When the Rabbis Permit Shaatnez - Pt 1.

Deut 22:

11 Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together


Now this is an area where there is  not much dispute between Karaites and Rabbanites. But at both extremes, there are some weird views. I understand that some karaites became so obsessive that they forbid any mixed fabrics whatsoever - taking Lev 19:19  too far (וּבֶגֶד כִּלְאַיִם שַׁעַטְנֵז, לֹא יַעֲלֶה עָלֶיךָ.)

However, unknown to most, is the fact that Rabbis permit shatnez on 2 occasions. The first part I shall deal with here. That is Tzitzit.

Here is a quote with a number of rabbinic sources that permit Shaatnez tzitzit:

"chu­mash dvarim the mitz­vah is repeated for a sec­ond and final time; “לֹא תִלְבַּשׁ שַׁעַטְנֵז צֶמֶר וּפִשְׁתִּים יַחְדָּו, גְּדִלִים תַּעֲשֶׂה לָּךְ עַל אַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת כְּסוּתְךָ אֲשֶׁר תְּכַסֶּה בָּהּ” trans­lated “you should not wear shat­nez — wool and linen together, strands you should make for your­self on the four cor­ners of your gar­ment that you cloth your­self with”. In line with simuchin (find­ing par­ralels between mitzvot writ­ten next to each other) Tar­gum yonatan explains “ ‘ברם לאצטולי כיתן חוטי ציציית מן עמר תהון מרשן למעבד לכון על ארבע כנפי גולייתכון דתתעטפון בה ביממא”, “..but with a shawl of linen you are per­mit­ted to place tzitzith of wool on its four cor­ners of that gar­ment that you wrap with dur­ing the day”. Like­wise, Rashi explains the words גדילים תעשה לך –אף מן הכלאים; you may make those gdil­lim (strands) using klayim (i.e. wool and linen), this “per­mit” is actu­ally writ­ten in the tal­mud (see nazir 42a)."
http://kehuna.org/tzitzit-made-of-shatnez/


So Rashi,Talmud etc allow what is clearly prohibited by the Torah - making them no different from reform rabbis.

The other case, which I hope to come back to, is regarding the Priestly garments.