Tzitzis for the Last Generation: Strict Duty, Great Merit

1“Speak to Bnei Yisrael and say to them that they shall make for themselves tzitzis on the corners of their garments throughout their generations … and you shall see it and remember all the mitzvos of Hashem …”¹ The holy Ohr HaChaim draws attention to the double wording, “speak” and “say.”² Why does the verse use both dibbur, “speaking,” which is a harsh expression, and ve'amarta, “say,” which is an expression of soft speech? We must also ask why the Torah says “throughout their generations” about the mitzvah of tzitzis in particular, when the whole Torah was given for future generations as well.

2We may say the following. Later in the passage, the verse says explicitly, “and you shall see it and remember all the mitzvos of Hashem.” The mitzvah of tzitzis, then, has a special quality: besides being a mitzvah in its own right, it also leads a person to keep the whole Torah. That is why Chazal teach that the mitzvah of tzitzis is equal in weight to all the mitzvos together.³ When a person fulfills the mitzvah of tzitzis completely, it brings him to fulfill the whole Torah. Chazal also said: “R' Eliezer ben Yaakov says: Whoever has tefillin on his head and on his arm, tzitzis on his garment and a mezuzah on his doorway is fully fortified against sinning.”⁴ [Rashi explains: in every way he stands secure against sinning.⁵] In other words, keeping the mitzvah of tzitzis gives a person the strength, support and training to keep the whole Torah properly.

3This lets us explain the words “throughout their generations.” The holy sefer Noam Elimelech says that each generation has at its root the task of rectifying one particular mitzvah more than the others. For example, the root task of this generation is to rectify the mitzvah of tzitzis more than the other mitzvos. Those are his holy words.⁶ This is the hint in “throughout their generations”: it points to the generation before the coming of Moshiach, when the duty to be engaged in the mitzvah of tzitzis will weigh more heavily. The reason is simple. In this generation women's dress has become very immodest, and this leads, Heaven forbid, to improper sights. The mitzvah of tzitzis is a refuge and a shield against this, as the verse says, “and you shall not stray after your heart and after your eyes, after which you go astray.”⁷ As is well known, the Gemara tells the story of a certain man whose four tzitzis came and struck him across the face and saved him from sin.⁸ So the Torah wrote “throughout their generations” here, to hint at this.

4This explains the double wording of the verse, “speak” and “say,” along the lines of what the holy Ohr HaChaim wrote. On the one hand, the mitzvah of tzitzis carries a great obligation, since keeping the whole Torah depends on it, as we saw with “you shall see it and remember all the mitzvos of Hashem.” About this the verse says “speak,” a harsh expression. On the other hand, it brings great distinction and merit, for through it a person comes to “remember all the mitzvos of Hashem … and you shall not stray after …” About this it says “and say,” in soft speech. So we must strengthen ourselves greatly in the mitzvah of tzitzis, the mitzvah of our generation. Through this may we be privileged to become holy and pure, until the coming of the righteous Redeemer. Amen, may it be His will.