Is It Necessary to Wear the Tzitzit Strings Outside the Pants?

The matter of wearing the tzitzit strings outside is a subject of dispute among the poskim. Indeed, the Mishnah Berurah (Orach Chaim 8:26) is very stringent about this, holding that even when walking among non-Jews, one should not conceal the tzitzit inside the pants. However, the Shulchan Aruch itself presents different implications regarding the obligation to wear tzitzit over clothing [see Orach Chaim 8:11 and 24:1], whether this is a full obligation or just a mitzvah min ha'muvchar (an enhanced mitzvah). Some maintain that even for a mitzvah min ha'muvchar, it is not necessary to wear the tzitzit strings outside [see Lechem Chamudos, Laws of Tzitzit, Rosh end section 70]. Many, however, consider this a significant matter, aiming to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzit in the best manner. As the Nimukei Yosef (Laws of Tzitzit to the Rif) cites the Ritva that even a small tallit should be worn over one’s garments to fulfill it properly, and not to "follow after your heart and after your eyes." The sages compared the tzitzit strings to a seal the master places on his servant, who takes great care that it remains visible. The Beit Yosef (Orach Chaim 8:10) writes: "Since the purpose of tzitzit is to remember all the commandments, therefore those who wear the small tallit under their clothes should be careful to wear it so that the tzitzit always remain visible, so that through seeing them they will remember the commandments." Also, the Aruch HaShulchan (8:17) notes that even if, halachically, this does not prevent wearing tzitzit outwardly, one should not delay in wearing the tzitzit outside. The Shlah HaKadosh (beginning of tractate Chulin) also wrote: "Because of mockers, I also wear the small tallit under my clothing, but I take two tzitzit that are at the front and place them outside the edges of my clothes so that I always see them, and so it is proper to behave." This practice is common among most Ashkenazim, especially today following the rulings of great poskim of the last generation, almost like the Mishnah Berurah, who ruled: "Those who tuck the tzitzit inside their pants not only obscure their eyes from what is written, 'and you shall see it and remember all the commandments of Hashem,' but also desecrate the mitzvah of Hashem and will be held accountable. And the reason some give for their practice because they walk among gentiles, would have sufficed for them to tuck the tzitzit inside the garment’s edge. If they had a royal gift inscribed with the king’s name, how much they would adorn themselves always before the people, all the more so with tzitzit that signify the Name of Hashem, how honorable is the person who bears His Name on him." This is echoed in the Shulchan Aruch of the first Lubavitcher Rebbe (8:18): "Since the purpose of wearing tzitzit is to remember the commandments, one who wears a small tallit should be careful to wear it over his clothing so that the tzitzit should always be seen and the commandments remembered, and those who wear it under their clothes should be careful to wear it so that the tzitzit will always be visible, so that by seeing them, the mitzvot are always remembered." All this is according to the revealed Torah. According to Kabbalah, the poskim bring the language of the Ari that the tzitzit should be worn under the garments specifically, and in the book Solet Bilulah [cited in Yafe Lev Orach Chaim 8:21], it is proven that the Ari intended the tzitzit strings to also be inside. Indeed, the Sephardim, almost all from small to large, including those in chassidic and pious circles, wear the tzitzit under their clothes, with the strings tucked inside. The great Gaon Rabbi Ovadia Yosef strongly defends the Sephardic custom in his book (Yabia Omer part b siman 1), and in his opinion the members of Sephardic and Mizrahi communities should keep their ancestral custom and follow the tradition of Rabbeinu HaAri zt"l, and wear the small tallit under their clothing, with the tzitzit covered by their garments. Success in your prayers – Menashe Israel. Regarding the prayers, please specify whether you have a siddur and to which nusach you belong, Sephardic or Ashkenazic.