The following article was written for and appears in the Jewish Chronicle 8th June 2007

‘It shall be for you a fringe; so you may see it and remember all the commandments of the Eternal and do them, and do not go about after your heart and after your eyes, which lead you to lust (Numbers 15:39).

Why does the commandment concerning the wearing of tzitzit come at the end of Sh’lach L’cha? Since the verses about tzitzit form the third paragraph of the Sh’ma, following the two texts from Deuteronomy (6:4-11; 11:13-21), we may forget the original context for them: At the end of a portion that focuses on the narrative of the ill-fated reconnoitre of the land beyond the Jordan by the leaders of the twelve tribes.

Rashi gets to the heart of the matter. Commenting on verse 39, he writes: ‘This is similar to “from spying the land” (13:25). The heart and eyes are the body’s spies, and bring it sins (Midrash Tanchuma 15). The eye sees, the heart lies and the body sins.’ Rashi is drawing attention to how, when the tribal leaders returned from their tour of the land, ten of the twelve spread an ‘evil report’ of what they had seen (13:25-33). But you need to follow the Hebrew to make the connection. Sh’lach L’cha opens with the Eternal One instructing Moses to ‘send men that they may tour – v’yaturu – the land of Canaan’ (13:2). Then we read (:25): ‘They returned from touring – mitour – the land after forty days’. Similarly, the explanation of the purpose of wearing tzitzit is that ‘you may see the fringe and remember the commandments of the Eternal’ – v’lo-taturu acharey l’vav’chem v’acharey eyneychem’ – literally: ‘and do not tour after your heart and after your eyes, which lead you to lust’.

The commandment of tzitzit addresses the problem that ‘The heart and eyes are the body’s spies, and bring it sins’. The narrative of Sh’lach L’cha relates how their hearts and eyes led ten men to err. However, two of the tribal leaders, Joshua and Caleb, were not led astray by their hearts and eyes; they saw opportunity, not danger. While the main function of tzitzit may be to control our sinful urges, the Torah also teaches that we have a choice: ‘See! – R’eih! – I have set before you today, life and good and death and evil… therefore choose life!’ (Deuteronomy 30: 15; 19)

Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah