The Spiritual Protection of Tzitzis & Why Women Don't Need It - Rav Schwab on the Parsha of Tzitzis

Okay, good morning Rabbi side. Welcome everyone. Today's sheerim are dedicated in memory of Haya Esther bas Tamara whose yard site is today began Eden tim no casa. She should be a Melissa Shara for her family for some sonajas. I'll be a skull sadak. Now today's sheer on Eon tfila which is also going to be a sheer on parsha shalach. The sheerim on Eon tfila are dedicated by the Ross family. By but Rabbi Solomon Ross a mishpacha lezecher nishmas Tsvi ben Levi Yitzchak z'l shalom shalom ben Eliyahu. Be a Melissa for his family. I'll be a skull sadak. Uh we're going to go now to the safer Eon tfila where Rabbi Schwab has a beautiful uh presentation on the parsha of tzitzis that is found in this week's parsha. Here we go. Um According to many place game and according to most place game a co According to many place game the parsha of tzitzis is mid orisa even though according to most place game it's only mid rabana. And the gamara says in brachas why were they cover the parsha of tzitzis? Rabbi Yehuda says in the name Rabbi Yehuda bar Aviva says because there five important principles that are found in it. And five commands that were a commanded to fulfill. We have the mitzvah of tzitzis. We have zechiras yitzias mitzrayim. We have kabalas oh mitzvos uzachartem es kol mitzvos Hashem. We have distancing from avoda like it says of him. And to distance from thoughts of sin like it says suru. A Korean come. For these are five great principles that are found in the parsha of tzitzis. Now, what does the word tzitzis mean? Rashi and the Rashbam and parsha shalach. Say it's similar to the in parsha parsha by you but tzitzis roshi. Which means. The curls the locks of hair. That the groups of tassels of the tzitzis are like locks of hair. That's what Rashi says. Rashi brings the my first him. It's a lesson of tzitzis min a kim. Because we're obligated to always see it. Similar to the ornament on the forehead is called a tzitzis. Because it's in the place where people gaze. These are the two ocean. Um. Rashi brings the first ocean. Also he mentions the second the Rashbam mentions the second. And explains. Anything that sprouts. Outside of its original root is called a tzitzis like tzitzis there. Likewise. The tassels it's like they're. Sprouting forth from the garment. Let's explain. We find that after they ate from the it says Hashem Adam cast nice by Alby shame. Hashem gave a very important gift to mankind. That gift. were mankind's clothing to cover his limbs. And the limbs of a person are the seats of a person's physical senses. Through a person's limbs, they're able to touch, able to sense, taste, smell. Now, even though a person is imbued with senses and animalistic tendencies that draw him to sin and to sin against the creator, Hashem made clothing for Adam Harishon to show that man is uh has an advantage over an animal. Even after the sin, even after the sin of Adam Harishon, we are still not enslaved to our physical senses. We have the strength, we have the fortitude to rule over our physical desires, and to rein in, and to channel our taivas. These This is what clothing represents, friends. The purpose of clothing is to cover up the physical element of the body, and we're emphasizing that the physical part of the body and the desires are a chelek. Um that the physical desires of a person are part of your animalistic part, and we cover them over because we're emphasizing they are secondary in our existence. Our main existence is our soul. Where we cover up the physical aspect to show that we do have physical desire and animalistic instincts, but that is secondary to us. See, understand? After the sin, Hashem had to give us clothing to show that we're not enslaved to our physical element. Now, the truth is all of mankind is crowned with this attribute, that we're not enslaved to physical desire. However, to the Jewish people, Hashem expanded this concept. Hashem widened this idea that for us, not only do we have the great gift of clothing that covers up the animalistic element of man, but we're given the mitzvah of tzitzis on the corner of our garment, in addition to the gift of clothing that he gave all of mankind, to show that there's another feature in our ability to give dominance to the spirit over the physicality through the mitzvah of tzitzis. And what the Torah is saying, "Don't just in action be careful not to run after the physical world." You see, all the nations of the world, they have clothing to indicate, "Don't focus your life on physical indulgence in action." But what Hashem wants from the Jewish people is not only in action. Filo sosuru acharei levavchem ve'acharei eineichem. We need to not be dominated by immodest thoughts that are the Our inner desires should be for the sake of Hashem. We have an added dimension of clothing to indicate that we need to be extra Give extra dominance to the neshama, not only over physical pursuit of taiva, but even in our thoughts and in our senses. All of our reality should be Kadushin Malachim. So the the mean by In other words, the regular clothing is for all of mankind. That all of mankind's actions should not be immersed in physical desire. But then, friends, we have the extra element of tzitzit that says we should be so thoroughly dedicated to God even in our thoughts. Now, interesting, the parsha continues. V'yomer Hashem el Moshe l'emor, Daber el Bnei Yisrael v'amarta aleihem, It says, V'asu lahem tzitzit. What do you mean v'asu? Should say ya'asu. V'asu implies they should do it on their own. I'm not telling you to do it. They should do it on their own. So Reb Shimon Shkop explained, there's no real chiyuv to put tzitzit on a garment. It's only if you're wearing a garment of four corners, you should put on tzitzit. But you're not mechuyav to go buy such a garment to be chayav in tzitzit. So it would be easy not to put on tzitzit. So Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, Daber el Bnei Yisrael, but not only that, v'amarta aleihem, explain to them the great chashivus of the mitzvah of tzitzit. V'amarta aleihem, and explain it to them so that v'asu lahem tzitzit, they'll do it on their own even though they don't technically have to. So this is a remez, friends, to the idea that even though we're not technically obligated to wear a garment of four corners, but if Moshe Rabbeinu, Hashem tells Moshe, if you explain it to them really well, they'll they'll want to do it on their own. Now, the making of tzitzit is four strings that becomes eight when you stick the four strings into the corner of the garment. You have two strings of white and two of dark blue according to a summary Shulchan Aruch. And when you make the windings, one of the strings you should use is the blue wool. The tcheiles, of course, is the dye that comes from the chilazon and the tcheiles that comes up once every 70 years. Um it then grows in the mountains and they catch them and they extract their blood. And um of course, it's known the Radziner Rebbe searched for it and he tried to find it, but his his discovery is very questionable. Um because according to him the the chilazon was a fish and not a worm. Anyway, that's what it means. Vi'asu lohem tzitzis al kanfei vigdeihem l'doireisom. The white strings are for all generations, but venosnu es tzitzis hakonof, only when the tcheiles is available. Now, the blood of the tcheiles is doimeh to the sea. What does that mean the sea? It means the color of the Mediterranean near Eretz Yisrael. Not the seas, uh the Great Lakes. And the yam is doimeh to the rakia and the rakia is doimeh to the kisei hakavod. Now, what is it What exactly does this mean? And Rav Shulchan explains that maybe the reason for the color of tcheiles is that if you look throughout creation there's a lot of darkness. For example darkness was created first. It says and then he are. And nevertheless a small amount of light pushes away a great deal of darkness. Imagine then if a person had a thousand a million pinpoints of light. So certainly he are. So how could it be? Right, we know there's a concept. My especially if you have billions of candles. So how could it be that there are literally thousands of galaxies and they have millions and billions of stars. Each one is like a sun. And yet in the night time sky it's pitch black. Do you ever wonder about that? One candle could light up a whole room. Certainly a sun could light up a whole room. And yet you have billions and billions of stars and they're some of them are brighter than the sun and it's pitch black in space. You have to say the darkness of us covers it over. That's a very interesting question. Why is it so dark out there? That's the answer is this is the power of darkness. And in this darkness Hashem created the tsura of light on the firmament on the horizon of darkness. So when the sun shines says Reb Shwab the sparks of light mix with the darkness and they produce like a blue color. That's why the sky is blue. It's a combination of black and light. Now, choshech is midas hadin. Light is rachamim. In the bri'as ha'olam Hashem joined the two. He joined midas rachamim midas hadin and therefore that's the concept yotzer or ubore choshech, the combination of light and darkness is the fusion of creation. Rachamim and din, the sky, the color of the sky, the color of the techeiles reflects the reality of creation. Now, this is amazing. That's why by the way, that's the the explanation of the color of techeiles. It's a combination of the forces of rachamim and din. Light is rachamim, darkness is din. What a beautiful idea. Now, the white of tzitzis reminds us that at all times our souls should be white. Bechol leil uvigadecha levanim. It says in Koheles. The and therefore the chudei lavan are connected refraining from sin. It reflects velo sasur acharei libavchem ve'acharei eineichem. But then there is an aspect of the tzitzis of what we're obligated to do. That we need to remember that ultimately we're going to return our soul to the kisei hakavod. And the kisei hakavod is the color of techeiles and therefore the strings of techeiles remind us don't just don't sin, but you also need to be kedoshim leilokeichem because think about the techeiles, one day you're going to be standing before the kisei hakavod and you're going to have to be kedoshim leilokeichem. Therefore we're commanded to have Tcheiles in the Mishkan. U're'isem Oisah. And you'll re- remember to fulfill both aspects of the Tzitzis. Now, for this reason the colors that usually represent the Jewish people and in modern times the state of Israel are blue and white. From here the minhag developed, Reb Schwab says, to symbolize the Jewish people in these colors. But lo and behold, those who have utilized these colors have totally forgotten perhaps abandoned that these colors have a message. The message is B'chol Eitz You Bigdecha Lifanav. The message of the blue is V'yisem Kadoshim Le'eloheichem. Says Reb Schwab B'chan Haben Sho'el. If Tzitzis is so great that it shows the advantage of man over animal then why are women exempt from this Mitzvah? In fact, women are not allowed to fulfill this Mitzvah according to many, it's a violation of Lo Yilbash Gever Ishah. What? They only have the advantage that the Gentiles have over animals? That in their physical senses they're they're supposed to be in their physical actions they're supposed to be uh above physical desire, but in their thoughts they don't have to have the higher level of Yissem Kadoshim? Says Reb Schwab, the answer is so simple. You see, the first gift that was given to the uni- universal man is the gift of clothing. The gift of clothing says, "Cover up the physical part of the body that touches, that senses, that experiences pleasure to show we give dominance to the soul. But women who have added mid-slits of clothing, they have extra sneos in their clothing. The women who are have halachos that govern that they're they're covering their bodies with extra carefulness, whether it's their clothing or even parts of the body that men don't always cover. So, they don't just have one garment of of that proclaims like tzitzis visam kedoshim elokeichem, but they're covering their gufim, they're covering their sear, their hair. So, therefore, they have, in a way, even more expressions of visam kedoshim than men do. They don't need tzitzis. It's It's extraneous. In a way, it's insulting. Now, the halacha of wearing tzitzis, Rav Schwab says, there's a mitzvah to wear the tzitzis always. Therefore, we wear a tallis katan the whole day. Okay. Or visam oisoi, before you make the bracha, you should look at it to make sure the tzitzis is kosher. We brought earlier that tzitzis has three perushim. One is something that grows, like that That's how Rav Shamshon Refael Hirsch explained it. Like locks of the hair and a loshon of looking. Says Rav Schwab, the truth is, all of these three perushim have expression in this parsha. When it says vi'asu lo hem tzitzis al kanfei vigdeihem, that refers to its aspect that it it flourishes, it grows from the ikar beged. Venatnu al tzitzis hakanaf tcheiles, that implies you should put the blue wool within the white strings. That is a reference to the locks, the the curls of of the tzitzis. And when it says "lachem tzitzis", the haya is a loshon of future. And it's something that you're going to look at. Okay. Anyway, Reb Schwab continues. Says Reb Schwab, "How do we remember the mitzvahs of Hashem by wearing the tzitzis?" Says Reb Schwab, "Min haTorah, all that's needed is one winding with a double knot, kesher elyon d'oraisa, which is referring to after the windings. And the chachamim say, 'No, try to make as many windings and knots as possible that it should be 1/3 windings and knots with uh five knots with four windings and 2/3 should be branches of the string. 1/3 bound tightly with windings and knots and 2/3 free. Says Reb Schwab, "The windings refer to the laws and the restrictions that were commanded throughout our life. The restrictions of what we eat, what we drink, how we speak, how we make a living, our relationships, these are the dinei Torah that serve as a rein and bind us not to release all our desires. And they're tied with a kesher shel kayama." But says Reb Schwab, "It only really binds [clears throat] us 1/3. But 2/3, it doesn't bind us. What does that mean? Once we so to speak traverse the 1/3 that we're bound through engaging in Torah and being madak dick in the mitzvahs and rising above animal desire, now a person is free to follow his natural inclinations and to follow your personality and your interests and your wants. Meaning once you're a third bound, it doesn't mean a third bound, it means bound completely >> [snorts] >> in the first third, then a person is free to express themselves according to their inclination. If you have leadership skills to be a leader. If it's to continue the traditions that have been set forth for you, to do that. Some are communally inclined. Some like to spend time in personal study in solitude. Some are inclined to be of assistance and help with others physically, spiritually, emotionally. Some are more inclined to personal reflection and prayer and tikun hamidos. The Torah doesn't govern that. The Torah doesn't restrict that. Just the opposite. 2/3 are not restricted. That there That gives a lot of freedom. Freedom of expression, freedom of individuality. But bitnai that the first third you are tied and wound really well because you shall kayama. And this way us achartem is kamitsus Hashem. The Torah chazal say that tzitzit is equal to all 613 mitzvahs because it shows that once you're a third completely tied through the Torah, the entire life is a fulfillment of the ratzon of that is on the midst of tzitzis. He explained the five important principles that are found in this mitzvah, the three definitions of the word tzitzis, the gift of clothing, the extra symbolism of the tzitzis based on which he explained why women don't need tzitzis, and the command to value the tzitzis so that you'll even fulfill it on your own. The meaning of the the color of the the the meaning of that color, the message of the white strings and the blue strings, why women don't have to wear tzitzis, and then finally, um how the tzitzis represent that once we're a third bound by the dictates of the Torah, at that point, we are we have a certain liberty to express ourselves according to our individual tendencies. Okay? Please hang in there for pirkei avot.