ritual
fringes
At a glance
In short
Tzitzis are the fringes, named for what protrudes and is therefore seen. Gedilim are the same strings, named, on the reading of Radak and Rav Hirsch, for the braided third. Rav Hirsch explains that twisting thickens the braid so that it seems to have grown; Rabbi Yosef Kimchi instead has the strings expand the garment's edge. Petil is the single thread of techeiles, named for snug twisting or, in Rav Hirsch's reading, for its separateness. Tallis is the four-cornered garment that carries them, a word found only in Rabbinic Hebrew. Kruspidin is the Targum's Aramaic for tzitzis and gedilim. Rabbi Binyamin Mussafia takes it as a Greek loanword for the hem or fringe of a garment; Dr. Alexander Kohut prefers Persian. Tzitzis and tallis are not interchangeable.
Distinctions
Tzitzis (ציצית)
The classical lexicographers of the triliteral school trace tzitzis to צ-י-ץ, a root that yields "sprouting," "peeking," "branch, wing, fin," and tzitz, the Kohen Gadol's forehead plate.
- Rashi (to Bamidbar 15:38) connects tzitzis both to the hair that juts from the side of the head (Yechezkel 8:3, the word's only other appearance in Tanach) and to "peeking."
- Rashi (to Yirmiyahu 48:9): anything that juts out from a body is a tzitz.
- Malbim (Sefer HaCarmel): a tzitz protrudes from the main body in a way that makes it highly visible. In the very same way the strings protrude from the garment.
In Mishnaic Hebrew the shreds of foreskin left after a milah are tzitzin (Shabbos 19:6) for the same reason.
- Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim traces the word to the single letter צ, whose core sense is "exiting, outwardness." In Yerios Shlomo the path runs through "peeking": a sapling mid-sprout is only partly visible, and so is the eye of a man squinting to see better, and from there tzitzis and the Kohen Gadol's tzitz are highly visible ornaments that people end up looking at. In Cheshek Shlomo he takes the shorter path, that the tzitzis appear to "exit" the garment they are tied to.
- Menachem Ibn Saruk (Machberes Menachem) implies the same monoliteral root, although he does not actually list tzitzis as a declension of it.
- Rav Hirsch (to Shemos 28:36), by his phonetic method, links צ-י-ץ to ש-י-ש (sasson, gladness as the outward showing of inner happiness) and to ז-י-ז (ziz, the mammary gland as the outward showing of the inner motherly instinct to provide nourishment), so that tzitz is what protrudes from a surface and becomes visible to all; he notes this is close to the "growth" sense, a plant flourishing outward from its seed.
- Rabbi Eliyahu Benamozegh (Eim LaMikra to Bamidbar 15:38) connects tzitz, tzitzis and tze'etza'im.
A prominent nobleman of Yerushalayim in the generation before the Churban was called Ben Tzitzis (Bereishis Rabbah 42:1, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer ch. 3, Avos D'Rabbi Nasan 6:3). Rabbi Nosson of Rome (Sefer HeAruch) explains the name: his tzitzis were so long that they trailed over pillows and blankets wherever he went. (Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein understands this to mean that he was prominent enough to have an entourage laying down the ancient equivalent of a red carpet so the strings would not drag on the floor.)
Rabbeinu Bachya (Kad HaKemach s.v. tzitzis, and to Bamidbar 15:38) draws the mussar from the "peeking" sense: the wearer should be mindful that Hashem sees him.
Gedilim (גדילים)
Appears once for the mitzvah, "you shall make yourself gedilim on the four corners of your garment" (Devarim 22:12), and once for a braided metal chain (Melachim I 7:17). All the early lexicographers (Ibn Saruk, Ibn Janach, Ibn Parchon, Radak) put it in ג-ד-ל, the root of gadol.
- Ibn Janach defines gedilim as tzitzis.
- Radak refines it to free-hanging tzitzis.
- Ibn Parchon defines it by petil; Ibn Saruk by chut, "string."
- Rav Hirsch (to Bamidbar 15:38): a braided rope is a gedil because braiding makes it thicker than a single string, so it appears to have "grown" and become "bigger." He notes parenthetically that the Rabbinic gudal ("thumb") names the thickest finger, not the longest.
- Radak's father, Rabbi Yosef Kimchi (Sefer HaGalui), takes the other path: the strings "expand" the edge of the garment beyond the fabric itself.
- Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein offers a third turn of the same idea, that gedilim are a mere extension or "overgrowth" of the garment, as the gudal is a sort of extension of the hand.
The difference from tzitzis: Menachos 39a requires a third of the strings' length to be gadil (braided) and two thirds to hang loose like a branch (anaf). Radak (Sefer HaShorashim) uses that Gemara to resolve why the Torah sometimes says gedilim and sometimes tzitzis: one part of the string is a branch, which is the "branch" sense of צ-י-ץ, and the other is a braid. Rav Hirsch (to Bamidbar 15:38) reads it similarly. Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein then floats a further step of his own ("I was thinking that perhaps"): the mitzvah appears in three pesukim, tzitzis in two of them (Bamidbar 15:38, 15:39) and gedilim in one (Devarim 22:12), matching the Gemara's own two thirds branch and one third braid.
Petil (פתיל)
The word belongs to techeiles. The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 18:3) explains why Korach's rebellion is set beside the parashah of tzitzis: Korach argued that a tallis made entirely of techeiles is exempt from tzitzis, and Moshe held it is obligated (see Menachos 41b).
The Torah requires one petil of techeiles among the strings (Bamidbar 15:38); Targum Onkelos there renders petil as chut, "string." The root פ-ת-ל denotes snug attachment or twistedness, as in tzamid pasil, the tightly sealed vessel whose contents are saved from tumah (Bamidbar 19:15); a string is made by twisting fibers snugly together. Rav Hirsch (to Bereishis 30:8, Bamidbar 15:38) reads the root as "separateness" instead, comparing ב-ד-ל (havdalah), ב-ת-ל (besulah, a woman separated out from the normal course of events), and ב-ט-ל (batel, excluded from the realm of the relevant): the techeiles thread is bound into the tzitzis yet stands apart from them, since it alone is dyed. The name Naftali is tied to this root explicitly (Bereishis 30:8), Rachel saying she had now intertwined her own fate with her sister Leah's. Yehudah's petil given to Tamar (Bereishis 38:18) is his belt according to some commentators, such as Ibn Janach, Rabbi Avraham Maimuni and Rashbam, or his cloak according to Radak; others read it as his tallis/tzitzis (Rabbi Moshe HaDarshan, Bereishis Rabbasi to 38:25, and Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel to 38:18 in the name of Rashbam), which Ramban (to 38:18) rejects. Some commentators explain that it was his tefillin, since petil can be read as an anagram of tefillin (see Paneach Raza and Baal HaTurim to 38:18). In Mishnaic Hebrew petilah is a lamp wick, in some ways just a string fastened in place to hold a fire (Shabbos 2:4-5, Beitzah 4:4, Keilim 3:2), and in Sanhedrin 7:2 it seems to mean a lead rod.
Tallis (טלית)
First occurs in Rabbinic Hebrew (Nedarim 3:5, 4:1, Kiddushin 4:14, Bava Metzia 1:1, Meilah 5:1, Keilim 28:7, Ohalos 8:5, Zavim 4:7, and more), and in context it means the four-cornered garment itself, not its strings. The Mishnaic matlis, something like a wash cloth, is derived from it (Shabbos 24:5, Bava Kamma 10:10, Keilim 10:4, Negaim 11:5-6, Taharos 9:9). Rabbi Eliyahu HaBachur (Sefer HaTishbi): in rabbinic usage it is the special four-cornered garment with tzitzis worn at prayer; he, and Rabbi Tanchum HaYerushalmi in HaMadrich HaMaspik, hold the grammatically correct plural is taliyos, not talitos and certainly not the popular Yiddish misnomer talleisim.
Etymologies:
- Rabbi Nosson of Rome (Sefer HeAruch) cites Rav Matzliach Gaon that the garment is "placed upon" the other clothes, relating tallis to natal, lifting (see Targum to Bereishis 50:13); alternatively he ties it to ט-ל-ל, tillel, "shade, covering" in Late Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic (Nechemiah 3:15, Daniel 4:9). Rabbi Ernest Klein, in his etymological dictionary of Hebrew, follows that second approach, relating tallis to telalim and holding it cognate with tzel, on the interchange of tzadi and tes.
- Dr. Alexander Kohut (Aruch HaShalem), as is his habit, derives tallis from Persian, a theory that has not gained much traction.
- David Curwin of the Balashon blog brings a further theory, in the name of the late Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel: that tallis and the Rabbinic itztala come from one Greek etymon, both borrowed from Latin stola and Greek στολή (stolē). Rashi (to Sanhedrin 44a, and see Bechoros 34b) does define itztala as tallis, and Rabbi Tanchum HaYerushalmi likewise notes how close the two words are.
- Rabbeinu Bachya reads tallis as alluding to Hashem being lifted and raised above all, on Daniel's netilas min ar'a, "lifted from the earth" (Daniel 7:4).
- Rabbi Nosson Shapiro (Matzas Shimurin fol. 11b) offers a kabbalistic derivation from the Aramaic talyusa, which Targum Onkelos uses of a young person coming of age (Bereishis 8:21); Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein says frankly that what Rabbi Shapiro says there is beyond his expertise.
Kruspidin (כרוספדין)
The Targum renders both tzitzis and gedilim as kruspeda (plural kruspidin).
- Rabbi Binyamin Mussafia (Mussaf HeAruch): an Aramaic loanword from the Greek kraspedon (κράσπεδον). Kraspedon is the fringe, edge, hem, or embroidered border of a garment, that is, the prominent extension added to a core frame, and it is also the standard Koine Greek word for tzitzis in the Christian Bible.
- Classicists trace kraspedon as a portmanteau of Greek karé ("head, top, peak") and pédon ("foot, bottom, edge"), and Rabbi Shaul Goldman draws that etymology out: the term itself implies that the most prominent feature of a four-cornered garment is neither its top nor its center but the strings protruding outward at its bottom edge.
- Dr. Alexander Kohut (Aruch HaShalem) rejects the Greek origin here too and prefers Persian, as he often does.
There is an Amora called Rav Kruspedai, cited four times in Bavli, most famously that on Rosh Hashanah Hashem opens three books, of the wholly righteous, the wholly wicked, and those in between (Rosh Hashanah 16a; also Sanhedrin 69a, Kerisus 24a, Niddah 46a). And a story is told of Rabbi Avraham Genachovsky, who, seated beside an immodestly dressed woman and unwilling to embarrass her, said only, "I have kruspidin"; she took it for the name of a contagious disease and fled the seat. He had told no lie. (Rabbi Zev Berlin, son-in-law of Rabbi Aharon Leib Steinman, adds that he heard it happened in a hired van, that she left the van altogether, and that Rabbi Genachovsky reimbursed the driver for the emptied seat.)
Also discussed in
- Blueתכלת / techeiles
- Outer garmentטלית / איצטלא
- Phylacteriesפתיל (פ-ת-ל)
- Ropeפתיל / גדיל
Radak on these roots
Sefer HaShorashim
ג-ד-ל
To be great: in honour and standing, in years, or in any increase, of quality or of quantity; to grow, and to make grow; מִגְדָּל, a tower; and גְּדִלִים, fringes.
Great in honour, great in years
מַה־גָּדְלוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ (Tehillim 92:6), how great are Your works, and גִּדַּל הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ (Esther 3:3 in his edition), King Achashverosh made great, are greatness in honour and standing. וַיִּגְדַּל הַיֶּלֶד (Bereishis 21:8), the child grew, and וַיִּגְדְּלוּ הַנְּעָרִים (Bereishis 25:27), the lads grew, are the adding of years. The adjective goes both ways: גַּם הָאִישׁ מֹשֶׁה גָּדוֹל מְאֹד (Shemos 11:3), the man Moshe too was very great, is great in honour and standing, and אֲחִי יֶפֶת הַגָּדוֹל (Bereishis 10:21), the brother of Yefes the great, is great in years, as Chazal explained it (Sanhedrin 69b), that Yefes was the eldest of his brothers.
Great in what respect
אֶת־שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים (Bereishis 1:16), the two great lights, are great in light; אִשָּׁה גְדוֹלָה (Melachim II 4:8), a great woman, is one of importance and honour; הַמַּסֹּת הַגְּדֹלֹת (Devarim 7:19), the great trials, are great in wonder. חַיִל גָּדוֹל מְאֹד (Yechezkel 37:10), a very great host, means a great number, and likewise זְבָחִים גְּדוֹלִים (Nechemiah 12:43), great sacrifices, since the word is used of every kind of increase, whether in quality or in quantity.
Greater only in the throne
רַק הַכִּסֵּא אֶגְדַּל מִמֶּךָּ (Bereishis 41:40), only in the throne will I be greater than you, he explains as greater in the matter of the throne, since here too the verb takes no object, as Rabbi Yonah wrote.
The nouns of greatness
עַל־פְּרִי־גֹדֶל (Yeshayahu 10:12), upon the fruit of the greatness; כְּגֹדֶל חַסְדֶּךָ (Bamidbar 14:19), according to the greatness of Your kindness; הַלְלוּהוּ כְּרֹב גֻּדְּלוֹ (Tehillim 150:2), praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness. Another pattern is הַגְּדֻלָּה, the greatness, as in וְלִגְדֻלָּתוֹ אֵין חֵקֶר (Tehillim 145:3), and His greatness is unsearchable; and another is בִּגְדֹל זְרוֹעֲךָ (Shemos 15:16), by the greatness of Your arm.
Growing, and making grow
כִּי מִנְּעוּרַי גְּדֵלַנִי כְאָב (Iyov 31:18), for from my youth he grew up with me as a father: Radak takes the verb as intransitive, גדל עמי, he grew with me, said of the orphan named just before; Rabbi Yonah wrote that גְדֵלַנִי is transitive. The doubled verb: מַיִם גִּדְּלוּהוּ (Yechezkel 31:4), the waters made it grow, וְגֶשֶׁם יְגַדֵּל (Yeshayahu 44:14), and the rain makes it grow, and גַּדֵּל פֶּרַע שְׂעַר רֹאשׁוֹ (Bamidbar 6:5), letting the locks of the hair of his head grow.
Making great, the thing left unsaid
הִגְדִּיל, made great, at times leaves unsaid what it makes great: וַיַּגְדִּלוּ עַל עַם (Tzefaniah 2:10), and they made great against the people, is ויגדילו פיהם, they made their mouths great; וּצְפִיר הָעִזִּים הִגְדִּיל (Daniel 8:8), and the he-goat made great, is הגדיל לעשות כח וגבורה, it made great in doing strength and might; and עַד דָּוִד הִגְדִּיל (Shmuel I 20:41), until David made great, is הגדיל לבכות, he made great in weeping.
The tower
מִגְדָּל is a tower, the tall and large building: וַיִּבֶן מִגְדָּל בְּתוֹכוֹ (Yeshayahu 5:2), and he built a tower in it, and אֶתֹּץ אֶת־הַמִּגְדָּל הַזֶּה (Shoftim 8:9), I will pull down this tower. The plural is בִּנְפֹל מִגְדָּלִים (Yeshayahu 30:25), when towers fall, and in the feminine וּמִגְדְּלֹתַיִךְ יִתֹּץ (Yechezkel 26:9), he will pull down your towers. מִגְדְּלוֹת מֶרְקָחִים (Shir HaShirim 5:13) he takes as the flowers that grow among the spices.
גְּדִלִים, the fringes
גְּדִלִים תַּעֲשֶׂה־לָּךְ (Devarim 22:12), you shall make yourself גְּדִלִים: the fringes hanging from a garment that are not woven are called גדילים. גְּדִלִים מַעֲשֵׂה שַׁרְשְׁרוֹת (Melachim I 7:17) are cords of chain work, and the Targum renders מַעֲשֵׂה עֲבֹת (Shemos 28:22), cord work, as עוֹבַד גְּדִילוּ, work of cords. The pasuk is about the tzitzis commanded elsewhere (Bamidbar 15:38); it says גדיל here and ציצית there because the mitzvah of tzitzis is that a third be גדיל, cord, and two thirds ענף, branch.
מַה־גָּדְלוּ מַֽעֲשֶׂיךָ (תהלים צב, ו), י"י אֱלֹהַי גָּדַלְתָּ (תהלים קד, א), כַּֽאֲשֶׁר גָּֽדְלָה נַפְשְׁךָ (שמואל א' כו, כד), וַיִּגְדַּל הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה (דברי הימים ב' ט, כב), רַק הַכִּסֵּא אֶגְדַּל מִמֶּֽךָּ (בראשית מא, מ), פירוש בדבר הכסא כי גם הוא עומד ואינו יוצא כאשר כתב רבי יונה. וַיֵּלֶךְ הָלוֹךְ וְגָדֵל (בראשית כו, יג), הוא מקור או תאר בענין פועל. וההתפעל וְהִתְגַּדִּלְתִּי וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתִּי (יחזקאל לח, כג), כִּי עַל־כֹּל יִתְגַּדָּֽל (דניאל יא, לז). והפעל הכבד [פִּעֵל] גִּדַּל הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ (אסתר ג, ג), אָחֵל גַּדֶּלְךָ (יהושע ג, ז), ענין אלה וכל הדומים להם יקר וחשיבות. וַיִּגְדַּל הַיֶּלֶד (בראשית כא, ח), וַֽיִּגְדְּלוּ הַנְּעָרִים (בראשית כה, כו), ענינם והדומים להם תוספת השנים. גַּם הָאִישׁ מֹשֶׁה גָּדוֹל מְאֹד (שמות יא, ג), ביקר וחשיבות, אֲחִי יֶפֶת הַגָּדֽוֹל (בראשית י, כא), בשנים. וכן פירשוהו רבותינו ז"ל (סנהדרין סט, ע"ב) כי יפת גדול שבאחיו היה בשנים. אֶת־שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים (בראשית א, טז), גדולים באורה. אִשָּׁה גְדוֹלָה (מלכים ב' ד, ח), חשובה ונכבדת הַמַּסֹּת הַגְּדֹלֹת (דברים ז, יט), גדולות בפלא. והתאר במשקל אחר הֹלֵךְ וְגָדֵל וָטוֹב (שמואל א' ב, כו). והקבוץ גִּדְלֵי בָשָׂר (יחזקאל טז, כו), בפלס זִקְנֵי מוֹאָב (במדבר כב, ו). והשם עַל־פְּרִי־גֹדֶל (ישעיה י, יב), כְּגֹדֶל חַסְדֶּךָ (במדבר יד, יט), אֶת־כְּבֹדוֹ וְאֶת־גָּדְלוֹ (דברים ה, כא), ובשורק הַֽלְלוּהוּ כְּרֹב גֻּדְּלֽוֹ (תהלים קנ, ב). ומשקל אחר לְךָ י"י הַגְּדֻלָּה וְהַגְּבוּרָה (דברי הימים א' כט, יא), וְלִגְדֻלָּתוֹ אֵין חֵֽקֶר (תהלים קמה, ג). ומשקל אחר בִּגְדֹל זְרֽוֹעֲךָ (שמות טו, טז), ועל ענין התרבות כִּי מִנְּעוּרַי גְּדֵלַנִי כְאָב (איוב לא, יח), והוא עומד ופירוש גדל עמי והוא שב אל היתום שזכר למעלה. וכן וּמִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי אַנְחֶֽנָּה (שם) שב אל האלמנה ומה שאמר ומבטן אמי הוא דרך הפלגה כמו מֵעֽוֹדְךָ עַד־הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה (במדבר כב, ל), וזולתו. ורבי יונה כתב כי גְדֵלַנִי עובר. והפעל הכבד בתוספת ורבוי ענין ותרבי וַתִּגְדְּלִי (יחזקאל טז, ז). והכבד [הִפְעִיל] הִגְדִּיל י"י לַֽעֲשׂוֹת עִמָּנוּ (תהלים קכו, ג), וְעָשָׂה כִרְצֹנוֹ וְהִגְדִּֽיל (דניאל ח, ד) וְאַל־תַּגְדֵּל פִּיךָ (עבדיה א, יא), הַמַּגְדִּילִים עָלָֽי (תהלים לה, כו), חֵֽרְפוּ אֶת־עַמִּי וַיַּגְדִּילוּ עַל־גְּבוּלָֽם (צפניה ב, ח) וַיַּגְדִּלוּ עַל־עַם י"י צְבָאֽוֹת (צפניה ב, י), פירוש ויגדילו פיהם. הִגְדִּיל עָלַי עָקֵֽב (תהלים מא, י), וּצְפִיר הָֽעִזִּים הִגְדִּיל (דניאל ח, ח), פירוש הגדיל לעשות כח וגבורה, עַד־דָּוִד הִגְדִּֽיל (שמואל א' כ, מא), פירוש הגדיל לבכות, מַגְדִּל [מַגְדִּיל] יְשׁוּעוֹת מַלְכּוֹ (תהלים יח, נא). והתאר מִגְדֹּיל [מִגְדּוֹל] יְשׁוּעוֹת מַלְכּוֹ (שמואל ב' כב, נא). והפעל הדגוש מַיִם גִּדְּלוּהוּ (יחזקאל לא, ד), וְגֶשֶׁם יְגַדֵּֽל (ישעיה מד, יד), גַּדֵּל פֶּרַע שְׂעַר רֹאשֽׁוֹ (במדבר ו, ה), חַיִל גָּדוֹל מְאֹד (יחזקאל לז, י), רוצה לומר רוב המנין. וכן וַיִּזְבְּחוּ בַיּוֹם הַהוּא זְבָחִים גְּדוֹלִים (נחמיה יב, מג), כי הלשון הזה משמשין בו בכל ענין הרבוי בין בענין האיכות בין בענין הכמות. וַיִּבֶן מִגְדָּל בְּתוֹכוֹ (ישעיה ה, ב), כְּמִגְדַּל דוד צוארך (שיר השירים ד, ד), אֶתֹּץ אֶת־הַמִּגְדָּל הַזֶּֽה (שופטים ח, ט). ובחולם מִמִּגְדֹּל סְוֵנֵה (יחזקאל כט, י), הוא הבית הגבוהה והגדול. והקבוץ בִּנְפֹל מִגְדָּלִֽים (ישעיה ל, כה). ובלשון נקבות וּמִגְדְּלֹתַיִךְ יִתֹּץ (יחזקאל כו, ח), מִגְדְּלוֹת מֶרְקָחִים (שיר השירים ה, יג), הפרחים שיגדלו בבשמים. גְּדִלִים מַֽעֲשֵׂה שַׁרְשְׁרוֹת (מלכים א' ז, יז), תרגום מַֽעֲשֵׂה עֲבֹת (שמות כח, כב), עוֹבַד גְּדִילוּ. גְּדִלִים תַּֽעֲשֶׂה־לָּךְ (דברים כב, יב), הציציות התלויות בבגד שאינן ארוגים יקראו גדילים. וענין הפסוק על הציצית אשר צונו במקום אחר (במדבר טו, לח) ומה שאמר הנה בלשון גדיל ושם בלשון ציצית? כי מצות ציצית להיות שליש גדיל ושני שלישי ענף.
ט-ל-ל
To roof over, to set a covering above; and in another sense טַל, dew.
Roofing over
הוּא יִבְנֶנּוּ וִֽיטַלְלֶנּוּ (Nechemiah 3:15), he shall build it and roof it over: that is, יסכהו, he shall cover it, meaning he shall set a roof above it. So too Chazal say לסוכא מטללתא (Sukkah 28b), of a sukkah that has been roofed; the Targum renders בַּסֻּכֹּת (Vayikra 23:42), in booths, as בִּמְטַלַּיָּא, in coverings, and בְּצֵל קֹֽרָתִֽי (Bereishis 19:8), in the shadow of my roof beam, as בִּטְלַל שֵׁרוּתִי, in the covering of my roof beam.
טַל, dew
In another sense the word is dew: כִּי טַל אוֹרֹת טַלֶּךָ (Yeshayahu 26:19), for your dew is a dew of lights, נִמְלָא־ טָל (Shir HaShirim 5:2), filled with dew, and וְהַשָּׁמַיִם יִתְּנוּ טַלָּם (Zecharyah 8:12), and the heavens shall give their dew. The dagesh stands in place of the doubled letter that is missing, and the plural is טַלִים or טְלָלִים, dews, on the pattern of צְלָלִים, shadows.
הוּא יִבְנֶנּוּ וִֽיטַלְלֶנּוּ (נחמיה ג, טו), פירוש יסכהו כלומר ישים עליו תקרה. וכן אמרו רבותינו ז"ל (סוכה כח, ע"ב) לסוכא מטללתא. וכן תרגום בַּסֻּכֹּת (ויקרא כג, מב) בִּמְטַלַּיָּא. ותרגום בְּצֵל קֹֽרָתִֽי (בראשית יט, ח) בִּטְלַל שֵׁרוּתִי. וענין אחר כִּי טַל אוֹרֹת טַלֶּךָ (ישעיה בו, יט), נִמְלָא־טָל (שיר השירים ה, ב), וְהַשָּׁמַיִם יִתְּנוּ טַלָּם (זכריה ח, יב), הדגש לחסרון הכפל. ולשון רבים טַלִים או טְלָלִים על משקל צְלָלִים.
פ-ת-ל
Twisting and turning about, which he holds is the one sense of the whole root: crooked conduct, a thread doubled and twisted, and פָּתִיל, a small piece of cloth.
Crooked and twisted
אֵין בָּהֶם נִפְתָּל וְעִקֵּֽשׁ (Mishlei 8:8), there is nothing twisted or crooked in them; וַֽעֲצַת נִפְתָּלִים נִמְהָֽרָה (Iyov 5:13), the counsel of the twisted is rushed; וְעִם־עִקֵּשׁ תִּתְפַּתָּֽל (Tehillim 18:27), and with the crooked You show Yourself twisted. The sense of all of them is turning about and distortion, and the adjective with the letters doubled is דּוֹר עִקֵּשׁ וּפְתַלְתֹּֽל (Devarim 32:5), a crooked and twisted generation.
Wrestlings of great might
נַפְתּוּלֵי אֱלֹהִים נִפְתַּלְתִּי (Bereishis 30:8) he reads as I turned about and strove with my sister to overcome her, and I have prevailed. נפתולי is joined to the word אלהים for the greatness of the wrestlings and their might, on the model of מַאְפֵּלְיָה (Yirmiyahu 2:31), a great darkness, שַׁלְהֶבֶתְיָֽה (Shir HaShirim 8:6), a great flame, עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה לֵֽאלֹהִים (Yonah 3:3), an exceedingly great city, and כְּֽהַרְרֵי־אֵל (Tehillim 36:7), like great mountains. Some explain the phrase from the twisted thread: that is, I grew strong with my sister, since a thread doubled and twisted is the stronger for it.
A small piece of cloth
In אֲשֶׁר אֵין־צָמִיד פָּתִיל (Bamidbar 19:15), which has no covering of פָּתִיל, he explains פָּתִיל as a small piece of cloth, and like it in the words of the Mishnah (Shabbos 2:3), פתילת הבגד שקפלה ולא הבהבה, a wick of cloth that one folded and did not singe. To his mind חֹתָֽמְךָ וּפְתִילֶךָ (Bereishis 38:18), your seal and your פְּתִיל, is the same, meaning the cloak of the one addressed or the turban on his head; and that is the view of the Targum, which renders it שׁוֹשִׁפָּךְ, your wrap, as it renders וַיָּלֶט פָּנָיו בְּאַדַּרְתּוֹ (Melachim I 19:13), and he wrapped his face in his mantle, בְּשׁוֹשִׁיפֵיהּ. Some of the commentators read חותמך ופתילך as a thread doubled and twisted, but Radak holds that what he wrote is correct.
A twisted thread
פְּתִֽיל־הַנְּעֹרֶת (Shoftim 16:9), a thread of tow, and פְּתִיל תְּכֵלֶת (Shemos 39:31), a thread of techeiles, are a cord doubled and twisted, and so Chazal said (Sifrei, Shelach) פתיל שיהיה טווי ושזור, that a פתיל be spun and twisted. Everything that falls under this root is one sense, distortion and turning about, since a thread doubled and twisted is distorted, and so is cloth made from twisted threads.
נַפְתּוּלֵי אֱלֹהִים נִפְתַּלְתִּי (בראשית ל, ח), אֵין בָּהֶם נִפְתָּל וְעִקֵּֽשׁ (משלי ח, ח), וַֽעֲצַת נִפְתָּלִים נִמְהָֽרָה (איוב ה, יג). וההתפעל וְעִם־עִקֵּשׁ תִּתְפַּתָּֽל (תהלים יח, כז), וְעִם־עִקֵּשׁ תִּתַּפָּֽל (שמואל ב' כב, יז), עיקרו תִּתְתַּפַּל ומשפטו תִּתְפַּתֵּל ונהפכת עי"ן הפעל בפ"א הפעל. ענין כולם ההפוך והעוות. ופירוש נַפְתּוּלֵי אֱלֹהִים נִפְתַּלְתִּי נתהפכתי ונשתדלתי עם אחותי לנצחה גם יכולתי. וסמך נפתולי אל מלת אלהים לגורל הנפתולים ועצמם על דרך מַאְפֵּלְיָה (ירמיה ב, לא), שַׁלְהֶבֶתְיָֽה (שיר השירים ח, ו), עִיר־גְּדוֹלָה לֵֽאלֹהִים (יונה ג, ג), כְּֽהַרְרֵי־אֵל (תהלים לו, ז). אֲשֶׁר אֵין־צָמִיד פָּתִיל (במדבר יט, ט), פירוש חתיכת בגד קטנה. ודומה לו בדברי המשנה (שבת פ' שני משנה ג) פתילת הבגד שקפלה ולא הבהבה. וכמוהו לפי דעתי חֹתָֽמְךָ וּפְתִילֶךָ (בראשית לח, יח), רוצה לומר אדרתו או הצניף שעל ראשו. וכן דעת המתרגם שתרגם שׁוֹשִׁפָּךְ, ותרגום וַיָּלֶט פָּנָיו בְּאַדַּרְתּוֹ (מלכים א' יט, יג) בְּשׁוֹשִׁיפֵיהּ. ותרגום הַמַּֽחֲלָצוֹת וְהַמַּֽעֲטָפוֹת (ישעיה ג, כב) כִּתּוּנַיָא וְשׁוֹשִׁיפַיָא, ותרגום וּפָֽרְשׂוּ הַשִּׂמְלָה (דברים כב, יז) וְיִפְרְסוּן שׁוֹשִׁיפָא. פְּתִֽיל־הַנְּעֹרֶת (שופטים טז, ט), פְּתִיל תְּכֵלֶת (שמות לט, לא), חוט כפול ושזור. וכן אמרו רבותינו ז"ל (ספרי פ' שלח לך) פתיל שיהיה טווי ושזור. והקבוץ וְקִצֵּץ פְּתִילִם (ספרי פ' לט, ג). וכן חותמך ופתילך, לדעת קצת המפרשים. והנכון מה שכתבתי בו. וכל הנכנס תחת השרש הזה הוא ענין אחד ענין העוות וההפוך, כי החוט כשהוא כפול ושזור הוא מעוות. וכן הבגד שנעשה מן החוטים השזורים. ויש מפרשים מזה נַפְתּוּלֵי אֱלֹהִים נִפְתַּלְתִּי, כלומר נתחזקתי עם אחותי כי החוט כשיכפל ויהיה שזור הוא יותר חזק. והתאר בהכפל העי"ן והלמ"ד דּוֹר עִקֵּשׁ וּפְתַלְתֹּֽל (דברים לב, ה).
צ-י-ץ
Flowers coming out and being seen; other senses are the plate of gold, צִיץ, and a wing; and צִיצִת, the loose end that hangs from a garment.
Blossoming
צָץ הַמַּטֶּה (Yechezkel 7:10), the staff has blossomed; וַיָּצֵֽץ צִיץ (Bamidbar 17:23), and it put forth a blossom; יָצִיץ וּפָרַח יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yeshayahu 27:6), Yisrael shall bud and blossom. וּפְטוּרֵי צִצִּים (Melachim I 6:18) are figures like flowers and blossoms, the yud swallowed in the dagesh. And וְֽהָיְתָה צִיצַת נֹבֵל (Yeshayahu 28:4), and the fading blossom shall be, takes the feminine tav though נֹבֵל, fading, is masculine. The sense of all of them is the flowers coming out and being seen.
Showing himself
Close to this sense is מֵצִיץ מִן־הַֽחֲרַכִּֽים (Shir HaShirim 2:9), showing himself from the lattices, which is to say he reveals himself and is seen and looks out from the windows. Some read from it וְעָלָיו יָצִיץ נִזְרֽוֹ (Tehillim 132:18), and upon him his crown shall be seen: in the place where I make a horn sprout for David, there his crown will be seen. It can also be read that the crown on his head will flower and blossom, that is, his greatness and glory will grow day by day.
The golden plate
Another sense is a plate of gold: וְעָשִׂיתָ צִּיץ זָהָב (Shemos 28:36), and you shall make a plate of gold, and צִיץ נֶֽזֶר־הַקֹּדֶשׁ (Shemos 39:30), the plate of the holy crown. The verb from it is the יָצִיץ of Tehillim 132:18, upon him his crown, which makes a third way of reading that pasuk; what the verb means on this reading he does not say.
A wing
Another sense is תְּנוּ־ צִיץ לְמוֹאָב (Yirmiyahu 48:9), give a wing to Moav, a wing to fly with. The Targum renders סְנַפִּיר (Vayikra 11:9), a fin, as צִיצִין, and Chazal said (Chullin 66b) that fins are what the fish flies with.
The fringe
וְעָשׂוּ לָהֶם צִיצִת (Bamidbar 15:38), and they shall make themselves fringes. The loose end of a garment, what is left over from the weave and hangs from it, is called ציצית, and so the threads that the Torah commands to be hung on the corner of the garment are called ציצית. Hanging locks of hair are the same, וַיִּקָּחֵנִי בְּצִיצִת רֹאשִׁי (Yechezkel 8:3), and he took me by a lock of my head, and some read מֵצִיץ מִן־הַֽחֲרַכִּֽים this way too, showing the locks of his head from the lattices. It is called ציצית after the loose end that hangs from it, since most of the threads of the ציצית are loose end, as Chazal said (Menachos 39a), a third is the twisted cord and two thirds the loose end; and they said (Menachos 62a) there is no ציצית but a loose end. In the same sense they speak (Shabbos 19:6) of the ציצין, the hanging shreds, that hold back the milah.
צָץ הַמַּטֶּה (יחזקאל ז, י). והפעל הכבד [הִפְעִיל] וַיָּצִיצוּ כָּל־פֹּֽעֲלֵי אָוֶן (תהלים צב, ח), וְיָצִיצוּ מֵעִיר כְּעֵשֶׂב הָאָֽרֶץ (תהלים עב, טז), יָצִיץ וּפָרַח יִשְׂרָאֵל (ישעיה כז, ו), וַיָּצֵֽץ צִיץ (במדבר יז, כג). וּפְטוּרֵי צִצִּים (מלכים א' ו, יח), היו"ד נבלעת בדגש והענין ציורים כמו פרחים וציצים, והשם עם תי"ו הנקבה וְֽהָיְתָה צִיצַת נֹבֵל (ישעיה כח, ד), ונזכר זכר ונקבה כי נֹבֵל לשון זכר. ונסמך המתואר אל התאר כמו בְּנֵי שִׁלֵּשִׁים (בראשית נ, כג). או יהיה שם בלתי סמוך ובא כדרך הסמוך כמו עֶגְלַת שְׁלִשִׁיָּה (ישעיה טו, ה), אַֽל־תִּתְּנִי פוּגַת לָךְ (איכה ב, יח) והדומים להם ענין כלם גלוי הפרחים והראותם. וקרוב לענין מֵצִיץ מִן־הַֽחֲרַכִּֽים (שיר השירים ב, ט), כלומר מגלה עצמו ונראה ונשקף מן החלונות. ויש מפרשים מזה וְעָלָיו יָצִיץ נִזְרֽוֹ (תהלים קלב, יח), כלומר במקום שאצמיח קרן לדוד על המקום ההוא יראה נזרו. או יהיה פירושו נזרו שעל ראשו יפרה ויציץ, כלומר תרבה גדולתו והדרתו בכל יום. וענין אחר וְעָשִׂיתָ צִּיץ זָהָב (שמות כח, לו), צִיץ נֶֽזֶר־הַקֹּדֶשׁ (שמות לט, ל), והוא טס של זהב. והפעל ממנו וְעָלָיו יָצִיץ נִזְרֽוֹ (תהלים קלב, יח). וענין אחר תְּנוּ־צִיץ לְמוֹאָב (ירמיה מח, ט), כנף שיפרח בו. ותרגום סְנַפִּיר (ויקרא יא, ט) צִיצִין. ואמרו רבותינו ז"ל (חולין סו, ע"ב) סנפירין שפורח בדחן. וְעָשׂוּ לָהֶם צִיצִת (במדבר טו, לח), ענף הבגד מה שנשאר מן הארוג שהוא נתלה בו יקרא ציצית, ולפיכך קרא החוטין שצוה הכתוב לתלות בכנף הבגד ציצית. וכן תלתלי השער הנתלים כמו ענף הבגד וַיִּקָּחֵנִי בְּצִיצִת רֹאשִׁי (יחזקאל ח, ג). ויש מפרשים מזה מֵצִיץ מִן־הַֽחֲרַכִּֽים (שיר השירים ב, ט), כלומר מראה ציציות ראשו. ונקרא צצית על שם הענף הנתלה בו כי רוב חוטי הציצית הם ענף כמו שאמרו רבותינו ז"ל (מנחות לט, ע"א) שליש גדיל ושני שלישי ענף. וכן אמרו (מנחות סב, ע"א) אין ציצית אלא ענף וכן הוא אומר ויקחני בציצית ראשי. וכענין זה אמרו (שבת פ' יט משנה ו. דף קלו, ע"א) ציצין המעכבין את המילה.
Radak, Sefer HaShorashim, Berlin 1847. Public domain, digitised by Sefaria from the National Library of Israel.
Sources
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Shelach: Growing the Fringes (Part 1/2)," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 21 June 2025.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Korach: Growing the Fringes (Part 2/2)," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 28 June 2025.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Bo: Filling your Phylacteries," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 20 January 2024.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Shelach: Learning the Ropes," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 10 June 2023.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Growing the Fringes," What's in a Word? Synonyms in the Hebrew Language (book manuscript).
Cited in the essay: Bamidbar 15:37-41 with Rashi, Rabbeinu Bachya and Rav Hirsch, 15:38 with Targum Onkelos; Devarim 22:12; Yechezkel 8:3; Yirmiyahu 48:9 with Rashi; Melachim I 7:17; Bamidbar 19:15; Shemos 28:36 with Rav Hirsch; Bereishis 8:21 and 50:13 in Targum, 30:8 with Rav Hirsch, 38:18 with Ramban, Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel, Paneach Raza and Baal HaTurim, 38:25 in Bereishis Rabbasi; Daniel 4:9, 7:4; Nechemiah 3:15; Menachos 39a, 41b; Mishnah Shabbos 2:4-5, 19:6, 24:5, Beitzah 4:4, Nedarim 3:5, 4:1, Kiddushin 4:14, Bava Metzia 1:1, Bava Kamma 10:10, Sanhedrin 7:2, Meilah 5:1, Keilim 3:2, 10:4, 28:7, Ohalos 8:5, Negaim 11:5-6, Taharos 9:9, Zavim 4:7; Rosh Hashanah 16a; Sanhedrin 44a with Rashi, 69a; Bechoros 34b; Kerisus 24a; Niddah 46a; Bamidbar Rabbah 18:3; Bereishis Rabbah 42:1; Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer ch. 3; Avos D'Rabbi Nasan 6:3; Menachem Ibn Saruk, Machberes Menachem; Ibn Janach; Ibn Parchon; Radak, Sefer HaShorashim; Rabbi Yosef Kimchi, Sefer HaGalui; Malbim, Sefer HaCarmel; Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim, Yerios Shlomo and Cheshek Shlomo; Rabbeinu Bachya, Kad HaKemach; Rabbi Avraham Maimuni; Rashbam; Rabbi Eliyahu HaBachur, Sefer HaTishbi; Rabbi Tanchum HaYerushalmi, HaMadrich HaMaspik; Rabbi Nosson of Rome, Sefer HeAruch, citing Rav Matzliach Gaon; Rabbi Binyamin Mussafia, Mussaf HeAruch; Rabbi Nosson Shapiro, Matzas Shimurin; Rabbi Ernest Klein; Dr. Alexander Kohut, Aruch HaShalem; David Curwin in the name of Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel; Rabbi Shaul Goldman; Benamozegh, Eim LaMikra to Bamidbar 15:38.