Mishnah Berurah — משנה ברורה

As long as etc. - And [regarding] what is written in se'if 13 - that if you wound even one section - I will explain the root of the matter: Because Chazal agreed that ציצית require a גדיל/tassel, which means that it's a requirement, like it says in the verse "you shall make for yourself גדילים (tassels)", and also it needs to have individual strings, like it says [in the verse] "by the hairs of my head" (Ezekiel 8:3). However, on a Torah level, there is no measurement regarding the length of the tassel, rather even if one only wound three windings and tied a knot above that, that too is a law to Moshe from on Sinai [that] one fulfills with it the name "גדיל/tassel". And with that [alone] one already completes the mitzvah on a Torah level. And this the reason of the words (ie. opinion) of the Shulchan Aruch there. And on this one may rely on Erev Shabbos before nightfall when he doesn't have enough time to make [his ציצית] properly (ie. with the full number of knots and winded sections) and [so] it's permitted to go out [while wearing it] on Shabbos and to make the blessing on it. (And [it would be] even better if he also makes the first knot that's before the first set of windings like we are accustomed to do, in order to fulfill [the mitvah] also in accordance with some of the rabbinic authorities who hold that it's regarding that [first] knot that Chazal were referring to which is on a Torah level). And all of this is on a Torah level, but on a Rabbinic level, one must make a third [of the total length of the ציצית] - the גדיל/tassel, and two thirds - the פתיל/loose spun threads. And since the length of the strings is twelve thumb-widths, as we mentioned above in se'if 4, one should make four thumb-widths - as the גדיל/tassel, which are the windings, and leave over eight thumb-widths of separate strings, for that is the beauty of the ציצית. And therefore, if one made [only] one set of windings on Erev Shabbos before nightfall, he must complete it immediately after Shabbos. Because if not, he is transgressing on the words of the Rabbis. And there are those who stumble regarding this.