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I follow minhag techeilet and I am on a university student's budget. Does anyone know where to get tzitziot with techeilet online for relatively little?

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    What kind of Techelet do you wear? Murex trunculus?
    – Double AA
    Nov 19, 2013 at 4:21
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    Its funny to see cheap techeiles together,when the gemara spoke of it it was rather expensive(not like its fake twin Kala ilan)
    – sam
    Nov 19, 2013 at 5:55
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    @sam You only go online to look for advice about discounts if the thing is generally pretty expensive.
    – Double AA
    Nov 19, 2013 at 15:08
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    Agreed but don't surprised if you get Kala ilan
    – sam
    Nov 19, 2013 at 17:53
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    I take my "resellers of course" comment back. Ben's Tallit Shop @ tzitzit.tallit-shop.com/tzitzit-strings-techelet/ has the P'til sets for only $60.
    – Gary
    Nov 20, 2013 at 4:19

5 Answers 5

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Seeing as there is no known company making Murex trunculus besides Petil Techelet, and on the other hand even the discounted techelet from then (for soldiers) is 100nis, I doubt anything lower will be the real deal. If on the other hand, you are interested in squib "techelet", which btw according to the radzin chassidim (I have spoken to the person who distributes it, son of the old Rebbe za"l) it is possible that both types can be halachically considered techelt. So if you want to go by that, they can go for as low as 50nis. BTW if you want me to send you Murex trunculus from Israel where if can be bought for cheaper, be in touch.

There is a "trick" called Ramabam Tafranim (literally Ramabam sewers [sewing], but meaning - rambam for poor people). Assuming you did your reaserch you should know that there are three opinions about the amount of techelet strings you need. Rambam(1), Raavad(2) and Tosfot(4). most people take Rambam because it is cheaper or because they think a Rabbi said so (for example there is an incorrect rumor [which we personally discounted] that Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein said so. I personally hold Raavad.

In any case, to the trick: Some people will buy Raavad or Tosfot and then cut the strings in half, and tie them to white strings making a string which is half white and half techelet, this will come out considerably cheaper (if you intended on having more than one pair). There are some opinions that this constitutes another knot and is halachicaly problematic while others don't but for more about this it would be wise to have a seperate topic about the knots in techelet as well as the opinions regrading the amount of strings (hint - some opinions claim that others make you over on deorita shatnez and say you are not wearing tzitzit at all)

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  • What did R Lichtenstein tell you? (He has told different people different things in the past.)
    – Double AA
    Nov 20, 2013 at 7:30
  • Exactly, that he has not given a psak that rambam is halacha. Didn't ask him what was right as we weren't looking for a psak. Nov 20, 2013 at 7:54
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    My Mesorah from RA"L is that he won't wear it at all "for personal reasons" but he feels that, if you choose to wear it, you should go with Rambam, which is what I do. I've never heard before that he tells different people different things. That aside, this answer provides very odd advice. OP: take that as a cautionary note.
    – Seth J
    Nov 20, 2013 at 13:39
  • Also, you said Rambam is the cheapest. It's not. IINM, it's the most labor-intensive and slowest to produce, and is therefore quite a bit more expensive than Raavad. (Tos. Might be more, because it uses twice as much dye as Raavad,, but I'm not sure if that brings up the price above Rambam. I wouldn't be surprised either way.
    – Seth J
    Nov 20, 2013 at 13:46
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    I feel that you are not understanding me and this discussion is futile. Furthermore I find it insulting that I take time to write an answer to a question that really doesn't fit the website's format, and give it a valid answer with various alternate solutions, only to have my answer down voted and the truthfulness of my statements questioned, only because people have a different opinion on the matter. I think you guys are really missing the point of open discussion. I'm out. Nov 20, 2013 at 21:02
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The Techeiles Chabura sells Bada"tz certified, murex-dyed strings for slightly less than Ptil Tekhelet's American costs.

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  • Which Badatz is this?
    – Double AA
    Dec 24, 2019 at 18:12
  • @DoubleAA, the strings themselves are 'Edoh haChareidis, but I'm not certain about the murex Dec 24, 2019 at 18:18
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I saw cheap radzyn techelet only for $15 on ben's tallit shop, but if you are wearing techelet from murex snail, you'll get the cheapest at techeiles-chabura.com, but the price not so far from ptil tekhelet, with the same quality and kashrut. You'll get The genuine ptil tekhelet with their genuine price only on chanut.tekhelet.com(or store.tekhelet.com) or at tzitzit.tallit-shop.com(ben's tallit shop). So far if i buy techelet, i have to buy from store.tekhelet.com, because they sell the nipputz lishma ones and the shipping price doesn't take much.

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  • Welcome to Mi Yodeya Yitharel! Thanks for the answer. Consider learning more about the site from this short Beginners' Guide.
    – mevaqesh
    Dec 25, 2016 at 8:34
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When I was a soldier is Israeli army (about 7 years ago) I remember they (Ptil Tcheles) were selling it with 50% discount to soldiers. So, if you are soldier, you can use this option.

Another trick is as follows. If you make Tcheles by the opinion of Rambam you can buy a Tcheles of Raavad (same price) and split it to two sets of Rambam. I personally made it number of times. The idea is that in set of Raavad one whole string is colored, while in Rambam you need only half string to be colored. So, you buy one set of Raavad and another simple set of white strings. Then, you cut the colored and white long strings to halves. Tight the halves together, and you have two sets!

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    @Downvoter, what are your reasons?
    – jutky
    Aug 17, 2014 at 18:22
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Going down the Bing list, and the Resellers list from P'til Techelet, it looks like "cheap techelet" is an oxymoron. There's a non-Jewish vendor calling himself "The Shoferman"who claims to have $20.99 "Original Blue" strings using snail dyes, but he also says the color runs--a good indicator that they are NOT real techelet dyes, as the comments point out. That leaves P'til Techelet and their resellers. P'til Techelet sells complete sets starting @ $70 on their order page. The comments also point out that their Hebrew site has the sets for NIS 160, (about $45.33), so if ordered there using NIS, they can get the real thing from the manufacturer @ at least 1/3 less than most other places - "relatively little", as requested. All the resellers I've run across that have pictures of the package sell them for at least $70. with one exception - Ben's Tallit Shop, who has them for $60.

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    I am skeptical. How is Shofarman able to sell it for much cheaper than anyone else? Why not name the supplier? What is this business about the dye rubbing off on your hands? I've never experienced that, and I thought the dye is supposed to be steadfast.
    – Isaac Moses
    Nov 20, 2013 at 5:05
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    @Isaac, Gary, et al, Shofarman is Christian. theshofarman.com/cartbkshofarvoc.htm
    – Seth J
    Nov 20, 2013 at 13:57
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    Oh s***t! Sorry, folks... I was just trying to find the least expensive legitimate techelet for our questioner... I read his "G-d told me to start blowin the Shofar story" on his home page, I think.... Okay, skip him! Looks like Ben's is the least expensive P'til techelet reseller, @ $60 + shipping...
    – Gary
    Nov 20, 2013 at 20:02
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    ....not one thing on his homepage about his idolatry, thanks @Seth J for poking around and finding it...wow, pretty deceptive if someone's looking for a yirei shamayim vendor.
    – Gary
    Nov 20, 2013 at 20:17

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