They shall be TSITZIS for you, and when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of HASHEM to perform them, and you shall not wander after your hearts and after your eyes after which you are going astray. (Bamidbar 15:39)
Exactly how do the TZITZIS remind us of all the commandments of HASHEM and to perform them? There are probably endless approaches to making that association but here is one you may not have thought of yet!
A good many years ago when I was to leave the holy walls of the Yeshiva to venture out to New York City for work, I was confronted with a problem many in our community face. How was I to arrive at an early enough time having already prayed the morning prayers? Thankfully we have a solution to that challenge. It’s called the “Davening Bus”! No, the bus doesn’t Daven for us. We Daven on the bus!
It was my first time doing this so I mistakenly strategized that in order to get a little extra sleep I would meet the bus at the last stop before the highway rather than the main stop. I realized right away how wrong I was.
I was the last person to get on and there was one seat left. It was a window seat and the fellow in the aisle was a man two or three times my size. He stepped out so I could take my place. Immediately when I sat down it became clear to me why this seat was still available. There were no springs in the cushion and so I sank almost to the floor.
Then I reached up to that little light that sends a laser like beam on your small travel Siddur only to discover it didn’t work either. In that dark and cramped corner, I struggled to put on my Tallis and Tefillin. By the time I was as set as I could be the bus was on the highway and in high gear and so was the Minyan. I was saying some preliminary blessings and they were already deep into “Pesukei D’zimra”. By the time I was up to that point they were already saying “SHEMA!” I was still trying to catch up.
When finally, I reached “SHEMA!” and I was grasping and kissing the TZITZIS of my Tallis with love and devotion something unexpected happened. The bus came to a grinding halt by the side of the highway so everyone could comfortably stand for the silent Amida. The giant of a fellow who had been pressing me against me, stood up and I immediately felt great relief but then for some reason he turned to me and asked with an almost hostile urgency that two letter question that Jews ask each other all over the planet, “NU!? NU!?” I looked up at him with wonder. I thought to myself, “What does he want from me? Have I been pressing him against the window for the past 25 minutes?” He persisted, “NU!? NU?!” Then it dawned on me that I was kissing his and my TZITZIS together.”
I whimsically shared with a well-known Hebrew Language linguist a cute theory I have about that utterance, “NU?!” Words that express “US” tend to end with “nu” like the word for “us” “Anachnu”, (Hashevaynu- return us). We usually use that nudging expression, “NU!?” when someone is acting like an “I” and there’s a pressing need to remind him to think of others, “NU!? He liked my idea very much and I could tell by his response. He said, “NU-NU!”
A close friend from “Yeshiva days” told me that the Talmud says, “Kesher Elyon D’Oraisa”-meaning that “the top knot (of the Tsitsis) is a Torah requirement”. Literally the same statement can be understood to mean that the top knot, the highest connection between people is when they have a Torah (learning) connection with each other. Even more than that, the top connection between any Jew and HASHEM is D’Oraisa-Torah! The Zohar tells us that HASHEM and the Torah are ONE!
The top knot of the TZITZIS reminds us of this sublime opportunity in life to connect with HASHEM and every other Jew in the highest and holiest way. We need only to take a quick look and be reminded!