Abstract:
Combined shirt and Jewish garment is provided adapted to be worn on a man&#39;s body. The combined shirt comprises a shirt having at least four corners, wherein at least two corners are positioned on each side of the man&#39;s body and a group of tied fringes is provided in the corners. Pockets are provided in the corners wherein the tied fringes are connected to the shirt within the pocket and are capable of being loosened to extend from said pocket.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a religious article. More particularly, the present invention relates to combined Jewish “four cornered garment’ with fringes that also serves as a shirt having pockets to protect and envelop the fringes. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A garment having fringes on its four corners is worn by members of the Jewish religion by way of draping it over one&#39;s shoulder. The well known Jewish garment includes a rectangle cloth having a central opening that can be placed over one&#39;s head and worn on the body. The garment is fully open along all sides producing 4 corners, each having a hole through which fringes, also known as “tzitzioth”, pass so that they can be tied to the corners of the garment. 
         [0003]    This Jewish garment suffers from some deficiencies. Most importantly, it moves around on the body causing discomfort to the wearer. Further, since it is loose fitting, it does not provide a neat appearance. However, most commonly, the garment is worn as an undergarment, and this is especially uncomfortable in the summer months and in warm climates. Another problem of the tzitzioth garment is that mechanical laundering damages the braiding of the fringes. Traditionally, once the tzitzioth braiding is damaged, the garment is rendered ritually void. Thus laundering has to be done manually. 
         [0004]    Despite these deficiencies, the 4-cornered tzitzioth garment has undergone very few design changes over many years. Rarely have constructive changes to the Jewish garment been suggested in order to provide aesthetic and comfortable usage to the wearer. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,494 “Garment” by Segol filed in 1984 that describes a garment that is formed with a body encircling portion which encircles and encloses the body, either temporarily or permanently, for about one-third or less the length of the garment, with two-thirds or more of the garment being open. Yet, the garment gives the appearance of being fully closed along the sides or located areas of open section. The garment is formed with at least four distinct corners which may contain fringes. A novel bag or encasement for laundering the fringes is also provided. 
         [0005]    Another example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,780 “Combined Shirt and Religious Garment” by Falack filed in 1990, that suggests a combined shirt and religious article that is rectangular in shape, includes a neck opening, and fasteners for fitting it to the torso of the wearer. Both solutions do not give a full and combined solution that allows the wearer to wear only one article that can be any article shirt provided with protected “tzizioth”. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    It is an objective of the present invention to provide a traditionally Jewish garment in the way that the Halakha (the Jewish religious law) states. 
         [0007]    It is another objective of the present invention to provide a tzitzioth garment which is comfortable to wear, fits well and is less likely to move around on the body. 
         [0008]    It is still a further objective of the present invention to provide a combined shirt and tzitzioth garment that has the aesthetic acceptability of a contemporary shirt or outer wear. 
         [0009]    It is still a another objective of the present invention to provide a tzitzioth garment provided with internal pockets protecting the tzitzioth while being washed in a washing machine. 
         [0010]    Additionally, a further objective of the present invention is to provide the combination of a traditionally Jewish tzitzioth garment which is both aesthetic and comfortable to the wearer while also providing the tzitzioth with internal laundry and covering pockets. 
         [0011]    It is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a combined shirt and Jewish garment adapted to be worn on a man&#39;s body, the combined shirt comprising: 
         [0012]    shirt having at least four corners, wherein at least two corners are positioned on each side of the man&#39;s body; 
         [0013]    a group of tied fringes is provided in four corners of said at least four corners; 
         [0014]    a pocket is provided in each of said four corners wherein said group of tied fringes is connected to the shirt within said pocket and is adapted to be loosened to extend from said pocket. 
         [0015]    Furthermore, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said shirt is a buttoned shirt. 
         [0016]    Furthermore, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said shirt is a T-shirt. 
         [0017]    Furthermore, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shirt can be a outer garment or an undergarment. 
         [0018]    Furthermore, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said pocket is adapted to accommodate said group of fringes. 
         [0019]    Furthermore, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said pocket is of a triangular shape having two sides closed and one open side that is aligned with the man&#39;s body and is adapted to be closable. 
         [0020]    Furthermore, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said open side is adapted to be closed with buttons. 
         [0021]    Furthermore, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said open side is adapted to be closed by a zipper. 
         [0022]    Furthermore, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said group of tied fringes is connected to said pocket using a connector adapted to allow attaching and detaching of said group of tied fringes. 
         [0023]    Furthermore, in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, said pocket is a triangular having a hole through which said group of tied fringes is connected. 
         [0024]    Additionally and in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the combined shirt comprises a second hole through which said group of tied fringes is inserted to within said pocket or kept outwardly of it. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0025]    In order to better understand the present invention and appreciate its practical applications, the following Figures are attached and referenced herein. Like components are denoted by like reference numerals. 
           [0026]    It should be noted that the figures are given as examples and preferred embodiments only and in no way limit the scope of the present invention as defined in the appending Description and Claims. 
           [0027]      FIG. 1  illustrates a frontal view of a combined shirt and Jewish garment with tzitzioth internal protection pockets in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  illustrates a frontal view of a combined shirt and Jewish garment with tzitzioth internal protection pockets in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 3  illustrates a view of a close tzitzith internal pocket in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, with loose tzizithiot. 
           [0030]      FIG. 4  illustrates a view of an open tzitzith internal pocket in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0031]      FIGS. 5   a,b  illustrate two views of tzitzioth internal protection pockets in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention; in a, the tzitzioth are positioned outside the pocket and in b, it is within the protection pocket. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0032]    The present invention provides a new and unique combined garment shirt provided with a “4-cornered tzizioth garment” so as to allow the wearer to wear only the shirt without having to also wear the religious garment beneath the shirt. Moreover, since the religious garment as disclosed in US patents as brought herein as references and as worn nowadays by religious people is loose on the body and is found to be uncomfortable by many people. 
         [0033]    The present invention provides a combined shirt and Jewish garment having internal pockets adapted to protect the tzizioth that are extended from the shirt during laundry and storage as well as enveloping the tzizioth when the shirt is worn and the wearer wishes to conceal them. According to one aspect of the present invention, the garment comprises of a garment having four corners, two corners on each side of the body, provided with tied fringes. Each fringe is provided with a protecting pocket that is adapted to accommodate the fringe. 
         [0034]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 1  illustrating a frontal view of a combined shirt and Jewish garment with tzitzioth protection bags in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Shirt  10 , that can be a regular garment or an undergarment, comprising of at least but preferably four corners  12 . Two corners are formed on each side of shirt  10  by an opening of the shirt that extends from point  14  to the bottom of the shirt, wherein the opening is sized to match religious requirements. In a preferred case, as shown in the figure, if a length of x is measured from the sleeve to the bottom, the opening will be extended to substantially x/2+3 cm. Each corner  12  is provided with a tied fringe  16  that is connected preferably to the interior portion of shirt  10 . Tied fringes  16  are the known “tzitzioth”. Shirt  10  has internal pockets  18  so as to protect the respective tzitzioths  16  as will be shown more clearly herein after. 
         [0035]    Shirt  10  is provided closed to wrap the body by buttons  20  while due to religious requirements, it is preferable to make round corners  22  in the bottom portion of the buttons. 
         [0036]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 2  illustrating a combined shirt and Jewish garment with tzitzioth internal protection pockets in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. Shirt  50  can be a T-shirt styled shirt having tzizioth  52  extended from the corners  54  of the shirt. 
         [0037]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 3  illustrating an internal view of a close tzitzioth internal pocket in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, with loose tzizith. Internal pocket  18  is provided in a shirt such as shirt  10  or shirt  50 . The shirt comprises 4 internal pockets respective to the 4 tzitzioth. Pocket  14  is preferably a triangular pocket that is sewed in two sides—the bottom side and the diagonal side. The open side is the side that is aligned with the body through which tzizith  62  extends. Buttons  60  are provided so as to allow the pocket to be closed while protecting the tzizith that is being accommodated within the pocket or to be open in order to allow the tzizith to hang loosely. The wearer can decide when to loosen the tzizith. 
         [0038]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 4  illustrating a view of an open tzitzioth internal pocket in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. By releasing the buttons, as described in  FIG. 3 , pocket  14  is opened. For illustrative purposes only, the internal connection of the tzizith is shown. Tzitzith  62  is attached to the shirt in the internal portion of pocket  18  by a connector  20 . Connector  20  enables tzitzith  62  to be detached  12  if necessary, in case of damage or any other reason. When pocket  18  is open, the portion that is provided with holes  66  for the buttons, and is adapted to enclose the buttons, is released. 
         [0039]    Reference is now made to  FIGS. 5   a  and  b  illustrating illustrate two views of tzitzioth internal protection pockets in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 5   a  depicts a protection pocket  100  that is provided to the corner of the shirt in a triangular shape as used and shown for the previous embodiments. However, the tzitzith  104  is connected to protection pocket  100  in a different manner than previously shown. Protection pocket is provided with a hole  106  through which tzitzioth  104  are inserted to within the pocket or kept exposed. Tzitzith  104  is being threaded to within a hole  108  so as to establish a connection between the tzitzith and the pocket.  FIG. 5   b  depicts tzitzith  104  lightly exposed while most of the tzitzith is inserted to within pocket  100  through hole  106  in the pocket. 
         [0040]    It should be emphasized that the closure of the pocket can be performed in any other way rather than pockets, without limiting the scope of the present invention. 
         [0041]    It should be emphasized that the shirt can be any shirt having any design; however since the shirt is combined with a religious article, the shirt has to accord certain religious requirements that do not limit the scope of the present invention. One main advantage of the combined shirt is that any shirt having any design can be incorporated with the Jewish garment and any religious requirements that are obligated. 
         [0042]    It should be clear that the description of the embodiments and attached Figures set forth in this specification serves only for a better understanding of the invention, without limiting its scope as covered by the following Claims. 
         [0043]    It should also be clear that a person skilled in the art, after reading the present specification, can make adjustments or amendments to the attached Figures and above described embodiments that would still be covered by the following Claims.