Numbers 15

Ezekiel 1

This week’s Torah portion contains the commandment for Tzitzit. The children of Israel observe this commandment in a very specific way. A 4 cornered garment is worn and the Tzitzit are tied into each corner. Some minhag includes the thread of techelet blue, and some minhag uses only undyed wool. The Halacha, however, maintains that the Tzitzit are only worn in a 4 cornered garment that goes over the shoulders.

One reason the sages instructed us to wear the Tzitzit in this fashion is because of the quotation we see here in Ezekiel 1. The understanding surrounds the word כנפ kanaf, which can really mean to different things. It can mean corner, as in Numbers 15:38, it can also mean wing, as in Ezekiel 1:8. Although the meaning of the word can largely be determined by context, it is important to perform a mitzvah of this magnitude as precisely as possible. Consequently, when we see that the hands are under the kanaf, the wing, we may also understand that the hands must be under the corner, kanaf. Therefore, Tzitzit must be more in a garment that has 4 corners, kanaf, that must be worn over the arms or hands. For our purposes, this must mean over the shoulders.

Some groups attempt to tie Tzitzit on their belt loop or clipped them to their pants. My bride, Roni, calls them lunatic fringe. This is obviously an ignorant misunderstanding of the commandment. The groups that adopt this casual usage of Hashem’s name are trying to disassociate themselves from Israel, and Israel’s understanding of the commandments. They are following after their own eyes and own heart, prostituting themselves. They completely misses the point of the mitzvah, which is to remind ourselves to follow all of Hashem’s commandments, together as a nation. Shabbat shalom.