And assume that it's still kosher (fit according to Jewish law) today. In a case where you're late, you can still make the Berachah (blessing) on the Talit (prayer shawl). We're continuing over here, the Daily Halacha. Welcome all the new listeners on the podcast, the Daily Halacha podcast, the WhatsApp Torah, anytime.
Today we're going to be learning Hilchot Tzitzit (fringes), laws regarding Tzitzit. Every single morning, a person puts on two pairs of Tzitzit: Talit Katan and Talit Gadol (large prayer shawl). We're talking about Minhag HaSefardim (custom of the Sephardim) over here. Even when they're not married, they put on two pairs of Talit, Talit Katan and Talit Gadol. Talit Katan is what we put on the house, a small Tzitzit as we call it. We don't make a Berachah on that. And then, when you get to Shul (synagogue) B'Shacharit (morning prayers), you make a Berachah on the Talit Gadol, on the Talit.
The Halacha (Jewish law), Rabotai (my masters), is a very important Halacha. Maran HaShulchan Aruch brings down that you should not make a Berachah on the Talit Gadol when you get to Shul B'Shacharit until you check that your Talit is kosher. You should check that the strings, the Tzitzit, the Kesharim—the knots—and the length of the knots and everything else are kosher. If it's too tangled, it's not kosher. The strings, if they're too tangled, they're not kosher. If the strings are too short because one got caught—let's say it got stuck to the chair, stuck to the table, or someone was playing with a fell—things happen to the Tzitzit, to the strings.
So, Halacha lema'aseh (in practice), it's very important. Maran HaShulchan Aruch holds that one should check the Tzitzit. You have a mitzvah (commandment); you have a Halacha to check your pair of Tzitzit, your Talit Gadol, every single morning to make sure it's kosher. Those who don't wear a Talit Gadol only wear a Talit Katan. Before they're married, they have to check their Tzitzit. They have to check their pair of Tzitzit, the Talit Katan at home, before they make a Berachah, to make sure the strings are kosher. If the strings are too short or too tangled, or if one of the knots got too loose, or one of the corners of your Talit got ripped to a certain length, all of that makes your Tzitzit not kosher. You cannot make a Berachah on a Tzitzit that is not kosher. So, Maran HaShulchan Aruch writes that a person should check his Talit every single morning before putting it on and making a Berachah.
However, if checking is going to cause you to be late to a minyan (prayer quorum) because you don't have that extra 45 seconds, a minute, to check your Tzitzit this morning, the Mishnah Berurah says you can put on the Talit with a Berachah, even though you didn't check it, if you're in such a rush. Why? Because if you already checked it the day before, if you already checked it yesterday, we can be somech, we can depend on what you did yesterday, although you didn't check this morning when you're running late. But if you're not running late, one should make sure to check his Talit every single day before making a Berachah.
And why do you have to check before? Because you cannot make a Berachah on a Tzitzit that might not be kosher. If the Tzitzit is not kosher, how can you make a Berachah? So, we have a mitzvah to check it every single day. This Halacha, by the way, we trust, whether it's Nashim (women), it's a trust. It doesn't have to be specifically the man who checks it every single day.