Life on the fringes: People, places and our’ wear-with-al* ‘
“What we wear and why —
maybe ‘the cord’ is meant to remind us of our not-so-secretive past . . .
Numbers 16:37 — are the cords an “allusion to our past pr-stitution?”
יהוה said to Moses as follows:
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם וְעָשׂ֨וּ לָהֶ֥ם צִיצִ֛ת עַל־כַּנְפֵ֥י בִגְדֵיהֶ֖ם לְדֹרֹתָ֑ם וְנָ֥תְנ֛וּ עַל־צִיצִ֥ת הַכָּנָ֖ף פְּתִ֥יל תְּכֵֽלֶת׃
Speak to the Israelite people and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner.
וְהָיָ֣ה לָכֶם֮ לְצִיצִת֒ וּרְאִיתֶ֣ם אֹת֗וֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺ֣ת יְהֹוָ֔ה וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹֽא־תָת֜וּרוּ אַחֲרֵ֤י לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַחֲרֵ֣י עֵֽינֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֥ם זֹנִ֖ים אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃
That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of יהוה and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. < literal: prostitutional
לְמַ֣עַן תִּזְכְּר֔וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺתָ֑י וִהְיִיתֶ֥ם קְדֹשִׁ֖ים לֵאלֹֽהֵיכֶֽם׃
Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your Gd.
אֲנִ֞י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר הוֹצֵ֤אתִי אֶתְכֶם֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לִהְי֥וֹת לָכֶ֖ם לֵאלֹהִ֑ים אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ {פ}
I יהוה am your Gd, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your Gd: I, your Gd יהוה.
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Here’s an interesting side note:
This paragraph (below) is from the Book of Numbers and is included in our daily prayers as the final paragraph of the Shema Yisrael. — here the tzitzit “is” not just to remind Jews that they are no longer slaves . . .
Perhaps this is the same narrative text as the third paragraph of the Shema — straight out of the Torah and yes, it is hard to wrap our heads around this one.
Numbers 15:37 — 41
“And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, — in your pro-stituional urge — אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֥ם זֹנִ֖ים אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃ — after which ye use to go astray; that ye may remember
It is entirely possible that we can see an allusion here to the ‘act’ of Rahav, the famous Pro-stitute of Jericho, with the ‘cord’ that she lowers the Spies in Joshua 2:15 (which just happens to be the Haftara this week and is ‘attached’ to this week’s reading).
Maybe the cord is to remember and to remind . . .
