the mitzva of tzitzis is written in bamidbar 15:38 to 39, make fringes on the corners of your garments, look at them and remember the mitzvos. but the way it is written, the obligation only turns on if a person is wearing a four cornered garment. so is tzitzis optional by design, meaning a person could just never wear four corners and never owe the mitzva?
1. the shulchan aruch opens siman 17 with who is obligated, and the rema there brings the opinion that tzitzis is an obligation of the garment, not of the person. does that mean it really is a choice?
2. but the gemara in menachos 41a tells about rav ketina, who made a point of wearing clothes that were exempt from tzitzis, and the gemara says that in a time of anger a person who dodges the mitzva like that gets punished. so which is it, a built in option, or a mitzva a person is not allowed to avoid?
3. and practically: where does the tallis katan come from, the universal minhag that men wear four corners all day specifically so the mitzva applies? is that an obligation, a minhag, or a midas chassidus?
bottom line: is a man today halachically required to wear tzitzis, or only if he happens to put on a four cornered garment?
Thank you Rabbi, thank you very much.
It is just a Minhag and it is optional. Not everyone can wear Tzitzit and be comfortable. However, if you wear an article of clothing that has four or more corners, then it is mandatory to put Tzitzit on four corners.