Tie the Knot - Ki Teitze 5784

 There are some Mitzvot that carry as much weight as all the other Mitzvot combined.  Refraining from idol worship is one, as is Shabbat.  Perhaps a more surprising one is Tzitzit, the Mitzvah of wearing strings on the edges of a four cornered garment.  “You shall make yourself twisted threads, on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.” (Devarim 22:12.)  This verse in this week’s Parsha is one of the times it is mentioned in the Torah.  

Another is in the third section of Shema that we say at least twice daily.  In those familiar verses Hashem says: “Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations...when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord to perform them...So that you shall remember and perform all My commandments...” (Bamidbar 15:38-40.)

This Mitzvah applies to men, because it is a time-bound Mitzvah.  When the Torah says “when you see it,” this implies that the Biblical requirement only applies during the day when it’s light and we can see it.  Women are exempt from most time-bound Mitzvot, including Tzitzit.  Chassidus explains that this is because women are born with an innate emotional bond to Hashem and require fewer external reminders than men.  It is therefore traditionally customary, with a few noted exceptions in history, for women and girls not to wear Tzitzit or a Tallit, recognizing that to do so would ignore their higher spiritual connection. 

The Biblical requirement is only to wear the Tzitzit when wearing a four cornered garment.  Nevertheless many have the custom to go out of their way to wear a four cornered garment with Tzitzit 24 hours a day because of their spiritual and physical protective qualities.  When the war in Gaza started, there was a run on Tzitzit and many organizations gathered volunteers to add Tzitzit to garments, because so many soldiers adopted the Mitzvah.

What is it about this Mitzvah that reminds us of all the commandments and helps us keep them, and “not wander after your hearts and after your eyes after which you are going astray.”  Rashi says that the numerical value of the letters of the Hebrew word Tzitzit - tzadik, yud, tzadik, yud, tav - adds up to 600.  Add eight strings and five knots, and that adds up to 613.  This reminds us of the 613 Mitzvot.

Another explanation is that during Temple times one of the strands was made of a special sky-blue wool called techelet.  This would remind people of the sky which is reminiscent of the Divine “throne”.  Another explanation is that the knots on the Tzitzit are like a reminder knot that a person might tie on their finger.  The five knots remind us of the five books of the Torah.  These are all important explanations, but require a level of knowledge that we may not all have, and the blue wool has not been around for 2,000 years.

I recently read a very interesting, perhaps more easily relatable, explanation for the connection between Tzitzit and all the Mitzvot.  String is used to tie separate things together, and that is the purpose of the Mitzvot.  The Mishna says (Avot 4:2):  “The reward of a Mitzvah is Mitzvah.”  There are various ways to explain that passage.  Chassiidus says that the word “Mitzvah” is related to the word “tzavta”, which means a group or bound together.  When we do a Mitzvah, we bind ourselves to the One who commanded the Mitzvah.  We become one with Hashem and bring His Divine light into the physical world with which we do the Mitzvah.

The Mishna is saying that the greatest reward of doing a Mitzvah is the bond that it creates between us and Hashem.  This, then, is what the Tzitzit are reminding us.  To tie ourselves to our source of life and goodness.  When we contemplate the message of the Tzitzit, it will help us remember what is important in life and how to achieve meaning.

I wish you a good and sweet New Year.