Tzitzis: Holding on to the Rope

BY Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

Parashas Shelach closes with the mitzvah of tzitzis. Interestingly, tzitzis is singled out by the Torah in ways that no other mitzvah is. The verse states (Bamidbar 15:40), “And you shall see them [the tzitzis] and remember all of the mitzvos of Hashem and do them.” The Sifri derives that tzitzis are equated in importance with all the other mitzvos combined.

Moreover, the verse continues, “and you shall not stray after your hearts and after your eyes.” The Sages teach us a deeper meaning: straying after your heart refers to heresy, and straying after your eyes refers to immoral relations. The Chofetz Chaim (Mishnah Berurah 1 in Bi’ur Halachah) notes that any thought or will that goes against Torah theology is included in “heresy,” and any desires that appeal to the senses are included in “immoral relations.” Even overindulgence in permitted pleasures is a transgression of this mitzvah. Amazingly, tzitzis are able to protect us from these pervasive and powerful lures into sin.

In Menachos (44a), a story is told about a Jew who had already strayed far from the proper path. When he was about to engage in a severe sin, his tzitzis strings hit him in the face. He regained control of himself and desisted.

What are tzitzis, and how do they work? How can a simple piece of clothing possess powers of spiritual protection?

The Ohr HaChaim, citing the Gemara and Tosfos (Menachos 43b), explains that tzitzis are the badge of the King, worn by His servants. Tzitzis serve as a perpetual reminder that the one wearing them is not a free man, able to let his passions reign unbridled. Tzitzis remind him that he is a servant to a Master. The fear of his Master is upon him, and his personal interests have no place in the face of his Master’s will.

Sometimes the desire for certain pleasures can burn so fiercely, a person may feel that it is a matter of life or death. At such a time, it seems literally impossible to control oneself. However, when a person lives with the knowledge that he is a servant, he feels meshubad (beholden) to his Master with every fiber of his being. This natural fear of his Master gives him the power to overcome his desires.

Rav Yechezkel Levenstein cites a midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 17:6) on the verses dealing with tzitzis: Once, a person was thrown into the water, and the captain of a ship cast out a rope to him, yelling, “Hold on to the rope and don’t let go! If you let go, you’ll die!” So too, Hashem tells us: if you cling to the mitzvos, you will live. Otherwise, you will not.

In this Midrash, water represents the materialistic elements of the world, each of which drags us deeper into a life of physicality. The rope represents tzitzis. With a symbolic display of servitude, tzitzis declare, “Remember your purpose in life! Every breath, every action, every thought, and every fiber of your being should live by the knowledge that you are a servant of Hashem.”

The Midrash concludes, “Hold fast to mussar (self-reprimand) and never let go. Guard it because it is your life!” Rav Levenstein explains that tzitzis themselves are a form of mussar. When we see them, we are reminded that we are servants of the King, and a certain behavior is required of us. The tzitzis before our eyes help us internalize this lesson.

My dear friend HaRav Yitzchak Geffner, who died after suffering from the dreaded disease for close to ten years, taught this principle by example. He was a true servant of Hashem. This was particularly apparent in the final period of his life. He was in great pain, and the doctors could do little for him. Yet, he maintained his rigorous schedule of Torah and service of Hashem like the great person he was.

Everyone who came into contact with him saw a true servant of the King. Here was a man whose lifeblood was Torah. Even after his physical body had all but left the world, his Torah study was still fueled by inexplicable energy. His trust in Hashem never wavered, and fear of Heaven was palpable in all of his actions. Let us emulate his ways, for our own benefit, and for the sake of his soul.

May we be zocheh to overcome the temptations of our hearts and eyes, becoming true servants of Hashem!

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