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Why does the Torah (תורה) present tzitzis as protection against sin when people wearing tzitzis still transgress? The shiur develops the insight that tzitzis doesn't prevent impulsive sins but rather combats subjectivity—the tendency to see only facts supporting predetermined conclusions. Drawing from the spies' selective focus on negative aspects of the land, tzitzis promotes objectivity by connecting the wearer to cosmic perspective beyond self-interest.
This shiur begins with an analysis of the mitzvah (מצוה) of tzitzis from the weekly Torah (תורה) portion, focusing on Rashi (רש"י)'s commentary that describes the heart and eyes as 'spies' that can lead a person astray. Rabbi Zweig addresses several textual difficulties: why tzitzis seems ineffective as protection against sin, why the Torah mentions heart before eyes when Rashi describes eyes seeing first, and how the righteous spies could give such a negative report about the Promised Land. The key insight centers on a Talmudic teaching about the book of Lamentations, where the Hebrew letters ayin (eye) and pe (mouth) are reversed in their alphabetical order. This represents how the spies 'put their mouth before their eyes' - they had predetermined conclusions before they observed the land. Rabbi Zweig explains that subjectivity is the greatest spiritual danger because it causes people to see only facts that support their preconceived notions while remaining blind to contradictory evidence.
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Parshas Shelach - Tzitzis
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