{"id":12008,"date":"2026-07-05T00:09:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T21:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12008"},"modified":"2026-08-03T14:48:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T11:48:08","slug":"17-05-09","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-05-09\/","title":{"rendered":"09. Discovering Kilayim in One\u2019s Garment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"direction: ltr\">In the past, <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> was often readily identifiable, since most threads and fabrics were made of wool or linen and many people knew how to distinguish them. Some garments were so obviously <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> that, within the Jewish community, any Jew who wore them was understood to be openly defying Jewish practice and desecrating God\u2019s name. Other garments were known by most Jews to contain <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em>, although not everyone could recognize it, while still others could be identified only by experts. A person might therefore buy and put on a garment, only to discover while standing in the marketplace that he was wearing <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> prohibited by Torah law. He must then remove it immediately, even if this leaves him naked and humiliated in the street, for \u201cthere is no understanding and no counsel against the Lord\u201d: wherever God\u2019s name is desecrated, honor is not accorded even to a rabbi (<em>Berakhot<\/em> 19b; SA YD 303:1).<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">If he refuses to remove the garment because he is embarrassed, some authorities maintain that the mitzva of rebuke and the mutual responsibility shared by all Jews require another Jew to tear the garment off him (Rambam; SA YD 303:1). This applies only when the wearer accepts the halakha but finds it difficult to comply; in such a case, it may be assumed that he will ultimately be grateful to the person who tore off the garment and prevented him from violating the prohibition. If, however, he has cast off the yoke of the mitzvot, tearing off the garment will not bring him closer to Torah and mitzvot and should not be done. Many authorities maintain that even when the wearer accepts the halakha in principle, one should rebuke him but may not tear the garment from him (Rosh; Rashba; Ra\u2019ah; <em>Terumat Ha-deshen<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">The authorities disagree about what one should do upon seeing someone unknowingly wearing a <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> garment when removing it immediately would cause him severe embarrassment. Many maintain that one should not inform him on the spot, since doing so would force him to undress publicly. Instead, one should invite him home and tell him there that the garment contains <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> (Rosh; <em>Terumat Ha-deshen<\/em>; Rema). Others maintain that he must be informed immediately so that he can remove the garment without delay (Rambam; Radbaz).<sup><a id=\"_te01ftnref5_9\" class=\"aup1\" href=\"#_te01ftn5_9\">[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<div>\n<hr size=\"1\" \/>\n<div><a id=\"_te01ftn5_9\" href=\"#_te01ftnref5_9\">[9]<\/a>. The Gemara states: \u201cOne who discovers <em>kilayim<\/em> in his garment must remove it even in the marketplace. \u2018There is no wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel against the Lord\u2019 \u2013 wherever desecration of God\u2019s name is involved, no honor is accorded even to a teacher\u201d (<em>Berakhot<\/em> 19b). The Gemara concludes that human dignity overrides a rabbinic prohibition but does not override a Torah prohibition when the violation requires an action. Although a person who continues wearing <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> is not performing a new act, the violation began when he put on the garment, and his continued wearing is therefore also considered an active violation. The Yerushalmi records two opinions. According to one, the wearer must remove the <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> garment. According to the other, \u201cso great is human dignity that it temporarily overrides a negative commandment\u201d (<em>Yerushalmi, Kilayim<\/em> 9:1). Some explain that a garment containing <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> by Torah law must be removed, whereas one containing only rabbinically prohibited <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> need not be removed, in accordance with the Bavli (Mahara Fulda; <em>Sefer \u1e24aredim<\/em>). Others understand the second opinion in the Yerushalmi to mean that, for a limited time, human dignity overrides even a Torah prohibition involving an active violation (Rash Sirilio; Maharam b. \u1e24aviv). A third interpretation maintains that the dispute concerns whether one must inform someone who is unknowingly wearing <em>kilayim<\/em>, or whether one should spare him the embarrassment of having to remove the garment in public (based on Rosh).<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">According to Rambam, one who sees another person \u2013 even his teacher \u2013 wearing <em>kilayim<\/em> prohibited by Torah law must \u201crush over and tear the garment off him immediately\u201d (MT, Laws of Kilayim 10:29). This ruling is based on Rambam\u2019s version of the Gemara. Radbaz and <em>Kesef Mishneh<\/em> explain that Rambam understood the incident involving Rav Adda b. Ahava accordingly: he tore a woman\u2019s garment because he mistakenly believed that she was Jewish and was wearing <em>kilayim<\/em> prohibited by Torah law (<em>Berakhot<\/em> 20a). This is also the ruling of SA YD 303:1 and <em>Sha\u2019agat Aryeh<\/em> \u00a758.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">Rosh, however, understands <em>Berakhot<\/em> 19b differently. If one sees another person deliberately wearing <em>kilayim<\/em>, he must rebuke him, even though compliance will require the wearer to remove the garment in public and suffer embarrassment. Rosh makes no mention of tearing the garment. If the person put on the <em>sha\u2019atnez<\/em> unknowingly, however, one should not inform him until he reaches home, so that he will not be humiliated by having to remove it in public. Rosh derives this distinction from the Yerushalmi. This is also the view of <em>Terumat Ha-deshen<\/em>, Rema, Rash Sirilio, Ba\u1e25 \u2013 who maintains that Rambam agrees \u2013 and <em>Peri Yitz\u1e25ak<\/em> 1:26.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr\">Other Rishonim explain that the Gemara discusses a person who suddenly discovers <em>kilayim<\/em> in his own garment and is therefore required to remove it. It does not address whether someone else must inform an unaware wearer when doing so will cause him public embarrassment (Rashba; Ra\u2019ah; <em>Or\u1e25ot \u1e24ayim<\/em>; Meiri). It appears that these authorities agree in practice with Rosh, since they too recognize the obligation to rebuke another person in accordance with the laws governing rebuke. In any event, none of the authorities who disagree with Rambam suggest tearing another person\u2019s garment in order to save him from the prohibition; their discussion concerns rebuke alone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the past, sha\u2019atnez was often readily identifiable, since most threads and fabrics were made of wool or linen and many people knew how to distinguish them. Some garments were so obviously sha\u2019atnez that, within the Jewish community, any Jew who wore them was understood to be openly defying Jewish practice and desecrating God\u2019s name. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-05"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>09. Discovering Kilayim in One\u2019s Garment - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-05-09\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"09. 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