Parshas Shelach 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Jun 12
- 2 min read
וימצאו איש מקושש עצים ביום השבת ... ונתנו על ציצת הכנף פתיל תכלת ... (טו-לב,לח)
Right after the Torah tells us the story of the מקושש עצים, the man who chopped wood on Shabbos, we read the parsha of Tzitzis. What is the connection between these two?
There is a תנא דבי אליהו that says: Moshe Rabbeinu said to Hashem, all week the men wear Tefillin and constantly have a visual reminder not to sin. On Shabbos that aide-mémoire is absent. Therefore he sinned, claimed Moshe, advocating on behalf of the מקושש. Hashem responded: In that case, go teach the nation about Tzitzis, so that they’ll have a constant reminder - שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד - on Shabbos and Yom Tov as well. While clearly, by simply wearing them, we gain that awareness, there may be another point the Tzitzis signify.
Rashi on the words "הכנף פתיל" comments: Tzitzis have eight strings, to parallel the eight days from when we left Mitzrayim until we sang shira at the Yam Suf. The obvious question is: it was שביעי של פסח, the seventh day of Pesach, when Bnei Yisroel sang. So in truth, it was only seven days - not eight! Some suggest, based on a Medrash that on the night of the 14th of Nisan, Hashem took us all to ארץ ישראל and back. As such it was a full eight days.
The מהר"ל and the ספר מושב זקנים explain that the counting began from י"ד when we shechted the Korban Pesach. The מהר"ל continues: That was the exact point in time that we freed ourselves from Mitzrayim’s negative spiritual grasp, which was the purpose ofיציאת מצרים . Therefore, that was when the count began. Hence, the mitzvah of Tzitzis, with its eight strings, reminds us of the spiritual freedom, the עולם חירות of being an eved Hashem.
Perhaps that is another טעם for the juxtaposition of these two parshiyos. As we are בציצית מתעטף גופנו daily, let us focus on its purpose, continually connecting us to and constantly reminding us constantly of Hashem and His mitzvos.