43. Broken Tzitzis Strings

9:13 Let’s say that one of the four long tzitzis strings breaks. (Remember, the eight strings are really four long strings folded over.) If enough of the string remains to make a loop, which would be four thumb-widths, the tzitzis are still valid. This is also true if two strings break and each has four thumb-widths remaining. But if three strings break, even though each leaves a four thumb-width remainder, the tzitzis are invalid. (They might be used in an extenuating circumstance.) This is also the case if one string breaks leaving less than four thumb-widths. If any one of the eight short strings (i.e., half of the four long strings) is completely missing, the tzitzis are still valid because there is still enough remaining of the long string of which it is made. If two strings break in such a manner, the tztitzis are invalidated unless he can tell for sure that those two short strings are from different long strings. (This can be ascertained if, when one ties the tzitzis, he is careful always to separate four ends on one side and four ends on the other side. ) If a string breaks at the place where it is inserted into the hole, the tzitzis are invalid. The rule that broken strings can be valid only holds true when the strings were the required length when the tzitzis were made. If the tzitzis were made with even a single short string, they are altogether invalid.

9:14 Tzitzis strings must be twisted threads. If any unravels, the unraveled part is considered as if it is cut off and no longer there.