Numbers 15:38-39 gives us the commandment of tzitziot (fringes). “Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to make fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the fringes of the corners. And it will be a fringe for them, and they will look at it and remember all the commandments of HaShem and do them, and they will not go after their heart and after their eyes, after which they go astray.”
This applies in two ways: If you wear a garment with four corners (It has to be split at least 51% of the way to count as a “corner”), then it needs fringes. If you don’t regularly wear something like this, then you need to wear a special garment (Sometimes called a “small tallit” and sometimes called, simply, “tzitzit”). Though women are not required to fulfill this commandment, they are allowed to, and many righteous women in history have.
There are a lot more rules about tzitzit than I can cover here, so I will focus on two things.
1) How we tie: there are a few different traditions for tying tzitzit, and the important thing is not which tradition you use, but that you choose a tradition. This website can show you the three most common traditions with very easy-to-follow instructions. http://www.israelvisit.co.il/beged-ivri/techelet/tying0.htm. If you are just beginning to keep this commandment, it may be best to buy tzitziot that are already tied to make sure that they follow all of the laws and customs
2) Why do we keep this commandment? Numbers 15 points it out, actually. So that when we see them, we will remember and not go astray from the commandments. Sometimes when we’re torn between doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing, we need that little, extra push in the right direction. The Talmud (Menachot 44a) tells the story of a man who was about to use a prostitute, but as he undressed, his tzitzit slapped him in the face, reminding him not to. It’s not that they actually slap us in the face, but they remind us that there is right and there is wrong, and they push us to do what is right. Because of this, the sages consider this commandment to be equivalent to all of the other commandments combined (BT, Menachot 43b, and Rashi on Numbers 15:38-49.
We should remember that R. Yeshua warns against people who “lengthen” their tzitzit (Matt. 23:5). They should not become a point of pride, or something that we show off. If we take pride in them, then we have defeated the purpose of wearing them. Instead, we should be humbled by the fact that we need to constantly wear a reminder not to sin.
I may consider writing a full guide to tzitziot, how to tie them, how to put them on, how to wear them, etc. if anyone is interested. Comment and let me know.
I think it is comforting that God understands our need for concrete reminders and encouragement to do His will. He understands our frame, that we're but dust, and need visual challenges to help us stay true to Him.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! May I make a suggestion? :) Could you include the rabbinical sources when you say something like, "It has to be split at least 51%"? It's interesting to me and I'd love to read it from the original source.
ReplyDeleteThe need for a special garment I took from "The Concise Book of Mitzvoth" by R. Israel Meir Kagan (ztz"l), the requirement that it be split 51% is also from the Talmud, tractate Menachot, but I'm not sure what page. I failed to write that down. lol. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteWomen not being required to wear them can be found in both Talmud, Menachot 43 and in R. Kagan's book. The fact that righteous women in history have is something I remember having read, but in researching for this post I wasn't able to find the reference again.
I believe that Rashi's daughters wore tzitziot. I don't know if that may be helpful, Char.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, a good post. As I read your opening, this part stood out to me: and they will not go after their heart and after their eyes, after which they go astray. Made me think that we are sometimes confused about what takes us away from obeying His commands. It's not so much something "out there," but rather, a part of me--my heart and my eyes.
It follows that something our eyes can see would be a good tool for training our eyes to look to Him and our heart to follow Him.
Thanks for the post.
Something I like to say...a longer the tzitzit, the more trouble you have ordinarily remembering the commands (cause longer tzitzit means you thought you needed a bigger reminder).
ReplyDeleteWhy do you believe it is important to choose a tradition for tying tzitzit?
Because I think that the traditions of our fathers are important for us. Without them we don't know how to obey the Torah. Without them to unify our interpretation we can't have any kind of meaningful community. Without them, not only do we not know how to interpret the Torah, we don't even have the Torah to begin with. It's only the chain of tradition that has brought us to where we are today.
ReplyDelete