Tassels, fringes or tzit-tzits

-Why do we wear tassels? Why do people wear a cross? Why do people wear a WWJD band? The same reason is why we wear tassels; the only difference is that YHVH commanded us in His Word to wear tassels but He mentioned nothing about a cross or the WWJD wristbands. These are religious symbols that remind us of things that are important to us. ! " #$%$ & ' ' ( ) " #$%$ * * ' !" * ' + #$%$ # !$ + * * Believers in Y’shua are mostly Gentiles who are grafted into Israel and must walk in line with what YHVH Instructed. The Torah is now written on our hearts (Jer 31:33, Hebrews 8:10) and through the Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), and is relevant to all believers today. . 1 $ , -% & ' ( +' * ' + , ( ) .' ) / ( + # What is a tassel? Tassels, fringes or tzit-tzits is a loose threads at the bottom or hem of your garment. Hebrew word for tassels is "Tzit-tzit" and "gedil". Messianic believers put a blue thread in their tassels to represent the Messiah Y’shua. Blue represents the ‘righteousness’ of YHVH. Blue or "techelet" comes from small snail (Murex trunculus ) found in the region in northern Israel between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean. They use this snail to colour the fabric and what the most amazing thing is, is that the fluid that they extracted from the snail is yellow in colour, but when it gets in contact with ‘light’ it turns blue. In the same way, when we get in contact with the light (Truth), we also turn ‘blue’ (righteous). Tassel can be the same colour of the garment and you can add a blue thread to it and tassels do not have to be white. Blue represents our redemption through Y’shua and the throne of YHVH and His Holiness. More and more woman are wearing tassels because it said that the children of Israel should wear them, so a woman is a child of Israel and may wear them. How many tassels should be worn? In a similar passage Deu_22:12 we get instruction to put tassels on the four corners of your garment. Normally tied to your pants, two in front and two at the back. Some people wear a vest with the four tzit-tzits on the inside. 0 11 1 ) ( ' ' ( ( (2 . Why did YHVH command us to put tassels on our garments? To wear Tzit-tzits is classified as a Statute that is the Commandments that are classified as “remainders”. Statute is the Hebrew word “Choq” that also means ‘to paint a picture’. Statutes are pictures YHVH paints on your life. It is spiritual concepts that originated from YHVH that will be visible in this world on His people’s lives. 2 To wear them paints a picture that has a spiritual meaning that is a physical reminder to you and the people who see you. Other Statutes in Scripture are the Mezzuzah, wearing pure fabrics (not mixing), the Sabbath and the Festivals. They are physical things (paintings) we do (paint with our actions) to be seen by others so that YHVH’s things can be made known in this dark world. There are things we see every day; the Mezuzzah (remind me that I am a Bondservant), and the tzit-tzits (remind me of the Commandments). Then there are things we see every week; the Sabbath, that reminds us of YHVH, the Creator, and of His rest. Then we get monthly reminders, Rosh Kodesh (new moon), reminding us of the cycles of YHVH and that we follow His lunar calendar. Then there are the yearly reminders, the Festivals that remind us of YHVH’s Plan of Redemption. Every one of these Statutes paints a physical picture of a Spiritual concept that we would not have understood unless it was made visible to us in this way. Looking at Num 15:38-41 we see that the Tzit-tzits specifically remind us of the following: • • • • • • • • To remember all His Commandments To do all His Commandments Not to follow after your own heart (flesh) No to follow after your eyes (covet) Not to prostitute yourself (follow false gods and pagan ways – mixing) To remember to do all the Commandments (repeated – very important) To be Holy and set apart and not to be like people in the world. To remember that YHVH is your Elohim who brought you out of Egypt. What is interesting is that YHVH instructed the wearing of tassels when one of the people gathered sticks in the field on the Sabbath and was persecuted. The tassels, in other words, is to remind us to keep the Sabbath and that His Commandments are to be taken seriously. Wearing tassels show us that we should be holy or set apart unto YHVH, because He is Holy and keep His Commandments. Num_15:38-40. This is also instructed in the Apostolic writings (New Testament) in 1 Pet 1:13-16: 3 4 + .) $ ! 2 ) ) + ' (( 0 $ 1+ + ( $ / +) ) ) + ) ( ) ( ( ) 56 ) + + #% He tells believers in Y’shua to be sober and to remember the hope of the grace in Messiah and to be obedient and not be ignorant and to be Holy for YHVH is Holy. It also reminds us that we should be set apart (different) and are not be part of this world even if we live in this world and its evil ungodly things. We will look a bit deeper into the meaning of wearing tzit-tzits at the end of this study. 3 Do we need a reminder to do his Commandments? We live in such a busy world and sin is rampant today and it is good to have something visual to remind us that we are His redeemed set apart people. This will help us not to go out whoring; to mix pagan things with His Ways, and let others see that we are holy set apart people. We should remember the ancient paths and return to our roots and not conform to the traditions of the world and mix our modern traditions with His Instructions. This is difficult to do living in this world and the tzit-tzits help us to focus on YHVH’s things on a daily basis. WWJD? What will ‘Jesus’ do? Will He wear tassels? To know what ‘Jesus’ (Y’shua) will do today, we need to ask our selves the question, what did Y’shua do? Then we will only know what He will do when He is present with u today. Y’shua was a Jew and wore Tassels. There was a prophecy in Mal_4:1-2 that He fulfilled by wearing tassels. Lets look and find out. ) 1& + 2 # ) ( ' ( ' 7 ( )( ' ' +) ( + 3 + 8 $ ' + # 4 5) # ) ) # Within the phrase “healing in His wings”, we get the Hebrew word for “wings”, and it is the word "kanaph", meaning ‘edge of a garment’, and is where the tassels were worn. This shows us that Y’shua wore tassels and lets see where this prophecy was fulfilled. . , ; + 6 ) )7 ) # + ) # !4 & +) ( ' # 5) ( ! ! ' ' ' ' 2 ' 2 ( ( !! ( $ ( ! ' ' .) 8 ) 9 ' ( ( 8 ) 9 !1 .) ( ( ) # !< ! ' ( ( () ) $ ( !/ : ) ) ) ' , ( .). 4 # ! ' ' ' ! )2 $ ( ( $ =) ' $ ' + # ) # She toughed the border or "kaspedon" (Greek) or "kanaph" (Hebrew) of His garment or His tassels, and got healed. She touched Him in faith and probably knew of the prophecy and acted in faith, which resulted in her instant healing. In the parallel gospel of Matthew it is further confirmed that everybody who touched His Tassels on the edge of His garment received healing. ) 4 3 + ) + ( $ ! ( ( ( ' 1! $ # ( ' Their faith was in Him as the Messiah and the promise of healing found in His tassels. Y’shua obeyed the Torah to wear tassels and through His obedience in the Torah He fulfilled the Prophecy, revealed Himself as the Messiah and brought healing to the nation. Will people accept Y’shua today? More than 80% of all Y’shua' s words and teachings were based upon Torah, to teach them the Instructions of His Father and that they were not burdensome, but bearable. ) -9 ) ) # Will we kick Him out when He come today and teach Torah in the churches, wearing tassels? If He came today into the normal church and not reveal Himself to the people as the Messiah, the majority of the people will not accept Him and will label Him as a legalist and ask Him to leave. Are tassels for all people throughout time? : (, 1- 1 >- + + * ) 2( 24$ ' # 44 ! #$%$ $ 4 = ' ( ; 2 ( #$%$# > ' ' ' < 2 ;' > ' # The context of this passage is the last days. Zec_8:3 Zec_8:7-8. People from all nations will come and tough the "kanaph" or edge of the Jahodee' s (Jews) garment or Tassels and will say that they will go with them because YHVH is with them. We too can put on the tassels with the cord of blue to share in the work of the Messiah and show that we are grafted into Israel and teach people His ways. 5 Who can wear the Tassels today? Who got to wear them back then? If we know who wore them and the context of why they wore them, then we can see who can wear them today. Back then, the Children of Israel wore them. Who were the children of Israel? They were called, the “called out ones”, the people coming out of Egypt. They were a mixed multitude of Israelites and Egyptians, who in themselves, were made up out of many nations. Together they comprised the redeemed of YHVH and were called Israel, the chosen people or the elect. As they all came out of Egypt or bondage, they were baptised into Moses as they went through the Red sea and received the Ten Commandments. They were to wear tassels for as long as they were a nation and all who are part of Israel. In the same way we, who wear the tassels, remember that YHVH alone is our Deliverer and Saviour and now we are His people. He gave us His Commandments to bless us in our lives and in our communities. We wear them to help us to be holy and to be set apart. He is the Lord our God and we do what He says out of love for Him. Tzit-tzits are not only for men but also for women and children who decided to follow the ways of YHVH and want to do His Commandments. We are all ‘children’ of YHVH and everyone who has faith in Y’shua can wear tzit-tzits. Who gets the blessing of wearing the Tassels today? You cannot just put the tassels on. There are prerequisites: • • • • You have to be His chosen people. Are you that believe in Jesus also His chosen people, are you part of Israel? His Covenant people get to wear the tassels. Are you a part of the Covenant people? Those who are redeemed are to wear the tassels. Are you redeemed? Those who took part of the Passover lamb wore the tassels. Did you take part of the Passover Lamb of YHVH, Y’shua? Moses is the type and figure of the Messiah and they were immersed into Moses and so we are immersed into Y’shua, and this makes us part of the Covenant. We are part of Israel and are grafted into the Kingdom of YHVH through His Grace and Salvation, Y’shua. Therefore can we wear the Tassels, all those who believe in Y’shua as their Saviour and Messiah. Heb 8:10 it states that The Spirit wrote the Torah on our hearts and in the Torah we are allowed to wear the Tassels and be blessed through His Commandments. Be different and be set-apart and be reminded of the wonderful God we serve by wearing the Tassels. What did Y’shua do and WWYD – What will you do? 6 The Deeper meaning of Tassels – “Sod” Interpretation. “Sod” means ‘deeper meaning’ and we are going to look at Tzit-tzits at a deeper level looking at it trough the Hebrew language. There is two Hebrew words that is translated as tassels or fringes nad that is “gidil” and “Tassels first used in Scripture: Deu_22:12 0 ?11 1 # ( ' ( ' ( (2 This time the Hebrew word for tassels (fringes) is "ghedeel" but means the same as “tzit-tzits”. Fringes - "gedil" - - to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, do great things, growing up, twisted threads, tassels, festoons. - "gimmel" - Spirit, to carry (camel) - "dalet" - Door - Y' shua the Master. - "lamed" - Learning - listen and learn from your Master and the Spirit. This gives us the meaning that we are to become ‘great’ and ‘mighty’ if we follow YHVH' s Commandments (symbol of wearing tassels). He will lift us up and do mighty things through us. Joh_14:12 but remember that a servant is not greater than His Master. Joh_15:20. It is also an act of praise, bringing honor to YHVH and magnifying Him through our lives if we do His Commandments (symbol of wearing tassels). This word “gedil” is only used twice in Scripture, and found the second time in 1 king 7:17. @ ' ' $ ' ( ' ' 2 ' ( # The context of this verse is where it describes Solomon' s house. Solomon was a ‘great’ and ‘mighty’ man who had all the wisdom in the world that YHVH gave to him as a gift. Solomon represents YHVH' s wisdom, and if we relate it to the tassels, it gives us insight that YHVH will give wisdom to thise who follow His instructions, even the smaller ones wearing the tzittzits. This will make us powerful and help us achieve great things, just like Solomon did in his lifetime. The Tzit-tzits Represent YHVH’s Covering One of the 33 Hebrew words used for “to cover” is the word “shaw-kak” and is found in Psalm 91, the Psalm used by many as a prayer for protection. ' Shaw-kak' – – to subside, abate, decrease, to shrink or fall to the bottom, to be reduced. 7 3 A )# (2 ) )( + ) ) ( . +) ) This is the most popular Psalm and everybody knows it is about protection or covering of YHVH. He covers us with His wings, which has feathers. The word for “wing” is “kanaph”, and it also means “edge”. This is the same word used to instruct men to wear a tassel (gadat) on the four edges (kanaph) of his garment. and has the following meanings: The word for “feathers” is “ebraw”, • The first two letters spell – “Ab” or “Father”, • The centre two letters spell – “Bar” • The last three letters spell – “baraw” • The first and last letters spell – “hay” or “Son – to cleanse”, or “to eat”, or “behold” or like as”. These feathers form part of the Wing of covering. What is interesting here is that there are four “tassels” on the “wing” of your garment and these four tzit-tzits represent the following: We are children of the Father (Ab) through the blood of the Son (bar) Who is the Word who cleanses us. His Word is the Bread of life that we eat (baraw) so that we can become like Him (hay). The Bride and the Priesthood – The power struggle The second Hebrew word for tassel or fringe is “tzee-tseeth” and is found in Num 15:3840. This word comes from the root word “tzeets” that is found in Numb 17:8: ( ? , # + + ) ? @/ +) ! ( + .2 This is the story where Moses and saw the rod of Aaron budded and blossomed. This was after Korah and his men rebelled against Moses and Aaron, wanting their power and authority. After Korah and the 250 men were judged, YHVH told Moses to ask a rod from each of the twelve tribes, as well as Levi, and He will let the rod blossom, the one He chooses to lead the people. Aaron’s rod, the branch of Levi budded and blossomed and proved that YHVH have chosen them as His Priesthood and that the other people must submit under their leadership. 8 Rod is the word "mattah" and it also means ' branch'and ' tribe' . So if we speak of the rod of Aaron we are speaking indirectly of the Tribe of Levi, the Priesthood who served YHVH in the Tabernacle and who served and taught the people. They were the spiritual leaders of Israel whom YHVH appointed and anointed for that purpose. Blossom is the word "tseets" "tzee-tseeth" that is the root word for that is the word for tassels or fringes. Those who were Levites set the example and followed YHVH' s Instructions to the letter and finest detail and the Tzit-tzits is a symbol of this. Wearing the tzit-tzits is one of the smallest commandments but it reflects that you follow YHVH even in the smallest things. The Tzit-tzits is a symbol that you blossom and bear the fruit of following YHVH' s Commandments to that extent. This is an outward fruit that show people that you blossom and bear fruit and follow His Commandments, even the least of the Commandments. What did Y' shua say about this? ) ' ) AA = ( 2 2 1 2 ( ( 2 ( 2 ( B6 2 Who are the people who will be the greatest in the Kingdom? Those who will serve others and these are the spiritual leaders who served the people and taught them even the least of the Commandments and did it themselves. Humility and a servant’s heart is the character of a great leader. We also see in Num 17:8 that the Rod blossomed and bore fruit, which were almonds. An almond looks like an ‘eye’ and is the Hebrew word "shaqed" which also means; ' to watch'and ' watchmen' . The Rod of Aaron or the Levites were appointed by YHVH to watch over His people and His Torah, to guard or keep His Commandments and to preserve it form one generation to another. The word, ' keep'in Exo 20:6 is the Hebrew word "shamar" and it also means ' to protect' . This was the work of the Levites to teach the people to do, preserve, teach, keep and protect His Commandments from one generation to another. Wearing the Tzit-tzits is an outward sign that you are committed to do this and to set an example to all the people that you follow His Torah. 3 1 2 ( #C ( (( * ) The Levites were the Priesthood and we as the Bride of the Messiah are the Set Apart Priesthood of YHVH and if you belief that you are part of the Bride. 9 You have to have the "fruit" in your life that reflects this calling; doing the least of the Commandments, wearing Tzit-tzits, setting the example to the rest of the people to follow and guard His Commandments, even the smallest ones. The Tzit-tzits are like blossoms on your life, showing that you bear the fruit of obeying his Commandments. This is also a sign that you are part of the Bride, the first fruits of His people, who are His Holy Priesthood, who will set the example and lead the other people back into His Ways. Spiritually, this means that you are part of the Levites, who committed themselves to serve YHVH and to serve His people. How to make Tzit-tzits Though many methods exist, the one that gained the widest acceptance can be described as follows: 1. The two sets of stands are knotted together twice, and then the shamash (a longer strand) is wound around the remaining seven strands a number of times (see below). The two sets are then knotted again twice. This procedure is repeated three times, such that there are a total of five knots, the four intervening spaces being taken up by windings numbering 7-8-11-13, respectively. The total number of winds comes to 39, which is found to be significant in that it is the gematria (numerical equivalent) of the words: "The Lord is One" Deuteronomy 6:4). 2. Others, especially Sephardi Jews, use 10-5-6-5 as the number of windings, a combination that represents directly the spelling of the Tetragrammaton; YHVH. 3. Another way of tying the knots based upon the number of knots on a gematria adding up to 613. The word Tzitzit (in its Mishnaic spelling) has the value 600. Each tassel has eight threads (when doubled over) and five sets of knots, totalling 13. The sum of all numbers is 613, traditionally the number of mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. This reminds us when wearing the Tzitzits, that we are to be walking accrding to all YHVH’s Commandments. Make your own Tzitzits - http://www.eliyah.com/video/tassels_hi.wmv Right click on this link and choose "Save Link As" 10