I have heard that Rav Scheinberg wore many garments with ציציות on them at a time. . .

  • Is this true?
  • If so, why did he do it?
  • If not, why do other people do it?
  • How many ברכות do they make when putting them on?
  • If the answer is >1, at what point in the putting on process is the 2nd ברכה made?

    • As YDK noted in his answer, it's R' Scheinberg who's known for doing this, not R' Elyashiv (shlit"a for both of them). – Alex Oct 8 '10 at 14:34
    • Thanks. I have edited the question (for some reason) to reflect this fact. – WAF Oct 8 '10 at 21:07
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      Rav Scheinberg recently passed away, so I have edited the question to past tense. Still a question worth discussing. – user1095 Mar 23 '12 at 9:36
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      Related: judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/4305/… – WAF Mar 23 '12 at 13:37
    • He wore 180 pairs learntorah.com/lt-shiur-details.aspx?id=7348 – Hacham Gabriel Apr 3 '12 at 0:26

    Regarding Rav Scheinberg's daughter who was once ill,he did not take on extra tzitzis, that is only why he doesn't speak on Shabbos. He has not publicized the reason for his wearing multiple pairs of tzitzis, though he has stated that every pair is a mitzvah. He makes one bracha, if any, since the talis gadol can patur the bracha on tzitzis. He dons bundles of 18 at at time.

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      ARTI, welcome to mi.yodeya and thank you for this informative answer! To reap all of the benefits that come with full mi.yodeya membership, consider clicking "Register" at the top of your page. We look forward to seeing you around in the future. – WAF Jan 17 '11 at 4:00
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      I heard my version from one of R' Scheinbergs grandkids. I didn't know that he doesn't talk on Shabbos, although I do know from an eyewitness that (must be back in the 50's) R' Scheinbergs wife took him to a din Torah by R' Moshe because R' Scheinberg would only speak Lashon Kodesh on Shabbos Kodesh, Which the rebbitzen did not know at least at that time. (R' Moshe ruled for the rebbitzen) – YDK Jan 17 '11 at 4:37
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      ARTI, where did you hear your version? – Seth J Mar 23 '12 at 15:06

    Rav Sheinberg originally put on 18 as a neder if his daughter recovered from an illness many years ago. He has added more since.

    I assume he only makes 1 bracha just like "we" only make 1 on both our talis gadol and katan.


    I was told that he wore multiple tzitzis garments to be yotzei all the shittos (e.g. Yemenite-Rambam tying, Sephardic tying, etc.), but this doesn't make much sense to me since I figure 5 or 10 or 20 should be plenty.

    • Beyond the two knots and 3 rings, Tzitzit tying is a custom and nothing more: nobody claims that their custom is more halachically acceptable than other minhagim, or that one shita is yotze while another is not. – Baal Shemot Tovot Mar 23 '12 at 15:23
    • @l' The RAMBAM and the ARiZal disagree. – user1292 Mar 23 '12 at 16:28
    • @mochinrechavim Are you saying that the Rambam and Ari disagree with l ' 's statement, or that the two of them disagree about how to tie and there disagreement is such that it's existence argues on l ' 's statement? – Double AA Mar 25 '12 at 2:03
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      @mochinrechavim I have read the rambam there. What makes you say there is some obligation to do it a certain way either mideoraita or miderabanan? – Double AA Mar 26 '12 at 16:16
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      @mochinrechavim You are ridiculous. Vram only pointed out why Ben's reason could not be the reason that R Scheinberg put on multiple pairs. That doesn't make R Scheinberg the idiot here; only you for insulting Vram publicly. It's individuals like you who don't understand the difference between minhag and din that really make the Torah seem laughable. – Double AA Mar 26 '12 at 17:41

    Moreinu HaGaon HaRav HaTzaddik Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, zatzal, did not (contrary to public belief) wear multiple sets of tzitzis due to a desire to be yotzi according to all views. All of his tzitzis were the same.

    He did this because (1) each beged is a mitzvah, each second that one wears it and (2) b/c there are non-religious folks who don't do the mitzvah, so he wanted to "make up" for them.

    There was a time when he wore almost 300 sets of tzitzis. He had skin problems because of this because it is very hot in Israel and his apartment (at one point) had no AC.

    Source: A Gadol in Our Midst

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