English translation — שלח ג

Talk 3<pg>95</pg>

A.

The author wrote in Shulchan Aruch, Hilchos Tzitzis<sup>1</sup>

"The essence of the mitzvah of a small tallis is to wear it over one's garments so that he will always see and remember the mitzvos."

And in the Magen Avraham there<sup>2</sup>

"And in the writings

(namely the writings of the AriZal),

that a small tallis is specifically under one's garments."

And simply³,

This difference of opinion is the source for the variation in customs that we find regarding wearing tzitzis katan: those who are accustomed to wear the tzitzis katan on their garments above,

follow the ruling of the Mechaber in Shulchan Aruch; and those who wear the tzitzis katan under their garments,

follow the opinion of the Magen Avraham based on the writings of the Arizal.

And in this variation of customs regarding the garment

(the tallis katan),

there is another difference concerning the tzitzis — some of those who wear the tzitzis katan under the garments,

practice that the tzitzis should be on the outside.

And one should examine,

if this custom that the

(only)

the tzitzis are outside,

is also according to the writings of the Arizal,

namely that according to the Arizal the tallis katan must be under the garments,

but the tzitzis themselves must be outside,

or that this is in order to be concerned for the ruling of the Mechaber,

but according to the Arizal — also the tzitzis must be covered under the garments.

And behold from the continuation of the language of the Magen Avraham "And it seems to me that the tzitzis must be outside etc.",

one cannot infer apparently,

that also according to the "writings" they must be outside — because

[Besides that one can say that also the intention of the Magen Avraham is that one should be stringent to fulfill also according to the opinion of the Mechaber,

behold one can say that]

the main⁴

intention of the Magen Avraham in what he said "that the tzitzis should be outside" is not that they should be outside the garments

(in a manner that one can see them always),

but rather — that they should be outside the corners,

and as the continuation of his language there "and not like those who stick them into the corners,

in the manner of what is said in the Gemara⁵

there is no tzitzis except that which protrudes etc.'"

(And so it is implied in the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe⁶

that he did not bring what is said in the "writings"

(as in the Magen Avraham),

and nevertheless he copied the words of the Magen Avraham in a separate paragraph "The tzitzis must be outside as it is said⁷

and you shall see it and not like those who stick it into the corners")⁸.

<pg>96</pg>

And also prima facie one cannot decide thus from what the Alter Rebbe brought&lt;sup&gt;9&lt;/sup&gt;

(from the Levush&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;)

"And since the reason for wearing tzitzis is to remember the commandments,

therefore one who wears&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;

a small tallis should be careful to wear it over his garments so that he will always see it and remember the commandments,

and those who wear it under the garments should be careful to wear it in a way that the tzitzis are always visible, so that by seeing them they will always remember the commandments" — for even in this it is prima facie not clear whether this is because the main stringency in the writings of the AriZal is only regarding the tallis katan and not regarding the tzitzis,

or whether this is only to be concerned for the halachic ruling

(the words of the Mechaber in his Shulchan Aruch)

that the tzitzis should be outside the garments.

2.

And prima facie one can resolve the doubt based on what is stated in the source of the matters in the writings of the AriZal,

that "My master&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;

was accustomed

(the Arizal)

of blessed memory, when he would wear the tzitzis..

the tallis gadol is above all the garments and the tallis katan is under all the garments&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;

and contrary to the opinion of some of the kabbalists who place it above all the garments, and it is an error&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;,

however he would place it over the shirt."

And regarding the reason for the matter it is explained there,

that "the concept&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;

of tzitzis tallis katan is that it is of the aspect of the internal etc. and tallis gadol is&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt;

etc."

And it is understood,

that the above reason regarding the tallit katan is

(also and primarily)

about the tzitzit "which is the aspect of the innerness"

(And in particular,

that the garment itself has no holiness etc.¹⁷).

And according to this,

behold also the tzitzit of the tallit katan must be covered¹⁸

—<pg>97</pg>

under the garments and not on the outside¹⁹.

[And so it is proven from what is written in the Zohar&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;

that "a certain person" met R. Chiya and R. Yosi and did not see them wearing tzitzis,

meaning that their tzitzis were not visible outside&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;,

and to such an extent,

that even when the "person" suspected them that their conduct was not proper — they did not explain to him

(even after he saw that they were "meritorious")

why they conduct themselves so&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;,

because in their view it is simple that even the tzitzis must be covered].

And according to this,

behold those who practice revealing the tzitzis — this is only to also fulfill the opinion of the Mechaber,

but according to the writings of the Arizal there is no need for the matter&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;,

and on the contrary,

this is the reason of those who practice wearing the tallis katan under the garments&lt;sup&gt;*23&lt;/sup&gt;

in a way that also the tzitzis are covered&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;.

3.

And it is unclear regarding some of those who walk in the light of the Torah of our master the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch,

and among them also Chabad chassidim — that the tzitzis by them were not revealed outside.

And superficially it is not understood,

since the words of the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch are clear: "Those who wear it under the &lt;pg&gt;98&lt;/pg&gt;

garments should be careful to wear it in a manner that the tzitzis will be seen always etc.'"

[And one cannot answer based on what we find&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;

regarding "the haircut of the forehead" that it is "from the ways of the Amorite",

that "Avtolmos bar Reuven was permitted to have a haircut of the forehead because he is close to the monarchy" — for several of the above we found we saw that their tzitzis were not visible even though they were not "close to the monarchy"

(and also in those who needed to intercede for the children of Israel before the monarchy — they did so also at a time when they were not engaged in this).

Also it is understood that the reason for this is not because at that time they were walking among the nations etc.&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;,

for the discussion is also about chassidim who observed all the customs of Israel,

and it is obvious — the ruling of the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch!]

And perhaps one could say regarding this based on the story

"From the mouth of the renowned Gaon and Chassid R. Hillel Paritcher, may his merit protect us, who once asked the Alter Rebbe how to conduct in a matter where the Mekubalim are divided from the Poskim,

And the Alter Rebbe answered: presumably one should conduct like the Mekubalim.

And they asked him: but he himself in his Shulchan Aruch

wrote that one should follow the Poskim,

And he answered: so write the Poskim

(And in the Shulchan Aruch he follows the Poskim)

But the Mekubalim write to follow the Mekubalim against the Poskim

(That they ruled against the Mekubalim,

And it is understood that one cannot say that the Mekubalim would be against the Talmud

(Or the Poskim who learned their words from the Gemara,

In this all of Israel are equal)

As explained in the Shulchan Aruch, Siman 68)

"

And based on this,

The conduct of those who donned the tallis katan and also the tzitzis inside,

Whose foundation is based on what is written in the AriZal

(As above)

— It is according to the instruction of the Alter Rebbe himself,

To conduct like the Mekubalim

(The AriZal etc.)

In a place where it is not according to the Poskim.

And still there is room for examination in the matter: According to the above it should have been thus the custom of all those who walk in the light of the Torah of the Alter Rebbe,

that the tzitzis should be covered together with the tallis katan³¹,

and in practice we see that many conduct themselves according to the ruling of the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch,

to wear the tallis katan under the garments in a way that the tzitzis are visible — not according to the writings of the Arizal mentioned above³².

4.

And perhaps one can say, with the introduction of the explanation of the essential concept of wearing tzitzis under the garments,

for seemingly there is room to wonder — for the reason that according to the revealed [aspect of Torah] the tzitzis must be exposed — is according to the explicit verse

(which is the content of the mitzvah of tzitzis)

"And you shall see it<pg>99</pg>

And you shall remember all the commandments of Hashem, etc.'"³³,

And also we expound in the Gemara³⁴

"And you shall see it and remember and do — seeing brings to remembering, etc.'",

And since the reason for wearing tzitzis is in order to remember all the commandments, as it is written "And you shall see it and remember, etc.",

And in the language of the Alter Rebbe in Shulchan Aruch there — it is necessary to understand why, according to the Arizal, the tzitzis do not need to be exposed?

And although in Pri Etz Chaim there it is stated a reason according to Kabbalah as above — it requires a reason,

since

(as brought above)

it is inconceivable that the Kabbalists would be against the Talmud etc.

5.

And perhaps one can say the explanation of all this:

That which is said "And you shall see it and remember all the commandments of the L-rd",

can be explained in two ways: that "And you shall see it and remember" is from the essence of the commandment of tzitzis

(as it seems superficially from that which is stated in the verse "And it shall be for you for tzitzis and you shall see it etc."),

or that "And you shall see it etc." is an additional thing that comes as a result of the fulfillment of the commandment of tzitzis.

And the practical difference in law,

that according to the first way, since the fulfillment of the commandment of tzitzis

(in its proper form)

is when there is the "And you shall see it" in actuality,

or that there is the possibility to see the tzitzis&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;,

then if there is a lack in this — he has not fulfilled the commandment of tzitzis

(in its proper form)

; but not so according to the second way, that the fulfillment of the commandment of tzitzis is essentially

(their making and)

their wearing,

then even when it is impossible to have "And you shall see it" he fulfills the commandment of tzitzis in its proper form,

except that the additional thing is lacking — the perfection that is in the commandment of tzitzis — the fulfillment of the matter "And you shall see it and remember all the commandments of the L-rd etc."

And seemingly it depends on the two interpretations

(which Rashi brought³⁶)

regarding the word "tzitzis"³⁷

: a)

"after the name of the threads hanging from it, like³⁸

He took me by the tzitzis of my head"; b)

"tzitzis after the name of 'and you shall see it' like³⁹

peering from the lattices"⁴⁰

:

For according to the second interpretation that the name "tzitzis" is after the name of "and you shall see it",

it is understood that "and you shall see it" is the definition of the mitzvah of tzitzis⁴¹,

and when "and you shall see it" is lacking, there is a lack in the object of tzitzis,

and he has not fulfilled the mitzvah of tzitzis properly; but not so according to the first interpretation that it is after the name of the threads,

behold the object of tzitzis is nothing but the threads themselves,

and thus the fulfillment of the mitzvah is when he wears a garment with the threads hanging and protruding from it.

6.

And it can be said that in this the Rambam and the Tur disagree:

At the end of Hilchos Tzitzis⁴²

the Rambam wrote,

that "although a person is not obligated to buy himself a tallis and wrap himself in it in order to make tzitzis on it,

<pg>100</pg>

It is not proper for a pious person to exempt himself from this commandment, but rather he should always strive to be wrapped in a garment obligated in tzitzis in order to fulfill this commandment, etc.,"

And in the halacha after this⁴³

"A person should always be careful with the commandment of tzitzis, for Scripture weighed it and hung all the commandments on it, as it is said: 'And you shall see it and remember all the commandments of the Lord.'"

And the Tur also brought in his book⁴⁴

the virtue of being careful with the commandment of tzitzis,

And this is his language: "Although a person is not obligated to buy a tallis...

in order to become obligated in tzitzis, etc., nevertheless it is good and proper for every person to be careful and diligent in the commandment of tzitzis, that he should have a small garment with tzitzis that he should wear all day, for the main point of its commandment is for remembering the commandments, and at every hour and every moment one needs this, etc."

We see,

that the Rambam divided the effort and the caution regarding the mitzvah of tzitzis into two details in two halachos.

First he speaks about the mitzvah of tzitzis itself,

that "it is not proper etc. that one should exempt himself from this mitzvah etc. one should always strive etc. in order to fulfill this mitzvah",

And in a separate halacha he explains the caution that comes from this,

that tzitzis brings about remembrance of all the mitzvos — "for the verse weighed it and hung all the mitzvos on it"⁴⁵,

But not so the Tur, who included them together as one matter and sequence,

and did not mention regarding the effort in fulfilling the mitzvah of tzitzis by itself,

only the caution in the mitzvah of tzitzis from the aspect of the remembrance of all the mitzvos that is in it,

and he infers that this matter is "the essence of its mitzvah" of tzitzis.

And according to the above it is understood,

that according to the Rambam "And you shall see it and remember all the commandments of the Lord etc."

(that "the verse weighed and hung upon it all the commandments entirely")

is an additional thing⁴⁶

beyond the essence of the commandment^*46

of tzitzis⁴⁷,

therefore he divided them into two details in two halachos,

and emphasizes their distinction: the obligation of effort in the commandment of tzitzis itself "fulfillment of this commandment"; the caution in the commandment of tzitzis because there is in it another matter⁴⁸

(besides the essence of the commandment)

— "for the<pg>101</pg>

verse weighed and hung upon it all the commandments entirely".

But the Tur holds that "And you shall see it and remember all the commandments of the Lord" is from the essence

of the commandment of tzitzis.

[And as the Bach explained

the words of the Tur in this that he precedes wrapping oneself in tzitzis before laying tefillin "because tzitzis come in order to remember all the commandments,

but tefillin is an individual commandment etc.".

And to note from the words of the Ba"Ch⁵³,

in the reason that the Tur brought the intention in the mitzvah of tzitzis "and he should intend when wrapping himself that the Omnipresent commanded us to wrap ourselves in order that we remember all His commandments to do them"

(even "that this is not his way in this composition to explain the intention for any verse in the Torah"⁵⁴),

"because according to what is written in the portion of tzitzis⁵⁵

in order that you remember etc. it teaches that the essence of the commandment and its fulfillment depend on its intention that he should intend at the time of fulfilling the commandment"⁵⁶,

"that⁵⁴

he has not fulfilled the commandment properly if he does not intend that intention"⁵⁷].

And therefore there is no need to divide them into two matters,

and as is explicit in his language "that every person be careful and diligent in the mitzvah of tzitzis..

for the essence of its mitzvah is on the remembrance of the commandments"⁵⁸.

7.

And behold all this is in the fulfillment of the commandment of tzitzis according to the essential law,

namely in a tallis gadol,

for even according to the opinion that "and you shall see it" is not from the body of the commandment,

it is a detail in the commandment,

and consequently it is simple that the commandment of tallis gadol is to wear it over the <pg>102</pg>

garments in a manner that there is in it "and you shall see it and remember etc.'"

But regarding tzitzis katan,

the poskim disagree — whether they instituted that a person should fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis all the time by itself as a particular mitzvah

(in addition to the fulfillment of the mitzvah of tzitzis in tzitzis gadol,

which he fulfills in it

(also)

and you shall see it),

or — that the entire essence of the institution of tzitzis katan was in order to remember all the mitzvos always:

According to the Mechaber,

"the essence of the mitzvah of tallis katan is to wear it over his garments so that he will always see it and remember the mitzvos",

because he follows the opinion of the aforementioned Tur,

and as explained in his work Beis Yosef⁵⁹,

that the aforementioned law is — "from what he said

(the Tur⁶⁰)

in Siman 24 that the essence of its mitzvah is for remembering the mitzvos and at every hour and every moment he needs to remember, it appears that the essence of the mitzvah of tallis katan is to wear it above so that he will always see it⁶¹

and remember the mitzvos"⁶².

And in this method the Alter Rebbe stands in his Shulchan Aruch,

that at first it is written⁶³

"When one wraps himself in tzitzis he should intend that the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded us to wrap ourselves in tzitzis in order that we remember all His commandments to do them, as it is said, 'And you shall see it and remember all the commandments of the Lord.'"

And afterwards he continues, "And since the reason for wearing tzitzis is to remember the commandments, therefore one who wears a tallis katan should be careful to wear it over his garments so that he will always see it and remember the commandments."

And he continues, "And those who wear it under the garments should be careful that they wear it in a manner that the tzitzis are always seen, for through seeing them they will always remember the commandments."

that he emphasizes "be careful" [and] "they should be careful,"

for without this there is a deficiency in the essence of the mitzvah of tzitzis.

But according to what is said in the Ari, z"l,

the matter of the tallis katan is only for the fulfillment of the mitzvah of tzitzis alone,

and for this reason he would place them below under all the garments⁶⁴,

because in the tallis katan it does not pertain

(and it is not relevant)

the matter of "And you shall see it, etc."

[And as emphasized also in the distinction regarding tzitzis at night: according to the ruling in Shulchan Aruch&lt;sup&gt;65&lt;/sup&gt;

"Night is not the time for tzitzis, for it is excluded from 'and you shall see it'" — all that one wears at night or a night garment etc. is excluded; whereas in Pri Eitz Chaim&lt;sup&gt;66&lt;/sup&gt;

distinguishes in this: "There is no tallis and tzitzis at night..

but the tzitzis katan should lie with him even in bed..

it should never be nullified..

even at night it is not discontinued, only that of greatness alone is nullified, but tzitzis

(of tzitzis katan)..

should never be nullified even at night, therefore it is called tallis gadol and tzitzis katan, and therefore one should be careful not to remove from himself the tzitzis katan&lt;pg&gt;103&lt;/pg&gt;

at any time even when he is sleeping&lt;sup&gt;67&lt;/sup&gt;

only upon his entry into the bathhouse,

therefore David saw himself naked in the bathhouse and not when he was sleeping, because then he had the tzitzis katan as above"&lt;sup&gt;68&lt;/sup&gt;.

That is, according to the Arizal, the essential purpose of the tzitzis katan is not primarily for the fulfillment of the commandment "and you shall see it

and remember all the commandments of the Lord".

8.

And additionally, one can say regarding this,

according to a precise wording in the Arizal there: in Shaar HaKavanos

he brings this matter as the practice of the Arizal himself, but he did not explicitly instruct that everyone should conduct themselves thus.

And also in Pri Etz Chaim he wrote "my teacher was accustomed..

when he would don the small tzitzis, just as when he would ascend etc., then he would wrap himself in it and lower it from the body in the manner of its wearing,

however, this change mentioned above is that the tallis gadol is above etc. and the tzitzis katan is under all the garments",

and he continues "contrary to the opinion of some kabbalists etc.".

That is,

that even according to the kabbalists there is room to wear the tzitzis katan above the garments,

except that the practice of the Arizal himself was not so.

And the reason for the matter can be said: also according to what is stated in the writings of the Arizal,

there is also in tzitzis katan the concept of "and you shall see it",

except that the definition of "and you shall see it" in tzitzis katan differs from that in tzitzis gadol⁷³

:

In tzitzis gadol "which is the aspect of externality etc.",

the definition of "and you shall see it" is according to its simple meaning — seeing in externality,

because this pertains to external conduct "so that a sin should not happen to come to his hand"⁷⁴,

and he will come to the observance of all the commandments; but not so in tzitzis katan which "is the aspect of internality"⁷⁵,

the definition of "and you shall see it" is an internal seeing,

and that is seeing and gazing into his internality,

the holiness and elevation of the person himself to a more elevated level in the commandments.

And based on this it is understood that many of Bnei Yisrael,

and also from the Chassidim wear the tallit katan under the garments — and are careful that the tzitzit be seen from the outside,

in accordance with the ruling of the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch,

and not as per the instruction of the Alter Rebbe himself that one should conduct according to the Kabbalists against the poskim

— because this practice of the Arizal,

is not a ruling for the public⁷¹,

for Bnei Yisrael need the remembrance of all the mitzvot in their simple sense⁷⁶,

both in the matter that sin should not occur through it⁷⁷,

as in the continuation of the verse "and you shall not stray after your hearts and after your eyes which you go astray after them"⁷⁸,

and both in the aspect of time,

<pg>104</pg>

Fulfillment of all the commandments,

And it is through "And you shall see it

(Then)

And you shall remember all the commandments of the L-rd and do them."

And only in a part of them — applies a kind of the conduct of the AriZal — that the tallit katan and also the tzitzit should be covered,

Because they do not need

(So much)

To the boundary of "And you shall see it" in its simple sense

(Throughout the entire day and every moment)

For the sake of caution and fulfillment of commandments in their simple sense,

And by them the matter of seeing in inwardness shines more.

And because of this, also in the generation before us we did not see this conduct of wearing a small tallis under all the garments in a way that the tzitzis would be covered among all of Israel, except among a portion of them,

And it can be said because this is "the edge of it and a mere taste of it" from the sublime service of the AriZaL.

9.

And may it be [His] will,

that the vigilance in the mitzvah of tzitzis — according to the variation of customs in this⁷⁹

— Those who take out the tzitzis from outside the garments,

who "bear the seal of his Master fixed in his garment"⁸⁰,

and our brethren Bnei Yisrael who do not go with tzitzis in the open,

according to the practice of the Arizal

(for then it is a practice

(the appropriate)

according to Torah)

—

will hasten the fulfillment of the mitzvah of tzitzis of the Holy One, blessed be He — in the language of our prayer⁸¹

"And bring us in peace from the four corners of the earth..

to our land",

with the coming of Mashiach our righteousness, speedily, truly.

(From sichos of Shabbos Parshas Pekudei 5741.

Shabbos Parshas Mikeitz 5743)