Today, many people opt to tie tzitzits on their tallit themselves. According to halacha, fulfilling a mitzvah yourself is always preferable over having someone do it for you. Although in some cases - bris mila, shechita, writing a mezuza or making tefillin, to name a few - you should probably leave it to a professional, tying tzitzits does not take long to learn.
Even if you decide to have someone tie the tzitzit strings for you, when you buy a tallit katan or a tallit gadol you may be given various tzitzit options, such as thin or thick, machine-spun, hand-spun or niputz lishma, white or techelet.
Tallit
Thin or thick?
Generally speaking, thin tzitzits are used on a tallit katan for aesthetic reasons, although some people may opt for thick, which are less likely to break. On a tallit gadol, thin tzitzits usually come standard. Traditional black-on-white tallits may be sold without tzitzits and often buyers will choose to thick tzitzit strings, again for aesthetic reasons.
Spinning
According to halacha, tzitzits must be tied with the intention of performing a mitzvah. This is why there is no such thing as a tzitzits-tying machine. Interestingly, it also means a 12-year-old boy may not be allowed to tie tzitzits for his own bar mitzvah tallit.
Not only must tzitzits be tied with intention, but the tzitzit strings must also must be spun with intention. There is a certain debate in halacha whether they must be made with intention even earlier in the production process, from the carding stage. According to the Rema, the custom is to be lenient, but some people insist on niputz lishmah tzitzit, which are made with intention starting with the carding stage.
Generally the decision is between machine-spun or hand-spun tzitzits. The former are less expensive, but according to many opinions, having intention while pressing the buttons on the machine is not considered real intention to do the mitzvah. According to these opinions, only hand-spun tzitzit strings are kosher.
Techelet
Today, more and more people from different streams of Judaism are choosing techelet tzitzits strings, despite the steep price. This is a matter of considerable debate (whether today's techelet is the real thing, how to tie the knots, etc.) and lies beyond the scope of this article.
Once you've decided which type of tzitzits to buy, you can find kosher tzitzit strings online, and sometimes shipping is very inexpensive because they weigh so little.
How to Choose Tzitzit Strings
Ben Slobodkin is the owner and operator of Ben's Tallit Shop, an Israel-based webstore that sells wool, cotton and silk prayer shawls to customers around the world. The shop specializes in traditional tallits, tallit katan and tzitzits, with an emphasis on personalized service, including a range of tying options.
Website: http://www.tallit-shop.com/.
Tzitzit questions? Feel free to contact the author at benstallitshop [at] gmail [dot] com
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