitzis. R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Halichos Shlomo 3:16) says that a garment made from a sheet of unprocessed, unwoven nylon is exempt, but one made from woven nylon thread is obligated. R’ Shlomo Zalman says that the bracha on tzitzis may be made on a synthetic garment, but many disagree; a rav should be asked.

If the fabric is a blend of natural and synthetic fibers, its status follows the majority of its composition (Biur Halacha ibid.), but it is preferable to ensure that one’s tallis katan is entirely wool or cotton (see ibid.).