(For the riddles, please see back page)
1) See the Devar Torah titled “Climbing the Ladder”.
2) The Kotzker Rebbe answers that by repeating the statement of the giants, the spies revealed that they cared about how others viewed them and talked about them. A person's sole focus should be on doing what is right, and as long as he does so, he should ascribe no significance to the opinions of others. (Amud HaEmes)
3) The Rema (21:3) writes: “Some write that the custom is not to lay down on a tallis which has tzitzis, or to give it to a non-Jew to wash. The reason for these customs is in order not to disgrace the mitzvah, however, the custom is to be lenient with laying down on a tallis.”
The Beis Yosef (Orach Chaim 21) writes: He never saw or heard anyone be careful about not giving their tallis to a non-Jew to wash.
The Elyah Rabbah (siman 21) asks why the Levush omits this halachah of not giving a tallis to a non-Jewish launderette.
The Elyah Rabbah answers that the Levush holds that when the Rema writes “the custom is to be lenient with laying down on a tallis” it applies to giving the tallis to a non-Jew as well, and we are lenient in both areas.
The Mishnah Berurah (21 s.k. 17) writes that some are stringent about having their tallis washed by a non-Jew, and they make sure to untie the tzitzis strings before giving it over to the non-Jew.
The Shu”t Shevet HaKehasi (4:9) writes that when there is no other option one can rely on the lenient opinions, especially nowadays when generally speaking washing is done with a machine, and the non-Jew doesn’t really touch the tallis or the tzitzis at all. Even if the pressing/ironing is done by hand, it isn’t the same level of disgrace as it used to be, where throughout the entire process the non-Jew would be touching the tallis with his hands.
The Eishel Avraham (Butchatch, siman 21) writes: The words of the Rema in the name of the Kol-Bo are referring to a tallis gadol, however, when it comes to a tallis kotan there is no reason to be stringent and one may lechatchilah give it over to a non-Jew.
4) In this week’s parsha we have the pasuk:
ועשו להם ציצית על כנפי בגדיהם וגו 'ונתנו על ציצית הכנף פתיל תכלת.
The Sifri darshens:
נתנו על ציצית הכנף למה נאמר לפי שהוא אומר ועשו להם ציצית שומע אני יארגנה עמה תלמוד לומר ונתנו הא כיצד תופרה עמה .
“’You shall place tzitzis on the corner’ why does it say this? Because it says, ‘you shall make tzitzis’ one may think that one shall weave the tzitzis together with the garment, therefore, it says “you shall place” to teach you that it can be sewn on afterwards.” Seemingly we see from this Sifri that one may sew the tzitzis strings onto his tallis instead of tying them.
The sefer Vayedaber Moshe brings that he heard from the mechaber of the sefer Yalkut Eliezer in the name of R’ Nota Wolf that the reason we don’t sew the tzitzis onto a tallis is because it says: על כנפי בגדיהם – “on the corner of your garment”, and if one would sew the tzitzis on the garment, the tzitzis would become one with the garment (גוף אחד) and it wouldn’t be considered על – on.
The Vayedaber Moshe writes, however, that this doesn’t fit with the sugya in Succah 9a and he suggests a different reason for why we don’t sew on the tzitzis. He writes: The halachah is that we don’t sew anything within three fingerbreadths of the corner of tallis as we are worried that some thread will remain and it will look like one has extra tzitzis strings.
The Shu”t Levushei Mordechai (Orach Chaim, Mahadura Kama, siman 4) discusses at length why we don’t sew on the tzitzis strings, and what exactly is wrong with doing so.
He concludes: The reason is based on the Gemara in Menachos (41a) which says that if a tallis tears within three fingerbreadths from the corner, we don’t sew it up. Rashi explains that we are worried that some threads will remain, and it will look like one is adding to the mitzvah of tzitzis. The Levushei Mordechai says that the same thing applies when sewing on the strings and we are worried that some extra thread will remain, therefore, we tie the strings on instead.
R’ Chaim Kanievsky zt”l in Derech Emunah (Biur Halachah, Kilayim Perek 10) discusses the above and concludes that currently the matter needs more looking into.