"Throughout
the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners
of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have
these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands
of the L-rd, that you may obey them..." (Numbers
15:38-40)
In order to obey this command from G-d, the Jewish people attach tzitzit, pronounced 'zeet-zeet', to the 'corners' of a garment called a Tallit (Tal EET). The four tzitzit (tassels), represent the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). The Tallit or Prayer Shawl is said to be filled with G-d's Light. The sages teach that the Tallit is immersed in the Shekinah Glory of G-d according to the following scripture:
"O L-rd my G-d, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps Himself in light as with a garment..." (Psalm 104:1-2)
Putting on the tallit is equivalent to "putting on the Word of G-d". It is a reminder to obey G-d's commands which will protect one from all evil. The Jewish Sages teach:
"He who carefully observes the command-ments of the tzitzit will be able to behold the Face of the All-Present G-d"
(Menachoth 436).
The prayer shawl described in the Old Testament is the outward, visible sign of G-d's love and care manifested in His revealed Word. It was a type and shadow of the Messiah, who was to be the living sign of G-d's love and care manifested in His revealed Son and Holy Spirit.
The Hebrew word for
tassel is 'tzitzit', meaning to appear in visible form.
The blue color of one cord of each tassel is the color of heaven,
representing the anointing and presence of G-d in the garment.
Note: The blue dye used in the prayer shawl and in the priest's garments was extracted from a chilazon, a snail that disappeared from the Mediterranean Sea for almost 2000 years. Therefore, no blue cord appears in the tzitzit of Jewish prayer shawls today. Recently however, the chilazon has returned and they are beginning to produce the required dye. The return of the chilazon is a prophetic sign that the anointing of G-d will be returning to Israel marking the time when all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26).
Because the word 'tzitzit' means to appear in visible form, the prayer shawl is the visible Torah displayed by man in his attire. The rabbis describe the Torah as the garment of the soul, the bond between G-d and man. Wearing a tallit symbolizes being bound to G-d through obedience to His Word.
In numerology, each of the 22 Hebrew letters are assigned a numeric value. The numeric value of the letters in a word are added together to get the numeric value of a word. Accordingly, the numeric value of the word 'tzitzit' is equal to the total number of the Laws in the Torah, 613.
| The numeric value of the word "tzitzit" |
600 |
| Plus the 5 knots and 8 strings |
13 |
| Equals the total number of commands in the Torah (The Law) |
613 |
Each group of 8 strings is knotted 5 times to form a tassel or tzitzit. There are five books in the Torah. Symbolically, this demonstrates the way G-d has provided for man to reach spiritual heights: by obedience to His Word.
There are 4 tassels and 4 groups of windings between the 5 knots. Four is the number of the earth. Therefore, the 4 tassels (the Word of G-d) and the 4 windings serve as 4 witnesses on earth against sin. There are also 4 letters in the unutterable name of G-d (known as the Tetragrammaton).
Each of the 4 tzitzit have 8 strings, making a total of 32 strings. Thirty-two is the numeric value of the Hebrew word for "HEART". The tzitzit's loose strings represent G-d's 'heart strings'.
The 8 strings plus the 5 knots equals the 13 attributes of G-d's mercy. G-d's mercy causes us to overcome the world through spiritual under-standing of His Laws.
The four groups of windings represent 'over-coming the world' through obedience to the commandments of G-d. The total windings:
7 + 8 + 11 + 13 = 39. Thirty-nine is the number of lashes given to a criminal, reminding the wearer that disobedience to the Word of G-d makes one a criminal worthy of punishment. The windings also allude to G-d's unity which binds everything together:
Perfection in the physical realm 7
The spiritual realm + 8
The numeric value of the first two letters of G-d's Name =15
The numeric value of the last two letters of G-d's Name in G-d's Name +11
The numeric value of the Hebrew word for "One" +13
The numeric value of the statement "G-D IS ONE" =39
The apostle John teaches that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Word of G-d. Grapha is Greek for the written word, and Rhema is Greek for the spoken word; but John used the Greek word Logos in John 1:1, 14:
"In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was G-d...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."
Logos means the written word and all that it implies in a natural and spiritual sense. John used Logos to make the analogy between Yeshua (Jesus), the Living Word (John 1:14) and the tzitzit, the Word appearing in visible form. Yeshua (Jesus), the Word of G-d, appeared in visible form as the Son of G-d. Yeshua (Jesus), the bond between G-d and man, is our direct link to the spiritual realm. The thirty-nine windings reminds us that Yeshua took the thirty-nine stripes of a criminal on our behalf because we disobeyed His Word.
The blue string in each tassel represents the Holy Spirit anointing which is present when we wrap ourselves in His Word; not just in the reading of the Word, but in the doing of the Word. As we look at the tzitzit [study the Word of G-d], the Holy Spirit brings the conviction of sin on us and enables us to overcome evil temptations. We can reach great spiritual heights, only through the leading of Holy Spirit. It is also the Holy Spirit that testifies to us that Yeshua is G-d manifest:
"....And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." (1 John 5:6b-7)
Yeshua, the Word of G-d, is the garment of our souls:
"...put on the L-rd Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Romans 13:14)
When we obey His commands we are wrapped in the Glory of G-d. We are filled with 'light', which is truth and understanding. As the Hebrew sages say, If we carefully observe the commandments of the tzitzit, we will be able to behold the Face of the All-Present G-d.. Yeshua, the Living tzitzit, said:
"He who has seen Me has seen the Father.." (John 14:9).
The prayer shawl represents the Father, the tzitzit represents the Son, and the blue thread represents the Holy Spirit. G-D IS ONE!