In the summer of 2005 I had the privilege of serving as a Rabbi in a sleepaway camp in the Pocono Mountains. My job entailed giving classes to a group of young, energetic teenagers who worked as the camp’s waiters. One day, the head waiter approached me with a request. Being a Torah-observant camp, the boys were required to wear tzitzit during the day. It seems that some of the boys were lax in this requirement. Their claim was that it was too uncomfortable for them to wear this additional layer of garments in the heat of the summer. It was my impression that the boys’ attitude towards wearing tzitzit came from a lack of appreciation of the commandment is about. If it were a Yankee jersey they had to wear, I don’t think we would have heard too many complaints. That evening, I shared with them the following insights into the commandment of tzitzit (most of which are based on a great book, Nesivos Shalom, by the great Slonimer Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Noach Berzovsky).
At the conclusion of this week’s Torah portion, Shelach, the Torah teaches us about this very commandment. The Torah states: “They shall make for themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments.” (Numbers 15:38). Elsewhere, the Torah elaborates, “Twisted threads you shall make for yourselves on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.” (Deuteronomy 22:12) In short, there is a biblical commandment that any garments that have four corners should have special strings attached to those corners. (Women are exempt from performing any positive commandment bound to a time frame; since the commandment to wear tzitzit is during to the daytime hours only, women are exempt from it.) (For a more detailed discussion of this commandment, please see The Code of Jewish Law sections 8-24.)
The Torah states in reference to the tzitzit, “You shall see it and you shall remember all the commandments of G-d.” (Numbers 15:39) In addition, the Talmud states, “The commandment of tzitzit is tantamount to all the 613 commandments of the Torah.” (Tractate Menachos 43b) What is the meaning of the above statements? How is one to remember the commandments by looking at the tzitzit? How is the single commandment of tzitzit in any way equivalent to all the commandments?
In essence, the tzitzit is our uniform. Just as the stripes, color, and design of an athlete’s uniform indicate which team he is a member of, so too when one looks at a tzitzit-clad individual, it is evident that this is a member of “G-d’s team.” How so? What is it about the tzitzit that gives this impression?
- The numerical value of the Hebrew letters that make up the word tzitzit equal 600. The tzitzit consist of eight strings that have five knots. Add all of this together and you get 613 – equal to the number of the mitzvot in the Torah!
- The five knots parallel the five books of the Torah.
- The four corners remind us that G-d is the king over the four corners of the world.
- The Hebrew word for one is “Echad.” Thisword is made up of the three letters, Aleph, Chet and Daled. Aleph, which has the numerical value of one, represents that there is one garment to the tzitzit. Chet has a numerical value of eight, which is equivalent to the tzitzit’s eight strings. Daled’s numerical value of four is equal to the four corners of the tzitzit.
- The knots that are tied on the strings represent the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people. Just as a knot connects one entity to another, so too do we have a connection to G-d.
These fascinating points give us some insight into how the tzitzit is the uniform for the members of G-d’s people. We now have an understanding of how looking at this garment can raise our awareness of the commandments, which connect us to G-d. This also explains how this single commandment is tantamount to all the others, as tzitzit is intended to be a physical reminder of all the commandments.