Can You Have Coloured Threads on a Tallit

  

I was asked about the suitability of coloured threads in a Tallit (not Techelet, but specifically colours to match the colours of the materials used in the Mishkan).

 

There is a clear prohibition in the Talmud against using an ‘indigo’ dye.

If you are using kosher Techelet, that’s fine, but you can’t use anything that could be confused with the colour of Techelet.

 

There are statements in Halacha that the threads, other than Techelet, should be white. Rambam says that and even the Ravad – who famously disagrees with Rambam about almost everything only disagrees about how much Techelet should be used, and agrees that the rest of the threads should be white.

 

However there is a clear instruction, again, in the Talmud that “the threads should be like the garment.” That’s clearly understood to mean that if you have a woolen garment you need woolen Tzitzit etc. i.e. the thing that needs to agree is the MATERIAL. But the Shulchan Arukh says that “some people understand that the COLOUR of the threads has to match the COLOUR of the garment. That was news for me.

The Shulchan Arukh is a Sefardi legal authority and the leading Ashkenazi authority, the Rema, writing right on that comment in the Shulchan Arukh says this;

והאשכנזים אין נוהגים לעשות הציציות רק לבנים אף בבגדים צבועים ואין לשנות

Ashkenazim only make Tziitzit with white [threads] even on coloured garments and this should not be altered.

 

The Mishneh Brurah, also Ashkenaz, has no problem with a coloured garment, but suggests that ‘careful’ people should use white since that is definitely OK and also matches a verse in Daniel (the book, not the father!) that describes God’s clothes as white as snow -  ולבושיה כתלג

The Bach (the legal authority not the composer) and the Magen Avraham also make a point about white threads matching God’s white garment.

 

So …

It’s not ideal.

There is a possibility of relying on it, according to the Sephardi Shulchan Arukh.

There is certainly fulsome support for a coloured garment, and also a nice idea about white threads.

But on the basis that the Shulchan Arukh notes that some say the threads on a coloured garment should be coloured, it’s definitely not forbidden.

 

I’ve put all the sources referred to in this document

https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/625023?editor=1

 

Responding to President Trump's 'Plan' on Gaza - Feb 2025

 

There are several reasons NOT to respond to President Trump's recent attempt to solve the problem of Gaza.

Good reasons NOT to respond include ...

I'm not an expert in geopolitics. I'm not a citizen of Gaza, Israel or the United States.

Bad reasons NOT to respond include ...

I'm busy. There is a piece of me that respects the fact that Trump played a role in managing to get some hostages out. There is a piece of me that is so scarred by October 7th that I'm sneakily excited at the idea of making the problem go away with the ease President Trump promises.

An insufficient reason TO respond is that the so-called plan is stupid, illegal and immoral verging on advocating for ethnic cleansing. The ‘plan’ is all of these things, but if it was only this, I wouldn’t be posting. But …

One.

There are people who are excited about this 'plan.' They include Israelis, self-described friends of Israel and (for my church is a broad church) I suspect even members of my own community. To these people I want to scream, "be careful what you wish for." Israel must be secure, but Israel's security will not come by ethnically cleansing Gaza of two million Gazans and creating a Riviera on the Gazan coast. No wall is high enough. Hatred will not dissipate by the transfer of Gazans away from Gaza. And the idea that somehow this President is a reliable ally for Israel is tenuous in the extreme. The ‘plan,’ like so many ‘plans’ currently being aired in his new Presidential term, is not thought through. It’s not funded. And it won’t be, no matter how many times President Trump says he’s spoken with a bunch of people who agree with him. In a recent podcast, Rabbi Donniel Hartman suggested that Israel has a new Prime Minister, Donald Trump. Speaking of this ‘plan’ as supportive of Israel’s security is to outsource self-determination to a demagogic criminal who doesn’t really care about anything other than himself. Long-term meaningful security can only come by doing the hard work, building towards peace and respect. I know it doesn’t feel that that is possible now, but falling in line with Prime Minister Trump will only make that worse, and pushes the prospect of long-term security further away.

Two

People watch who speaks out against 'plans' which are stupid, illegal, immoral and verge on advocating for ethnic cleansing. I've been one of those people. When 'plans' were hatched against Jews, I've watched, waiting for people to speak out with the conviction and clarity I expect of any decent human being. In the aftermath of October 7th, I was desperate to hear from any Palestinian, Arab or Muslim a rejection of the awful plans of Hamas and (with notable exceptions - I recommend following Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib ) I've largely waited in vain. And now this.

Gazans, and those who feel an affinity for the people of Gaza, are not wrong to watch out. So I, a mainstream rabbi who supports Israel, leading a mainstream shul which supports Israel, speak out.

To anyone listening, I do not accept President Trump’s ‘plan’ for Gaza. It’s stupid, illegal and immoral verging on advocating ethnic cleansing. Can we please focus on trying to find a different way?

Thank you Jeremy Assous for the prompt below. I've signed, and am proud to sign this https://secure.yachad.org.uk/page/165571/data/1... from Yachad. Also proud to support עומדים ביחד نقف معًا and recommend checking out A Land for All ארץ לכולם بلاد للجميع among other organisations who are working to advocate other ways.

Impact Assessment of Weekly Anti-Israel Protests in Swiss Cottage on the Local Synagogue Community

(Photo from https://www.instagram.com/combatantisemitism/p/C-2zw0moH6X/) 

February 6, 2025

I write as Rabbi of New London Synagogue, a Jewish faith community of 1500 members. The Synagogue is located less than a mile away from the location of these protests on Abbey Road, NW8 0AT. Many of our members live locally on the far side of the Swiss Cottage and would pass these protests on the way to Synagogue. I also write as a local resident living very locally to my community.

Introduction

As you will be aware, since early 2024, Swiss Cottage in London has been the site of weekly anti-Israel protests held Friday early evenings. These demonstrations have been timed to coincide with the onset of the Jewish Sabbath, a sacred time dedicated to rest, prayer, and community gatherings. The timing of these protests raises significant concerns regarding their impact on the local synagogue community's ability to practice their religion peacefully. The reports I receive of these protests are that they are boisterous, combative and aggressive in their chants and affect. While I support the right to protest, I don’t support any so-called right to intimidate or scare, and the culture of these protests, now well-set over many months, seems to be designed to do that.

Evidence

I have members who have shared they feel uncomfortable coming to the Synagogue through these protests which they perceive as being, too often, angry, aggressive and featuring antisemitic and otherwise offensive chanting.

A 13 year old girl in the community, faces this challenge on a weekly basis. She walks – and, again, being the Jewish Sabbath, walking is the only religiously acceptable method of transport for her -  from her home to the other side of Swiss Cottage every Friday evening. She shares, on a weekly basis, her unease and nervousness. Her parents have looked at circuitous pathways that avoid the area, but the site of the protests is chosen to make avoiding it especially difficult. She feels she needs to gee herself up in an act of bravery to walk along the road. She’s thirteen. That shouldn’t be necessary.

As you will be aware, in September 2024, a 27-year-old man was arrested in Swiss Cottage for allegedly chanting support for Hamas, including phrases like "I love the 7th October" and "I love an organisation that starts with H," referencing the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.[1] Our community is grateful that Police responded after this alleged event, but this incident is neither uncommon nor unexpected. The protests seemed geared towards fermenting this kind of anger. Again, arresting someone suspected of a crime  sends an important message, but when incidents like this happen and stories of this and similar incidents are reported on a weekly basis, the damage to the local Jewish community, and I would argue the broader community of decent-minded local residents, is magnified.

Many in my community complain tell me they hear language like this on a weekly basis. There is a perception in the community that, despite multiple complaints to the police, there has been a failure to take adequate action to address these issues by moving these protests away either in location or time, or otherwise ensuring the culture of barracking aggressive language and chanting changes.

There have, clearly, been attempts to police these protests more effectively, but this has largely been through ensuring large numbers of uniformed officers are sent to the area. Sadly, and I do have sympathy for the Police in their attempts to balance competing rights, a large police presence at these protests seems similarly both correct and further-damaging. As a Jew living in London, I don’t want to feel my right to pass through a major thoroughfare less than a mile from my home, depends on the presence of scores of officers. Different preventative strategies are necessary.

Conclusion

The weekly anti-Israel protests Swiss Cottage have a tangible and adverse impact on my synagogue community and members of my family's ability to observe the Sabbath peacefully. The documented antisemitic incidents and the general atmosphere of tension during these demonstrations contribute to a sense of insecurity among community members. It is imperative for local authorities to recognise these challenges and take appropriate measures to ensure that the rights of the Jewish community to practice their religion without fear or disruption are upheld.

 

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[1] https://www.thejc.com/community/pro-israel-activist-demands-action-against-antisemitic-marches-in-swiss-cottage-is2lh6ni?utm_source=chatgpt.com