They shall make tzitzis for themselves. (Bemidbar 15:38)
We don’t really know how to decide which mitzvos are more “important.” We must do them all. Chazal said:
Be as careful about a light mitzvah as about a severe mitzvah, because you don’t know what reward the mitzvos bear.
Nevertheless, there are certain mitzvos that we know to be especially important, and the Torah exhorts us especially to keep them.
One of these is tzitzis, mentioned at the end of this week’s parshah, about which Chazal say that it is equal to all the mitzvos put together. There are a lot of other teachings of Chazal that emphasize how important this mitzvah is, and what a great reward we will receive for keeping it.
If you are smart, you will take mitzvos: The wise of heart will take mitzvos.
And this saying applies especially to the mitzvah of tzitzis.
How so?
A person should approach mitzvos as would a smart businessman. When you are in business, you want to buy cheap and sell expensive. That’s how you make money. So a good businessman has an eye out for this kind of merchandise.
Accordingly, tzitzis is a really good buy. Some mitzvos entail a considerable financial layout. What do a good pair of tefillin cost?
But not tzitzis.
It is so easy! It just costs a few dollars, and once you put the tzitzis on, you earn a great mitzvah every moment you wear them, even if you aren’t thinking about it. It’s like making a one-time investment of a few dollars in a business that doesn’t take time, effort or further thought, and it registers profits not just once a year but every single moment of the day. It will add up to millions.
Who wouldn’t invest in such a business? Either someone who is totally stupid, or someone who doesn’t believe, and the second is worse than the first.
The Yetzer Hara knows all this, so he tries hard to keep people from doing the mitzvah. For those not yet used to wearing tzitzis, he puts the idea into their head that it is hard and uncomfortable, especially during the summer. This is silly. People wear shirts and undershirts anyways. Adding a light tallis katan made from thin cotton makes hardly any difference at all. It is easy to get used to, and it is worth millions!
For those who wear tzitzis regularly, the Yetzer Hara has a different trick. He lets them get so used to it that they don’t pay attention to their tzitzis anymore, and sooner or later, some of the strings tear or break, and then the person is wearing a four-cornered garment without valid tzitzis. So instead of a mitzvah every moment, it is an aveirah every moment.
Tzitzis is a very precious mitzvah and we need to pay proper attention to it. “He who is careful to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis will merit greeting the Shechinah.”
