When going to the seaside, many people take off their tzitzis and only put them on again a while later at the end of the trip. Are the tzitzis obligated in a new berachah? Does taking off the tzitzis create an interruption from the original berachah made on them in the morning, or can one put them on a second time and still rely on the berachah made in the morning?
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 8:14) writes: “If one takes off his tzitzis, even if he had intention to put them immediately back on, one must make a new berachah when putting them on again.” The Rema says: “Some say, one doesn’t make a berachah if he had intention to put them back on”.
We see from the Rema, that if one takes off his tzitzis with intention to put them back on, it is not considered an interruption regarding the original berachah, and when he puts them back on a second time there is no need for a new berachah, and the berachah made at the beginning of the day still helps.
The Mishnah Berurah (s.k. 37) writes: “The reason for the “some say” (quoted by the Rema) is that when one takes them off, he has intention to put them back on and this is what he did, therefore, there is no interruption. However, one should know, if when taking off the tzitzis one never intended to put them straight back on and he intended to wait a while, even if in the end he puts them straight back on, everyone agrees that a new berachah is required. The same thing is the other way round: If when taking them off one intended to put them straight back on, and in the end he waited, again everyone agrees that a new berachah is required.”
It’s clear from the Mishnah Berurah, that the din of not requiring another berachah is only if when taking off the tzitzis one has intention to put them straight back on. If, however, one only intends to put them back on at a later time, or even if he intends to put them straight back on, however, practically there was a delay, in such a case there is an interruption and a new berachah is required.
How Long?
The big question is, what amount of time is the Mishnah Berurah referring to? What amount of time is considered an interruption? And what amount of time is to short and not considered an interruption?
R’ Ben Tzion Felman (Shlomim Metzion pg. 549) writes that he heard from R’ Aharon Leib Shteinman in the name of R’ Nissim Karelitz that on Yom Kippur the Chazon Ish would remove his tallis in the gap between Mussaf and Mincha and would leave his tallis in his place in shul. When he came back for Mincha and wanted to wear his tallis again, he was in doubt as to whether enough time had elapsed to require a new berachah. Practically, he would put on the tallis without making a berachah (presumably based on the rule of sofek berachos lehokel). R' Nissim said that this gap was at least 2.5 hours and the Chazon Ish was still unsure if this was long enough.
R’ Felman writes: It would seem that if 3 hours would have passed, then certainly the Chazon Ish would have considered it a long time, and he would have made a new berachah.
I feel wrong comparing Yom Kippur to the seaside, however, we see from the above that if one takes his tzitzis off for more than 3 hours, then it would seem that it is considered enough of an interruption, and one would need to make a new berachah on his tzitzis.
However, less than this is unclear, and one should refrain from making a new berachah.
A Change of Place Doesn’t Make a Difference
Although the story with the Chazon Ish, was that he left his tallis in shul and went home, a change of place doesn’t make a difference, as the interruption is to do with time, not with place. The Mishnah Berurah (s.k. 37) writes clearly: “Even if one changes place in between, for example he takes off his tallis and goes to the restroom, and the like, the change of place doesn’t change anything, since in the end of the day it’s the same tallis that is being put back on.”
A Different Pair of Tzitzis
The above only applies if one puts back on the same pair of tzitzis, if, however, one puts on a different pair of tzitzis, then certainly a new berachah would be required This is very common on erev Shabbos where people change clothes for Shabbos, and often have a special pair of tzitzis for Shabbos. In such a case a new berachah must be recited.
