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Why does the Torah (תורה) say "make tzitzis" then "they shall be for you for tzitzis" - aren't they already tzitzis? The pasuk reveals that tzitzis has two distinct meanings: without the blue thread it means "strings," but with the pesil techeiles it becomes an "object to gaze at" for remembering mitzvos.
This shiur addresses a fundamental difficulty in understanding the language of the mitzvah (מצוה) of tzitzis in Parshas Shelach. The Torah (תורה) commands "make for yourselves tzitzis," then says to place a pesil techeiles (blue thread) on the tzitzis, and concludes "they shall be for you for tzitzis." The repetitive language seems redundant - if they were already tzitzis when first made, what does the final phrase add? The shiur begins by examining a well-known teaching from Tosafos (תוספות) in Menachos regarding the gematria of tzitzis. Rashi (רש"י) states that tzitzis has a gematria of 613, representing the 600 numerical value plus 8 strings and 5 knots. However, Tosafos points out that the word tzitzis is spelled without a yud, giving it a value of only 590. Tosafos resolves this by noting that the word tzitzis appears three times in the parashah, and the additional lamed in "letzitzis" (worth 30) can be divided among the three instances, bringing each to 600.
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Parshas Shelach 15:38-39
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