Double Knots - A Sefardi Perspective

I e-mailed HaRav Ostroff the following question. The parts in bold type are his comments.

Dear Rabbi Ostroff,

You wrote about double knots:

The Sha'arei Teshuva 1 cites the Birkei Yosef who says that

We are accustomed in our area to tie a double knot in our belts, because it is neither permanent nor a craftsman's and nobody refrains from doing it except a very small minority, which are batel within their own minority.

The probable explanation is that the knot is not tight and therefore it does not enter the category of a craftsman's knot.

I found it quite an interesting exercise viewing some of the Sefardi Poskim on this matter.

The Kaf HaChaim (23) quotes the Birkei Yosef and writes that "it seems that this is case of a knot that is not tight".

The Ben Ish Chai (Ki Tisa Second Year Seif 2) refers to a much longer treatment on the subject in his Rav Pa'alim, but basically he agrees that a double knot is assur. His take on the Birkei Yosef is that the tiny minority referred to is of the people, not the Rabbis, and so you can't learn from that case. (The Kaf HaChaim also agrees that the tiny minority refers to the people, but he doesn't take it to the same conclusion as the Ben Ish Chai).

So, you have the support of two major Sefardi Poskim who both agree that a double knot is assur.

Now lets look at the Yalkut Yosef (my Sefardi son-in-law bought me a set). It's volume 4, Hilchos Shabbos Volume 2, Siman 317 Seif 8. The chapter heading says that most of this chapter was written by Rav Ovadiah himself.

Although he begins with a "Yeish Omrim" that a double knot is forbidden, he concludes that the Minhag is to permit one to tie a tight double knot on Shabbos, so long as one doesn't intend for it to last, but one who is machmir, "Tavo Alav B'racha."

In the footnotes he bases his p'sak on the Birkei Yosef who, he says, was obviously talking about a tight double knot. What I find interesting (as a fan of Rav Ovadiah's works) is that he dismissed the Ben Ish Chai and completely ignored the Kaf HaChaim.

That is because Rav Ovadia's shita is to return to the BY and not make mention of the Ben Ish Chai (in many cases) becasue he followed other shitot other than the BY, mainly the Rama.

Thank you for the info, it is very interesting

Kol tuv

Rabbi Dovid Ostroff