tzitzit tying diagrams

Rambam-Maimonides(ם "רמב ) Tekhelet TyingMethod

1. The initial Chulya is made bywrapping one white strand andone blue strand and tucking inthe ends to form a knot. Thewhite is wrapped once first andthen the blue twice.

2. The 11 middle Chulyot are madeby taking one blue strand fromthe total of eight strands andwrapping it around the remainingseven strands three times, andtucking the end into the wraps toform a knot. This wrappingstrand is designated Shamash andis used for all subsequent chulyot(though it is not Halachicallyimperative that the sameShamash be used).

3. The final Chulya is made bywrapping one white strand andone blue strand and tucking inthe ends to form a knot. The blueis wrapped twice first and thenthe white once.

Baal Sefer Hahhinuch (בעל(ספר החינוך Tekhelet TyingMethod

1. A Single Knot is made by takingthe four strands from one side ofthe garment and the opposingfour strands from the other sideof the garment and tying a simpleknot.

2. A white Chulya is made bytaking one white strand from thetotal of eight strands andwrapping it around the remainingseven strands three times. Thiswrapping strand is designatedShamash and is used for allsubsequent white Chulyot(though it is not Halachicallyimperative that the sameShamash be used).

3. A blue Chulya is made the sameas a white one, but just using ablue strand.

Vilna Gaon (הגאון מ'ווילנא)or the Gra (גר"א) TekheletTying Method

1. A Single Knot is made bytaking the four strands from oneside of the garment and theopposing four strands from theother side of the garment andtying a simple knot.2. A white Chulya is made bytaking one white strand from thetotal of eight strands andwrapping it around the remainingseven strands three times. Thiswrapping strand is designatedShamash and is used for allsubsequent white Chulyot(though it is not Halachicallyimperative that the sameShamash be used).3. A blue Chulya is made thesame as a white one, but justusing a blue strand.

Radzin (האדמו"ר מ'ראדזין)and Chabad/Lubavitsch(לובאוויטש\חב"ד) TekheletTying Method

1. A Single Knot is made by takingthe four strands from one side ofthe garment and the opposingfour strands from the other sideof the garment and tying a simpleknot.

2. A single white twist loop is madeby taking one white strand fromthe eight strands, wrapping itonce around the remaining sevenstrands, and then tucking in theend in the wrap. This wrappingstrand is designated Shamash andis used for the both the first andfinal white wrap (though it is notHalachically imperative that thesame Shamash be used).

3. A single blue twist loop is madethe same as a white one, but justusing a blue strand.

4. A two or three twist loop is madeas follows: hold the seven corestrands in the left hand (with thethumb extended out to the right),Take the blue Shamash in theright hand and wrap it under andaround the left thumb, then overthe seven core strands, and thenbring it up through the opentriangle created by the blueShamash. Wrap the Shamasharound the seven strand coreonce more to make a two twistloop or two more times to make athree twist loop. Now pull all thestrings tightly together (this willrequire some play). Note: it helpsto pull tight from the bottomfirst.

Rav Amram Gaon (רב עמרם(גאון Tekhelet Tying Method

1. A Single Cord Knot is made bytaking one strand of the totaleight, wrapping it once aroundthe remaining seven strands andtucking in the end in the wrap.

2. A white Chulya is made bytaking one white strand from thetotal of eight strands andwrapping it around the remainingseven strands three times. Thiswrapping strand is designatedShamash and is used for allsubsequent white Chulyot(though it is not halachicallyimperative that the sameShamash be used).

3. A blue Chulya is made the sameas a white one, but just using ablue strand.

Raavad (ראב"ד) TekheletTying Method

1. A Single White and Blue CordKnot is made by taking onewhite strand and one blue strandfrom the eight strands, then whileholding them together, wrapthem once around the remainingsix strands and tucking in theends in the wrap.

2. A Chulya is made by taking onewhite strand and one blue strandfrom the eight strands, then whileholding them together, wrapthem three times around theremaining six strands – start withwhite on top (closest to thegarment). The final (seventhwrap) is made by dropping theblue strand from the wrappingpair and wind one more timeusing only the white strand. Thewrapping pair strands aredesignated Shamashim and areused for all subsequent Chulyot(though it is not Halachicallyimperative that the sameShamashim be used).

Rav Hershel Schachter(OU) - Tekhelet TyingMethod

1. The initial Chulya is made bywrapping one white strand andone blue strand and tucking inthe ends to form a knot. Thewhite is wrapped once first andthen the blue twice.

2. The 11 middle Chulyot are madeby taking one blue strand fromthe total of eight strands andwrapping it around the remainingseven strands three times, andtucking the end into the wraps toform a knot. This wrappingstrand is designated Shamash andis used for all subsequent chulyot(though it is not Halachicallyimperative that the sameShamash be used).

3. The final Chulya is made bywrapping one white strand andone blue strand and tucking inthe ends to form a knot. The blueis wrapped twice first and thenthe white once.

Tosfot (תוספות) TekheletTying Method

1. A Single Knot is made by takingthe four strands from one side ofthe garment and the opposingfour strands from the other sideof the garment and tying a simpleknot.

2. A white Chulya is made bytaking one white strand from thetotal of eight strands andwrapping it around the remainingseven strands three times. Thiswrapping strand is designatedShamash and is used for allsubsequent white Chulyot(though it is not Halachicallyimperative that the sameShamash be used).

3. A blue Chulya is made the sameas a white one, but just using ablue strand.

Baal HaItur (בעל העיטור -(בנימין זאב Tekhelet TyingMethod

1. A Single Knot is made by takingthe four strands from one side ofthe garment and the opposingfour strands from the other sideof the garment and tying a simpleknot.

2. A white Chulya is made bytaking one white strand from thetotal of eight strands andwrapping it around the remainingseven strands three times. Thiswrapping strand is designatedShamash and is used for allsubsequent white Chulyot(though it is not Halachicallyimperative that the sameShamash be used).

3. A blue Chulya is made the sameas a white one, but just using ablue strand.

Standard Ashkenazi(7,8,11,13) Tekhelet TyingMethod

1. A Single Knot is made by takingthe four (4) strands from one sideof the garment and the opposingfour (4) strands from the otherside of the garment and tying asimple knot.

2. The initial wrap of seven (7)winds is made by taking onewhite strand from the total ofeight (8) strands and wrapping itaround the remaining seven (7)strands once. This wrappingstrand is designated the whiteShamash and is used for thesubsequent white wrap at the end(though it is not Halachicallyimperative that the sameShamash be used). Theremaining six (6) winds are madetaking one blue strand andwrapping it around the remainingseven (7) strands six (6) times.This wrapping strand isdesignated the Tekhelet Shamashand is used for all subsequentblue wraps (though it is notHalachically imperative that thesame Shamash be used).

3. The eight (8) winds are made bywrapping the Tekhelet Shamasheight (8) times around the corestrings; the eleven (11) winds aremade by wrapping the TekheletShamash eleven (11) timesaround the core strings.

4. The thirteen (13) winds are madeby wrapping the TekheletShamash twelve (12) times andthen wrapping the whiteShamash once.