Chazal tell us that the numerical equivalent of the word tzitzis is 600. The eight threads and the five knots supplement this number to equal 613, the number of mitzvos a Jew is enjoined to perform. The tzitzis, according to some commentators, are viewed as Hashem’s insignia which we, as His servants, wear with pride. The Sefer Hachinuch says that by wearing tzitzis we are wearing Hashem’s emblem. What greater motivation is there for remembering to perform His mitzvos than realizing that we are clothed in the uniform of Hashem’s servants?
If so, why do we continue to neglect performing mitzvos? We see our own tzitzis and those of others; yet, we still sin. Why do we not remember the message of the tzitzis?
Horav Baruch Sorotzkin, zl, offers an insightful response to this apparent anomaly. If we read the text of the pasuk, we assume that one who looks at the tzitzis will remember the mitzvos and, therefore, will not stray after his heart and eyes. If that is the case, why does the Torah immediately follow this pasuk with the words, “So that you remember and perform all My mitzvos”? Why is it necessary to repeat the idea that one will remember to perform mitzvos? The Torah is teaching us a fundamental lesson. Only if one is not under the influence of his head and eyes will looking at the tzitzis make its impression. One whose life is regulated by the whims of his heart and the impression of his eyes will not be inspired by wearing the king’s insignia. Yes, one can and many do perform some of the gravest sins while they are clothed in their tzitzis. This epitomizes spiritual hypocrisy. Once the yetzer hora, evil inclination, takes charge, however, the tzitzis becomes nothing more than a garment which we wear to maintain appearances. One must be internally pure, so that his external appearance becomes more than superficial.
