Is One Obligated to Wear Tzitzit While Playing Basketball?

(37) The LORD said to Moses as follows: (38) Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. (39) That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the LORD and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. (40) Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God. (41) I the LORD am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I, the LORD your God.

(12) You shall make tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.

Rabba Bar Huna found Rava Bar Nachman wearing a garment which had tzitzit that were posul. Rava then removed the garment and put on another garment that had kosher tzitzit. Rabba responded that tzitzit is not an obligation on the person, but rather on the garment, so he must go and fix the tzitzit on the garment he removed.

The early pious ones would put tzitzit on their garments as soon as they wove 3 fingerbreadths in length. But this was only a stringency.

An angel rebuked Rav Ketina for wearing garments in both the summer and winter that were exempt from tzitzit. The gemarah concludes that although one Rav Ketina may be exempt in this case, one should not engage in evasive tactics to remain exempt from the mitzvah, and if one does so, the person may be punished at a time when Hashem's anger is aroused.

Whoever does not put on tefilin violates 8 positive commandments and whoever doesn't wear tzitzit violates 5 positive commandments.

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"On tzitzit five" - he violates "and you shall make", "and you shall place", "and it will be", "and you will see" and "you shall make tassels".

Seven are ostracized by Heaven: A Jew who does not have a wife; and one who has a wife but has no sons; and one who has sons whom he does not raise to engage in Torah study; and one who does not have phylacteries on his head, and tefilin on his arm, and tzitzit on his garment, and a mezuza in his doorway; and one who withholds shoes from his feet. And some say: Also one who does not sit with a group that is partaking of a feast in celebration of a mitzva.

(10) One is only obligated to put tzitzit on a garment that he is wearing, otherwise he violates a positive commandment. But as long as he is not wearing the garment, he does not have to put tzitzit on it.

(11) Even though one is not obligated to buy himself a garment that requires tzitzit, a pious person should not exempt himself by refraining from wearing a garment that requires tzitzit, especially while praying.

The punishment mentioned by the gemarah for evading the mitzvah of tzitzit only applied during earlier times when people generally wore 4 cornered garments, but nowadays since we don't normally wear 4 cornered garments, we are not punished. But it is still preferable to do so.

The gemaras that talk about the punishment for not wearing tzitzit are referring to one who wears a 4 cornered garment without tzitzit.

(1) If a person does not wear a garment with four corners then he is not required to wear fringes (tzitzit). However, it is good and proper that a person should be cautious to wear a small tallit every day, in order that he should remember the mitzvot at every moment. Thus, there are five knots in accordance with the five books of the Torah, and there are four corners, so that in every direction he faces he will also remember. It is proper to wear tzitzit on his garments, and at the very least, it is proper that one should wear tzitzit at the time of prayer.

"Exempt from tzitzit" - Even though it says "and you shall make tzitzit on the corners of your clothing", nevertheless it says in another posuk "You shall make tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself", which indicates only a garment that you actually wear

And you should know, that we pasken that tzitzit is an obligation on the person and at the same time it is not an obligation on the person, and both are leniencies. It is an obligation on the person in that any time you are not wearing a four cornered garment, you are exempt. And it is not an obligation on the person in that you are not obligated to buy a four cornered garment so that you will be obligated to put tzitzit on it. You are only obligated if you have a four cornered garment and and wear it.