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Tzitzis; the reminder before mobile phones!

Written by d fine

You’ll notice that twice in the psukim which deal with tzitzis does it say that the tzitzis are so that we remember HaShem’s mitzvos. In perek 15 pasuk 39 the words are ‘and you’ll see it (the tzitzis) and remember all the mitzvos of HaShem,’ whilst the very next pasuk says ‘in order that you will remember and do all My mitzvos.’ What are these two reminders? The Sforno answers that the first remembering is after one has initially glanced at the tzitzis; the fact that one wears clothes which HaShem dictates reminds us that we are His servants – it instils a feeling of yirah. The second remembering is after we have internalised the concept of tzitzis, which leads us to serve HaShem with ahava and yirah. This is also perhaps why the psukim regarding tzitzis open with the command ‘speak (daber) to Bnei Yisrael and say (amarta) to them.’ Why two expressions for speech here? For daber means a harsher form of speech, which is a reference to the initial glancing at the tzitzis which emanate yiras HaShem. Whilst the softer amira form is for the next part – the internalising of the concept of tzitzis which causes (the softer) ahavas HaShem.

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