Rambam Ratio
Photo courtesy: Eved HaMelech
Rambam Ratio – 1/8 Strings
String Ratio Rationale
From https://www.tekhelet.com/tying-overview/:
“Rambam Half of one string (when folded becomes one of the eight strings) is Tekhelet. The Rambam understands the pasuk in Bemidbar in the following manner: put upon the fringe of each corner (= white) one thread of Tekhelet. Only the windings (ptil) around the white core (k’naf) must be Tekhelet (Hilchot Tzitzit 1;6)”
More info about this ratio can be found here: https://www.tekhelet.com/tekhelet-tying-faq/
Who Supports This Ratio
Tying methods used with this ratio
(Note: the GR”A’s string ratio is unclear but due to popularity is included in this list.)
Rambam Tying Questions
- 1) Is the Rambam with or without a double knot at the top? 2) Is it true that we have archaeological evidence that the halacha for the number of strings follows Tosafos? 1) The Rambam himself does not speak of any double knot – nor does anyone from his time or earlier. The double knot was introduced by the Tosafot. They reasoned that a knot should be a knot that is forbidden on Shabbat. However this is not the opinion of other poskim. When the Gemara talked […]
- Are there some tying methods that are more suited for thick strings over thin strings (halachically or aesthetic)? There is no correlation that I am aware of between thick/thin sheetot and halacha/aesthetics. Some people find thick strings (regardless of sheeta) to be more aesthetically pleasing on a large talit. Some people buy thick for talit katan due to greater durability (they don’t tear as easily). I have found that thin strings tear more easily when tying […]
- As to the tying method I prefer, the choices are many and I am not sure what to do. What are your thoughts? Are there common traditions? Is it an issue of aesthetics or of religious belief or tradition? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I assume that they are all “kosher” knots depending upon the accepted authority? Which is the oldest known? Concerning the choices, I have been asked this many times and have detailed the options on our site: http://www.tekhelet.net/diagrams/TyingFAQ.htm If you would like a cut to the chase, I recommend Rambam strings tied according to the Rambam method as handed done by the Teimanim. There is an issue of aesthetics as one is supposed to […]
- Do you think it would be possible and within the framework of halacha to tie the tzitzit according to Rambam (similar to the Teimani community), however without using the Yemenite knot, but by using a method similar to the Chabad way of separating the chulyot. I’ve included pics to show you. Thank you for your time and info. Halachically, your method certainly fulfills the d’oraita requirements of kesher elyon and one chulya of 3 winds. As for d’rabannan, however, Rava (Men. 38b) requires a knot on every chulya, and though not everyone paskin’s like Rava, the Rambam does as he explains in Hil. Tzitzit 1:7 – wherein he says to “make a knot” […]
- How do I make a string which is 1/2 blue and 1/2 white for tying using the Rambam method. Are the 1/2 white string, and the 1/2 blue string tied together? Is this process explained somewhere on your website? If not, could you please explain it to me? We dye strings half white, half blue. To be specific, we take a very very long strand and die it blue-white-blue-white-etc. then we take 8 strings like that and we twine them together (shezira) such that the white lines up with the white and the blue with the blue. Then we cut them such that we get several “kaful […]
- I am tying my tekhelet according to the Rambam and was wondering if I have to tie 13 chulyot, or can I tie any number of chulyot between 7 and 13. I would find that 10 chulyot would also be very symbolic. The Gemara (Men 39a) clearly states one should not make less than 7 chulyot and one should not make more than 13 chulyot (so too the Rambam [Hil. Tz. 1:8]), which seems to imply any number in between is acceptable. On the other hand the Gemara clearly states that the reason for 7 is to […]
- I have been wearing tekhelet for about a year now, and I would like to start off by thanking the Ptil Tekhelet Organization for helping to revive this mitzvah. I have a question as to the length of the tekhelet string on the tzitzit. Is it kosher for the tekhelet string (I wear Rambam tekhelet, so there is only 1 string) to be shorter than some of the white strings? If it is not kosher, should the white strings be shortened? Also, I heard that it is only appropriate to bite off strings, not to use scissors or a knife? 1) I am not aware of any white-to-blue relative length considerations. The halacha does talk about minimum lengths of strings of course (i.e., k’dei aniva), but this applies to all strings equally. So, in answer to your question, I do not believe there is any need to shorten your white strings in order to make […]
- I need some clarification about the Ra’avad method of tying tekhelet. I saw the film put out by Ptil Tekhelet and I also have the diagram that is on the website that you did. They do not seem to agree. In the film, they show double knots between chulyot and the chulyot are not all the same number of winds. In your diagram, there is one single cord knot between chulyot and all the chulyot have seven winds. Also, in your diagram the second chulya is all white (though you mention that some alternate blue and white). The film show them all alternating. Which one represents the Ra’avad method? Raavad Knots: In the film (tying video), we show the Raavad being tied with double knots purely out of convenience and we do mention there (if I’m not mistaken) that the knot described by the Raavad is a two-cord twist (like I show in my diagram). Using a double knot is by all means “kosher” […]
- I would naturally purchase Rambam strings to go along with the Rambam method, yet I have hesitations. I know there is technically no problem with getting Ra’avad strings and tying Rambam, yet it seems that it would be ideal to keep a steady method. Yet he number of tekhelet strings (to my understanding) is more severe in halakhic status, and I do not feel comfortable using the Rambam’s method because I do not understand how it fits. I see his point about how the pteel should be placed on the other white strings, yet the verse can be easily interpreted in other ways, and by the use of the word pteel, it seems to imply 1 full string, end to end. Ptil can mean strand or tassle and so half a string which appears as a full string when folded through the hole of the begged can certainly fulfill the pshat of ptil. – Mois Navon
- I’ve been looking into tekhelet and glad to see the practice resurrected. While I know that there are many ways to tie tzitzit, as a Sephardic Jew, I’ve heard that the 10-5-6-5 with the ridge is the typical Sephardic method. Is there still a need to have the first and last wrap the same color as the tallit in the 10-5-6-5? All the customary methods of tying tzitzit with white only were developed to infuse the tzitzit with meaning lost with the loss of tekhelet. When tying with tekhelet, one of the tekhelet methods should be employed. Sephardim should tie the tzitzit with tekhelet according to the Rambam method. – Mois Navon
- In your guide (https://www.tekhelet.net/guide.htm) it says “The Yemenites have a tradition (even with white tsitsit) of tying a special knot that is the chulya” – in the diagram that is given there, it looks to me to be the same as what you have in your video for the Rambam tying the middle chuliot (https://www.tekhelet.net/diagrams/video/Rambam2.MPG). So I am trying to understand if the Yemenite chuliot are different from the Rambam or not. The Rambam describes his method in his Mishnah Torah (Hilchot Tzitzit 1:7-8), wherein there is room for interpretation, and that is what the Yeminites have done – preserved an interpretation of the Rambam’s method. In Hil. Tzitzit 1:9 the Rambam explains that his custom is to tie according the method described for tekhelet even when no tekhelet […]
- My main issue with the Rambam’s approach is how he deals with the sifrei shelach source that seems to say that Beit Shamai holds that there is one string of tekhelet and three of white, and so goes the halacha. There is no source to my knowledge that indicates that there is 1 tekhelet and 7 whites. My Rabbi offered that he may learn Beit Shamai to be using the language one loosely to mean 1 half, for that was not his main topic, yet I find that fairly weak. The sifrei is one halachic source but not necessarily binding – certainly the Rambam, and all who follow him on this (all Sefardi poskim, the Arizal, Radzyner, R. Hirsch, R. Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, R. Nachum Rabinovitch, R. Dov Lior, R. Herschel Schachter). There is no need to try to “squeeze” the Rambam’s position into, or out of, the Sifrei. […]
- One of the strings on my tzitzit tore and It was the white end of my techelet string (I wear Rambam techelet). I was wondering if I could tie that string together with another string and apply glue to the knot to make a longer sting? The Mishna Berura (12:1:7) discusses a similar case and says that if one has a kosher string (i.e., only one side being too short), you can tie on the extra strand to make the full length. First of all, lets be clear on terminology: the tzitzit are made of 4 full strands that are folded […]
- Using your videos off of Youtube and much trial and error, I was able to correctly tie the Tzitzit according the Rambam. However every time I tie them they stay tight for a few days, then begin to become loose again, with many of the chulyot bunching together. I have tried tying them tighter and still no luck. Do you have any advice? Looking at the step by step description (https://www.tekhelet.com/diagrams/RambamDetailInstructionLORES.pdf), when doing steps 32-36, you should try to wrap the blue quite snugly. Then after you pull the blue string through (step 39) you should make sure the string is pulled through (FIRMLY), don’t pull too hard or yank, because the string will snap, but you do need to pull firmly […]
- What is the Ari”zal’s source for tying techelet? In Pri Etz Hayim, Shaar Hatzitzit, Ch. 4 (pp. 58-59). He explains that in the time of the Mikdash they had 7 white and 1 tekhelet on each corner. He says that from a kabbalistic perspective tekhelet represents malchut and thus we would really only need one string on one corner – i.e., 31 strings […]
- When using a Rambam string which is part blue and part white, how should I align the color change in the talit hole? From the pictures on your site, it seems that you had the part where it changes from white to blue (speckled) going into the hole and full blue coming out. Is this correct? Correct. When using the Rambam string set (regardless of which method you choose to tie) the shamash string should be placed in the hole such that one side of the begged has tekhelet and the other side has white. This is of course in the ideal, however due to the way the 8 strands of […]
- While tying my tzitzit according to the Rambam Teimani method, the techelet string broke (high up on the blue though there is still enough string to tie several chulyot. The answer to this question is just about the same as to the question if the string broke after the whole tzitzit was tied. I will reiterate that answer and relate to the specific issue of having tied even only one hulya. The Mishna Berura (12:1:7) discusses a similar case and says that if one has a kosher […]
- Why does everyone wear Rambam if they are Ashkenazi. What is the reason why many Rabbis pasken like Rambam over Tosafot? First of all I am not sure why you believe “everyone” wears Rambam; according to our sales figures: 25-30% wear Rambam, 70-73% Raavad, and 1-2% Tosafot. (I think Raavad is the strongest seller partly due to the fact that we ship Raavad as our default). Now though you are correct in your assumption that for […]
- Your site has multiple traditions for tying tsitsit. Sephardic tsitsit are not mentioned. Is there a reason for this? The Rambam, being the quintessential Spanish Posek, thus defines the tradition for “Sephardic Tzitzit”. Furthermore, it is not that we prefer to mention it, but rather it is not relevant – there is no “Sephardic” or “Ashkenazi” way to tie tekhelet since poskim from those communities didn’t have tekhelet – rather there are traditions from […]
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