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Shatnez (or shaatnez, ; ) is cloth containing both wool and linen (linsey-woolsey), which Halakha, derived from the Torah, prohibits wearing. The relevant biblical verses ( and ) prohibit wearing wool and linen fabrics in one garment, the blending of different species of animals, and the planting together of different kinds of seeds (collectively known as kilayim).
The Mishnah in tractate Kil'ayim (9:8), interprets the word as the acrostic of three words: שע 'combing', טוה 'spinning', and נז 'twisting'.
The Modern Hebrew word שעטנז means 'mixture'.
According to modern biblical scholars (and Josephus), the rules against these mixtures are survivals of the clothing of the ancient Jewish temple and that these mixtures were considered to be holy and/or were forfeited to a sanctuary. Peake's commentary on the BibleJosephus. Antiquities 4:8:11. It may also be observed that linen is a product of a riverine agricultural economy, such as that of the Nile Valley, while wool is a product of a desert, pastoral economy, such as that of the Hebrew tribes. Mixing the two together symbolically mixes Egypt and the Hebrews. It also violates a more general aversion to the mixing of categories found in the Leviticus holiness code, as suggested by anthropologists such as Mary Douglas.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook suggested a Kabbalist interpretation that as shearing wool from sheep is "intellectually ... a form of theft", morally distinct from linen, the Torah distinguishes between them to instill a sensitivity towards animal welfare for their heightened status in a future elevated universe.
(2026). 9789657108925, Urim Publications. ISBN 9789657108925 quoting A. Kook, Otzerot HaRe'iyah vol. II, p. 97.
Linen mixed with fibres produced by other animals (e.g., mohair or camel hair) is not shatnez. The character of threads spun from a mixture of sheep's wool with other fibres is determined by the majority; if only a minority of the fibre is sheep's wool it is not considered to be wool.Talmud, Tractate Kilaim ix. 1 Nonetheless, a mixture of any of these materials with linen is Rabbinically forbidden because of the prohibition on Marit ayin.Maimonides, Mishnah Torah, Kilayyim, 10
Karaite Judaism maintains that the purple, blue, and scarlet materials must also have been made of linen, since the Torah prohibits wearing garments made from combinations of wool and linen. The Torah does not state from what materials the purple, blue, and scarlet threads were made.Exodus 28:6
The phrase regarding the kohenim sons of Zadok, "they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat"Ezekiel 44:18 is interpreted in the Talmud to mean "they shall not gird themselves around the bent of the body, where sweat effuses most".Talmud, Tractate Zebachim. 18b Judah ha-Nasi was of the opinion that the girdle of the ordinary priest was of shatnez, but Eleazar ben Shammua says it was of fine linen. The Talmud states that the high priest wore a linen girdle on Yom Kippur and a girdle of shatnez on all other days.Talmud, Tractate Yoma 12b
Cushions, pillows, and tapestry with which the bare body does not touch do not come under the prohibition,Talmud, Tractate Kilaim. ix. 2 and lying on shatnez is technically permitted. However, classical rabbinical commentators feared that some part of a shatnez fabric might fold over and touch part of the body; hence, they went to the extreme of declaring that even if only the lowest of 10 couch-covers is of shatnez, one may not lie on them.Talmud, Tractate Yoma 69a
Observance of the laws concerning shatnez became neglected in the 16th century, and the Council of Four Lands found it necessary to enact (1607) a takkanah ("decree") against shatnez, especially warning women not to sew woolen trails to linen dresses, nor to sew a velvet strip in front of the dress, as velvet had a linen back.Gratz, Gesch. vii. 36, Hebrew ed., Warsaw, 1899
Observant Jews in current times also follow the laws of shatnez, and newly purchased garments are checked by experts to ensure no forbidden admixtures are used. In addition to the above-mentioned methods, modern shatnez experts employ the use of microscopy to determine textile content. In most cases, garments that do not comply can be made compliant by removing the sections containing linen. Some companies label compliant products with "shatnez-free" tags.
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