Under the Wings with the Sacred Tassels
Under the Wings with the Sacred Tassels.
“And Yahweh said to Moses, ‘Speak to the people of Israel, instructing them to make, throughout all their generations, knotted tassels (“tzitzit”) on the wings (“kanaph”) of their garments, and to put with the tassel on each wing a blue thread. So it is to be a tzitzit for you to look at and thereby remember all of Yahweh’s commandments and obey them, so that you won’t go around wherever your own heart and eyes lead you to prostitute yourselves, but it will help you remember and obey all My commandments and be holy for your God. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to be your God.” (Numbers 15:37-41).
Kanaph: The Hebrew word for “wings” used over 100 times in the Hebrew Bible which has a variety of meanings, often giving us a picture of God in action or revealing for us aspects of God’s character… the literal wings of a bird; the corners of a prayer shawl; the outer extremities of a garment; the outstretched wings of angels; the protective presence God as a refuge and shelter; the glorious rays coming out of the sun; the sudden swooping presence of judgment; the strength of God to rescue and deliver from danger.
One of the Fundamentals. Rabbinic authorities have called this particular commandment one of the great commands of Judaism. It is so central that it became the third and concluding paragraph of the Shema, the supreme declaration of the Jewish faith that is repeated every morning and evening by faithful Jews to this day. While wearing the tallit and praying the Shema, it is customary to hold the knotted tassels out of reverence for the Lord’s commandments. This initial command to wear the knotted tassels on every garment soon evolved into the tzitzit on the prayer shawls of pious Jews. This sacred garment has been called the “tallit” ever since (tuh-leet).
Tallit: The square or rectangular garment with four corners that is used as a prayer shawl for faithful Jews and many Christians who want to follow the daily practice of Jesus. Per the commandment above, the tallit is required to have a knotted tassel, or fringe, hanging from each of the four corners. The tallit was usually white and made of wool or cotton linen. The four corners of the garment represented the four extremities of the earth, and point to God’s complete sovereignty over the world, His universal Kingship. The four dimensions of height, width, length and depth also reminds us of God’s eternal and unlimited love for us. The four corners of the tallit were called “wings” because when someone who is wearing a tallit raises his arms in prayer, the appearance is one of bird in flight.
Tzitzit: The knotted tassel, or fringe, applied to each corner of the Jewish prayer shawl. The tzitzit was God’s memory device for the Jews to remind Israel of their identity as God’s people who were set apart to serve Him. The tassels were not only a visual prompt, though. They were also a tactile cue to remember that, as they felt the knots on their tassels, life has its knots and its problems, but that divine presence and joy is interwoven with the woes and difficulties. As the commandment from Yahweh makes clear, there were three main reasons for the tzitzit… to see it, to remember what it points to, and their obligation to practice God’s commandments. The holy fringes, in other words these sacred tassels, were also to remind the Jews of their redemption from slavery, of God redeeming them from Egypt. The tzitzit was to remain completely visible to the public, to both fellow Jews and others outside the Hebrew community. The tassels are to remind the people of Israel that they are a distinct people, chosen by the Lord God and set apart to reveal His character to the world by the way they live out their lives in sanctity. It’s as if Yahweh is explaining to the Israelites… Don’t forget you’re My people, and that you prove that by obeying My commands, My instructions, My Torah. You have a God-ordained mission, people, a unique calling from Me, the King of the Universe, to be a sacred community that is distinctive from the rest of the world. So people, fix these tassels to each corner of your garment so they are up front and obvious to all who see you every day. Remember your obligation to prove your love for Me by following My commandments. So show your national identity by wearing the tallit with your tzitzit like a holy uniform designed specially by your Lord.
By the Numbers. In order to remember the Lord’s main point of commanding the tzitzit in the first place. each tassel was to be sewed together with five knots (representing the five books of the Torah) and eight strands of thread for each knot. When those numbers are added to the numerical value of the word “tzitzit,” then that adds up to 613, which is the total number of commandments given to Moses by the Lord on Mt. Sinai. Also, to reinforce the sacred reason for the tzitzit, each tassel on the prayer shawl was created with four spaces between the knots, which represented the holy Name of Yahweh. The Lord directed each Jew to fasten the knotted tassel to the corners of the prayer shawl with a special blue thread made of cotton…
Blue. I have it on Scriptural authority that God’s favorite color is blue, but not just any blue. The brilliant blue associated with the nation of Israel, commanded by the Lord, continues to be called “the world’s most precious color” by the Jews. Probably any observant Jew walking the street could tell you why this biblical shade of blue is the most important color in Judaism… this particular blue looks like the sea, which reflects the blue sky, which reminds us of God in the blue heavens on His royal throne. It was a divine blue that reminded the Jews of God’s presence on the top of Mt. Sinai, with a “pavement of sapphire” that was considered the throne of God, “like the very sky for purity.” (Ex. 24:10). This heavenly blue color was used throughout the Tabernacle… in the beautiful embroidery of the Tabernacle Gateway, the Holy Place’s curtains, the priests’ vestments, and even was the cloth used to wrap the sacred Ark of Testimony when needed during travels. So this blue is a symbol of the deity and the importance of obeying the one true God. Yahweh was very specific about the importance of this divine blue in their walk with Him. This special blue dye was extracted from unique sea snails along the Mediterranean coasts. During the Middle Ages, when the Jews were not in their homeland, the blue dye process was lost. But now, since the creation of Israel in their land once again, these particular sea snails that are so plentiful along the Israeli coasts have been re-discovered, and the sacred blue dye is being used once again in Israel and on the Jewish prayer shawls. This sacred blue continues to be referred to as the “biblical blue.” The God-ordained color of purple was extracted from the same sea snail as the biblical blue. When this snail extract is kept indoors during processing into a dye, away from the sunlight, it will remain a vivid gorgeous purple. But if the extract is left in the sunlight even for as little as two hours, the dye turns into the biblical blue. The biblical blue has always been associated with both royalty and the priesthood, reminding everyone of the Lord’s words to Moses in Exodus 19:5-6: “Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you will be for me a kingdom of priests, a nation set apart.” A royal kingdom, a nation of priests… the biblical blue sounds perfect for a reminder of those essential aspects of Israel’s identity. All the important colors that the Lord commanded for the Tabernacle… blue, purple and scarlet… are animal-based dyes, not plant-based. The dyes coming from animals were brighter, more vivid, and were permanent. Dyes based on plants were short-lived and washed out rather quickly. The Lord wanted the colors to remain for all time, reflecting the eternal colors of heaven itself.
Sts. Peter and John in the Spirit of the Biblical Blue Tzitzit: “… a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9); “Jesus Yeshua made us a kingdom of priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!” (Revelation 1:6).