Tzitzit (tsitith in Hebrew) or tassel on the corner of your garments is commanded of us in Numbers 15, but why is there such a resistance to this particular command? Don’t eat Pig, ok. Observe the Sabbath, ok. Keep the appointed feasts, ok. Wear tzitzits/tassels on the corner of your garments, what? Are you nuts? This can’t be right because we don’t wear garments that have corners so that must have been for when we had square bottom garments. whine…whine…whine.
Next argument is how to make them after we accept the command. Seven, eight, eleven and then twelve wraps is the requirement? Seriously? Show me that in the scriptures. They have to be all white until Messiah comes. Really? see the last statement buddy. Tradition abounds with this command as well.
Let’s allow scripture a say:
In Numbers and the end of chapter 15, we find this command:
Numbers 15:37-41
The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, in order that you may remember to do all My commandments, and be holy to your God. I am the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God.”
(Num 15:37-41 NAS)
So YHVH (God) tells Moses to tell the Israelites (and us grafted-in bunch) to put tassels on the corners of our garments THROUGHOUT our generations so that when we look upon them after sinning that we might remember His commands. those tassels are to have a cord of blue in them.
So what is this ‘Tassel’ you speak of?
The word tassel in the Hebrew is the word tsitsith in the Hebrew and meaning, well tassel. Literally meaning “to look upon it.” or a lock.
All we know is this tassel is to have a blue cord in it and we are to wear them so we can look upon it and remember the commandments. “I don’t need a bunch of strings hanging on me to remember the commands cause God wrote them on my heart.” Dude you already failed cause you don’t have them on!
Ok, so how do we make them?
Well you get a bunch of white string and one blue string. Then you loop them around the bottom of a table leg and tie a square know. Next take the blue string and wrap it seven times around the others, then tie a square knot. then take the blue string again and wrap it eight times and another square know, then eleven times and a knot finally thirteen times and a knot. Then you must cut the strings so that only one end of a blue string is longer than all others. Got it?
Tradition!!! this is NOT in the command.
So what do we do?
Follow the command. Make a tassel however you want and only be sure that there is a blue cord. the word here is tekeleth and most of the time is translated as blue, but 6 times it is translated as purple or violet. So since you and I were not there at the time Moses was told the particular color of blue is up for discussion.
I make mine with many different colors and styles, whatever hits me at the time. But that is not what we are talking about.
Wrap to discussion
So it seems that Israel was commanded to wear them, they only have to have a blue cord through them and it is for all generations. Since we are grafted in as part of the wild olive branches feeding off of the root, seems pretty clear this command as well as the others are for us.
There is no command on how to tie them. The number of wraps may stand for something, but are not commanded and may be part of numerology, which is witchcraft. The only version we have about the tzitzit is found un Numbers 15.
So, to tassel or not to tassel is the question.
Discussion
So should we wear tzitzit as command or not? If not, then give scripture references as to why not? If we should, do you wear them? If you do, please put a picture in the comments of your version of tzitzit.
Please, no negative comments about how others observe the command, unless you have scripture to prove your tying version.