This is “Are God’s People Required to Wear Tzitzits Today and Is the Wearing of Tzitzits a Salvific Issue?” And just to cut to the chase, beloved, the answer to both questions is yes. I’ll explain why in just a few.

Why Discuss Tzitzit Wearing?

The reason I was led to discuss this topic is simple: I had not at any time in the past taken on this topic at any appreciable level. And given this topic’s importance to the overall Messianic Faith Communities, I thought it is high time that I share with you both the biblical and my personal perspective on the wearing of tassels or tzitziyot by Yah’s set apart people. And oh, by the way, the term tassels and tzitzits are synonymous for the purposes of our discussion here today.

Background on Tzitzits

If you have been around the Messianic, Hebrew Roots Faith Communities for any appreciable length of time, you’ve no doubt run into certain individuals wearing a set of four tassels (aka tzitzits) that extend from either their belt loops or from the hem of their blouses or tops. These tassels generally consist of white threads with a single thread of blue that are knotted together into strands.

Now, there are variations on this theme whereby some tzitzit makers have fashioned their tassels using multi-colored strands as opposed to just the blue strand embedded amid numerous white strands. Conversely, the tzitziyot or tassels of some of our orthodox Jewish cousins consist of just white strands that are sewn into the hems of their garments.

These strands when attached to Messianic believers’ trousers or tops/blouses/tallit/prayer shawls are easily seen by the outside world. However, members of certain orthodox Jewish sects wear their tzitzits hidden beneath their outer wear.

Also, generally speaking, more Messianic-Netsarim-Nazarene Israelite males than women wear tzitziyot or tassels. And we’ll get into why this is so later in this discussion.

Like most things associated with Orthodox and Messianic Judaism, there are traditions and rules on how tzitzits are to be made or fashioned and when and how they are to be worn. We won’t get into these traditions and rules in this discussion simply because we’re not subject to Jewish rabbis. Our Rabbi is Yeshua HaMashiyach, and we follow in His footsteps and adhere to His teachings and example. And yes, as we will discuss in a few, our Master Yeshua did in fact wear tzitzits.

And furthermore, let’s just put it out there now: There are Hebrew Roots groups, such as the Churches of God splinter groups, that reject the wearing of tassels or tzitziyot by their members. We’ll get into some of their arguments against tzitzit wearing later in this discussion.

 I’ve worn tzitzits full time since 2014 and I will share why I wear them later in this discussion as well.

The Commandments Regarding the Wearing of Tzitziyot

The commandment to make and attach tassels to our garments is found two places in Torah. Let’s read them together:

Nu 15:37–41–37And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,

38“Speak to the children of Yisra’el, and you shall say to them to make tzitzit on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord in the tzitzit of the corners.

39“And it shall be to you for a tzitzit, and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of יהוה and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring,

40so that you remember, and shall do all My commands, and be set-apart unto your Elohim.

41“I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, to be your Elohim. I am יהוה your Elohim.” The Scriptures, 3rd edition. (Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009)

 

And then there is Dt 22:12–12“Make tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself .The Scriptures, 3rd edition. (Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009).

 

 

The Hebrew Term Tzitzits

 

Just about every English translation of these two Torah passages render tzitzits as either fringes or tassels. So, the use of the term tzitzits or tzitziyot may sound foreign to the uninitiated.

 

The word “tzitzit” consists of 5-Hebrew letters:

 

• Tsadey
• Yad
• Tsadey
• Yad
• Tav

 

It means “tassel” or lock of hair or blossoms. When our ancient cousins were commanded to make tzitziyot and fasten them to the corners of their garments, they would have been familiar with what tzitziyot were, for they were customarily worn by many pagan priests and kings as symbols of their privileged station and positions of authority in their respective nations. Yah’s instructions for Israel’s use of tzitziyot served the dual purposes of identifying or marking them as a royal priestly nation, and most importantly, they were to serve as a reminder for them to keep His instructions in righteousness and to not go awhoring after their own passions and false gods.

 

Unpacking the Torah Commandments for Tzitzit Wearing

 

 

Yah commands Moshe to speak to bene Yisrael and tell them to fashion tzitziyot with a blue cord to the corners or hems of their garments throughout their generations (Num. 15:37). The purpose of the tzitziyot is to serve as a reminder for the wearer of Yah’s Torah and to walk exclusively in Yah’s ways (vs. 39). Furthermore, to remind the wearer not to follow or pursue their own way–their own heart–their own perspectives. And thus, in walking in Yah’s Torah Yisrael becomes set-apart unto Yehovah (vs. 40).

 

Bene Yisrael is commanded:

 

1. Make unto themselves tassels that include a single cord of blue.
2. Attach the tassels to the four corners of their garments.
3. To look at the tassels and be reminded to guard and walk in Yah’s Torah and not follow their own ways.

 

This commandment seems to have been given by Yah on the heels of Yisrael’s refusal to go in and take possession of the Land of Promise as Yah commanded them. Yisrael, after receiving the negative report from 10 of those that went to spy out the Land, determined to replace Moshe as their leader and to return to Egypt (Num. 14:1-4). Yahoshua and Caleb, after renting their clothes in response to this rebellion, attempted to reason with the nation with the following words:

 

Nu 14:8–9–8“If יהוה has delighted in us, then He shall bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which is flowing with milk and honey.’

9“Only, do not rebel against יהוה, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their defence has turned away from them, and יהוה is with us. Do not fear them.” The Scriptures, 3rd edition. (Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009).

 

Yisrael rejected the pleas of Joshua and Caleb, even posturing to take them out by stoning them (14:10).

 

The glory of Yah appeared in the Tabernacle in the sight of the nation. The rebelliousness of the people kindled the wrath of Yehovah. Yah purposed to wipe out the whole nation, save Moshe, Caleb, and Yahoshua. But Moshe appealed to the mercies of Yah, who in turn halted the nation’s destruction from the wrath of Yehovah. However, the adult generation that came out of Egypt  would be condemned to wander for forty-years and die in the wilderness.

 

Thus, the commandment that bene Yisrael wear tzitziyot was binding and served as a reminder of what they failed to do: Obey Yah’s commandments. Consequently, every adult that departed Egypt in the Exodus, because of their rebelliousness and refusal to obey Yah’s command to take the Land of Promise, died in the wilderness, save Caleb and Joshua (Num. 26:65). And throughout the whole of those 40-years leading up to each Israelite’s death, they would see tzitzits attached to the four corners of their tallit and remember why they were in the situation they were in.

 

Looking closer to the actual fringes or tassels and how they were to be worn, Yah commanded:

 

Dt 22:12–12 “You shall make tassels for yourselves on the four corners of your clothing with which you cover yourself. W. Hall Harris III, Elliot Ritzema, Rick Brannan, et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012),

 

The tzitziyot mitzvah is concisely repeated here in Deuteronomy 22:12. This iteration of the instruction stipulates that the tassels are to be fashioned onto the 4-corners of the garments that bene Yisrael uses to cover themselves.

 

Yah further elaborated that the tzitziyot were to have intertwined in them a blue cord. What’s up with the blue cord?

 

Portions of the tabernacle curtains and the priestly garments were made of blue colored fabrics (Exo. 26:31; 28:31). Thus, blue accents were linked to the priestly identity and function of Yisrael. That identity was not confined only to the Levites, but it was attached to all the descendants of Yisrael (Exo. 19:6). Therefore, it would not be a stretch for us to associate the ribbon of blue that is commanded to adorn the tzitziyot to be a symbol and reminder of the Yisraelites’ priestly function and purpose to the world. Thus, the commandment that Yah attached to tzitzit wearing by His people: That they remember and walk in Yah’s Torah, as would be expected of any priest (Num. 15:40). The Israelite was prohibited from following their own whims and ways. They belonged to Yehovah. They had been purchased with a price from the gods of and pharaoh of Egypt.

 

Looking back to the Levites and their priestly function, they were to have no inheritance when the nation would come and take possession of the Land. Yah told Aharon: “Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them. I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Yisrael” (Num. 18:20; cf. Deu. 18:2). Thus, the priests would not only intercede on behalf of people to Yehovah, but they would also serve as a model of the ideal Israelite whose whole purpose and function was to loyally serve Yehovah. And conceivably this ribbon of blue, indicative, and reflective of Yah’s set apart nature, intertwined in bene Yisrael’s tzitziyot would remind each soul of their covenantal role as a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exo. 19:6).

 

The Wearing of Tzitziyot Would Extend Through Every Generation

 

Every Hebrew four-cornered Hebrew garment possessed tzitziyot, extending from the time this mitzvah was passed down in Torah, even up to the time of Yahoshua and beyond.

 

Post Temple and into the Talmudic period of the diaspora, the Jews upon adopting the attire of whatever people they ended up living amongst, modified their tzitzit wearing. Instead of the tzitzits being fashioned to every four-cornered garment they possessed back in the land, they had them attached to two primary sets of garments: (1) Their prayer tallit, otherwise referred to as prayer shawls; and (2) their undergarment tallit which they wore each day.

 

The rabbis, never at a loss to control even the smallest Torah-related practice, codified and enforced the way tzitzits were to be fashioned. This rabbinic instruction delineated “the exact manner in which each tassel was to be made and gave a symbolic meaning to the numbers of windings and knots. The main aim seems to have been the association of the fringes with the Law in the mind of the wearer” (Harrison R. K. Isaacs E. D., “Fringes,” ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 363).

 

Tzitzits and Yeshua-Healing in His Wings

 

Of course, the wearing of tzitziyot continued well into the first century Judea. They were prominently worn by the religious leaders of the Sanhedrin who, instead of keeping the spirit of the commandment, wore them to draw attention to themselves. This self-centered practice drove Master Yeshua crazy, and He criticized the Jewish religious leaders for their misuse of tzitziyot:

 

5 And they (the scribes and pharisees) do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries broad and make their tassels long.

 

5. Hall Harris III, Elliot Ritzema, Rick Brannan, et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 23:5.

 

Not to be lost on the self-centeredness of the scribes and pharisees, tzitziyot were worn by every first century Jew, including our Master Yahoshua. And it is our Master’s wearing of tzitziyot that should be of particular interest to the Kingdom-minded and Kingdom-bound Messianic.

 

The story of the woman with the “issue of blood” factors prominently into the efficacy and spirituality that is associated with tzitziyot wearing by Yah’s set apart people. Most prominent when we consider the fact that the woman with the so-called issue of blood sought healing from her debilitating illness by simply grabbing onto the Master’s tzitzit clearly reveals two relevant truths: (1) Yahoshua kept Yah’s commandments as evident in His wearing tzitzits. (2) The woman fervently believed there was healing in even the Master’s garments, including His tzitzits.

 

The passage reads as follows:

 

20And see, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the tzitzit of His garment.

21For she said to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I shall be healed.”

22But יהושׁע turned, and when He saw her He said, “Take courage, daughter, your belief has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that hour.

 

The Scriptures, 3rd edition. (Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009), Mt 9:20–22.

 

The Greek word for “fringes” or “tassels” in our Mitzvah of Numbers 15:38 and in the story of the healing of the woman with the issue of blood in Matthew 9:20-22 is “kraspedon.” The woman with the issue of blood is recorded to have “haptomai kraspedon autos himation” or “fastened herself to the tzitziyot of His tallit.”

 

 

It is a reasonable probability that the affected woman was familiar with the prophecy that stated: 1 “For look, the day shall come, burning like a furnace, and all the proud, and every wrongdoer shall be stubble. And the day that shall come shall burn them up,” said יהוה of hosts, “which leaves to them neither root nor branch.

 

2“But to you who fear My Name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings. And you shall go out and leap for joy like calves from the stall. The Scriptures, 3rd edition. (Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009), Mal 4.

 

There is a clear connection between the colorful description of wings and the kanaph or borders of one’s garments where tzitzits would be attached. Clearly, the woman with the issue of blood took this prophecy to heart and grabbed hold of the Master’s tzitzit and in so doing, she was healed. Sadly, most bible teachers aren’t willing to make this connection.

 

And there is one other reference to Yeshua’s tzitziyot healing the sick that is found in Matthew 14:34-36, which reads as follows:

 

34And having passed over, they came to the land of Genněsar.

35And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding country, and brought to Him all who were sick,

36and begged Him to let them only touch the tzitzit of His garment. And as many as touched it were completely healed. The Scriptures, 3rd edition. (Northriding: Institute for Scripture Research, 2009)

 

Most English translations of this passage of holy writ render what we consider to be Yeshua’s tzitzits as “the fringe of His garment,” or the “border” or “hem” of His garment. The CSB surprisingly renders this portion of the Master’s garment as tassels.

 

The Koine Greek term that is in question here is “kraspedon,” which means edge, border, or tassel. Clearly tassel is the most accurate rendering.

 

 

 

The 21^st West and the Wearing of Tassels by God’s Set Apart People

 

For the Nazarene Israelite of the 21st century west, tzitzits and the wearing of tzitziyot serve as outward symbols to the world of our identification as disciples of Yahoshua Messiah and our commitment to walk in His ways. He is for all intents and purposes the walking, talking Torah. He is our example for righteous living and our direct link to Yehovah, the Creator of the Universe. His righteousness has brought peace between us and Yehovah. His righteous obedience has brought us salvation and has provided the means for us to receive and enter the coming Kingdom of Yah. His Person and Ministry has led to Yah’s Set Apart Spirit dwelling upon and within we who are Children of the God of Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov.

 

 

The whole concept of Yah’s people wearing tzitzits in the 21st century West has become somewhat of a divisive issue in Messianic circles. I’m confident that most Torah-honoring souls, especially in the West, do not wear tzitziyot, at least not on a full-time basis for various and sundry reasons. But the minority that do wear them full-time do so for a couple simple reasons: (1) Yah instructed that they be worn by bene Israel throughout their generations, and (2) wearing them is a symbol of being set apart unto Yehovah for His exclusive use (i.e., personal consecration) (Lev. 20:7-8; Rom. 6:13). These dismiss all the excuses and reasons given by the majority for not wearing them as an example of rebelliousness; that is, picking and choosing which commandments the rejecters feel like keeping versus which they don’t feel like keeping.

 

The point behind Yah’s instructions for His sons to wear tzitziyot is simple: bene Yisrael was to look upon them as a reminder to them to walk in Yah’s instructions in righteousness and to not follow the unfaithfulness of the wearers’ own heart and eyes (Num. 15:39; Deu. 4:9, 23; Isa. 55:6-8). Again, the ultimate goal is wearer and congregation set apartness or consecration.

 

Humans forget that which they are supposed to do. Human forgetfulness in this context, however, is not so much about people failing to remember critical central truths such as the covenant and Yah’s instructions for righteous living. The forgetfulness that Yah is referring to here as it relates to the wearing or not of tzitziyot has to do with abandoning Yah’s ways for the ways of the world because the supposed child of Yah simply wants to do carnal things. The tzitziyot that every bene Yisrael is commanded to wear provides them with a final escape from wickedness and carnality when they are tempted. Today, this final escape mechanism of the tzitziyot is in addition to the indwelling presence and work of the Ruach Kodesh (aka the Holy Spirit).

 

Everyday life, pride, stubbornness, and modern-day anti-Hebrew-anti-Torah mindsets are some of the reasons why the majority of members in our faith reject the wearing of tzitziyot by modern day Messianics. I’ve been personally criticized for my wearing of tzitziyot by Sabbath-keeping, feast-keeping, clean eating believers. The two reasons I was mocked and rejected by these individuals was (1) the commandment to wear tzitziyot no longer applies to us because we in the 21st century west do not wear four-cornered garments, which they claim nullifies both the Numbers and Deuteronomy instructions to wear them. And (2), the wearing of tzitziyot by Yah back in the day was for purposes of reminding bene Yisrael to keep the commandments. Well, in the minds of the tzitzit rejecters, Messianics today have the indwelling Holy Spirit to keep them on the straight and narrow, which means that the advent of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Messianics has nullified this commandment.

 

Let’s look at the first challenge. Indeed, most of us do not wear four corner garments. But does this reality completely nullify this commandment?

 

Consider the fact that neither the Tabernacle nor Temple exists. So, does this reality nullify the commandment to observe the pilgrimage feasts of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, and Sukkot? Both tzitziyot wearing and feast keeping commandments were promulgated by Yah to be kept throughout all Yisra’el’s generations. What is the difference? Well, let me tell you the one difference: One can easily hide their feast keeping from others, but they can’t hide their wearing of tzitziyot. Properly worn, tzitziyot can be easily seen by the world. And that wearing of these consecrated implements serve as a testimony to the world of the wearer’s covenant relationship with the God of Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov, as well as it keeps the wearer accountable of their responsibility to walk in Yah’s Ways exclusively and at all times.

 

If the wearing of tzitziyot has been nullified by the reality that 21st century western attire does not have four-corners, then we shouldn’t give tithes and offerings. For when the commandment to tithe and give offerings was passed down to us, we were an agrarian people. And based on the commandment given by Yah regarding the tithes and offerings, many of us cannot keep the commandments to tithe and give offerings as it is recorded in Torah. Why? Because most of us are not farmers and there is no Levitical Priesthood nor Tabernacle or Temple in which to deposit our tithes and offerings. Right? Yet, a great many of us still believe we should tithe. So again, why do we reject tzitzit wearing over the technicality that we no longer wear four-cornered garments.

 

So, any argument against the commanded wearing of tzitziyot by Yah’s set apart people is a dangerous argument to wage. Any one of us can easily find those who are not members of our Faith communities who will just as easily poke holes in our rationale for keeping all the Torah instructions that we generally keep.

 

The other argument often raised by some against the wearing of tzitziyot by today’s Messianics is that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit makes the wearing of tzitziyot invalid. Why? Because the Holy Spirit works within the believer to help them obey Yah’s instructions and to resist sinning.

 

Well, like the previously debunked argument, this argument is also a dangerous excuse for not wearing tzitziyot. To say that the Holy Spirit’s existence in the life of the believer invalidates Yah’s commandments, including the wearing of tzitziyot, then you are condemning the collective and individual walks of the first century saints, who kept Yah’s instructions in righteousness even unto death.

 

To say that the indwelling presence of Yah’s Holy Spirit makes one impervious to sin while at the same time urging people to violate Yah’s Torah commandment to not wear tzitziyot is a self-condemning act. One of the purposes and functions of Yah’s set apart Spirit is to provide the Netzer the power to say no to sin and to earnestly desire to keep Yah’s commandments. Thus, for one to condemn and encourage people to violate this and other Torah commandments because the Holy Spirit dwells in them is contradictory at best. For Yah’s set apart Spirit would never lead one to disobey Yah’s commandments. Yah’s Holy Spirit cannot, nor will it ever, nullify Yah’s Torah.

 

Which brings to mind the question of tzitzit wearing by Yah’s set apart people being of a “salvific” issue. (Explain what you mean by salvific issue.) Cutting to the chase, I believe tzitziyot wearing can very much be a salvific issue. It is a salvific issue when one, knowing of the existence of a commandment of Yah that they should keep and that they are more than capable of keeping and walking out, and that they choose not to keep and walk out that commandment because they don’t want to, then they stand a good chance of losing their salvation. Why? Because they are in effect rebellion against the Almighty. And Yah has only so much patience for rebelliousness. The prophet cried: “Woe to you, O rebellious and defiled one” (Zep. 3:1; LEB)!

 

Those who know better are expected to do better. And those who know Torah will be held responsible and judged within the framework of Torah. (See my teaching on being judged within the framework of Torah.)

 

I, however, am not the judge of anyone. Yeshua will have that job on that day when so many will say to Yeshua, Master, Master, didn’t I…(Mat. 7:22-23).

 

______________________________________________________

 

We keep the Torah Commandments that we can keep today to the best of our understanding and ability. And certainly, we can wear tzitzits. It’s quite doable. It just comes down to one’s earnest desire to walk blamelessly in Yah’s set apart ways and instructions.

 

Which brings us to the last argument that is often waged against tzitzit wearing by modern day Messianics: Are women or female required to wear tzitziyot?

 

It appears that when the commandment for bene Yisrael to wear tzitziyot was given, it applied to just the males of the nation. Let me remind you, however, that under the auspices of the renewed covenant there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Messiah Yeshua (Gal. 3:28). So, I will let this passage answer the question of this commandment as it relates to women wearing tzitzits today.

 

 

Closing Remarks

 

Beloved, I pray that you got something out of this teaching on tzitzits and their relevance to Messianics-Netsarim-Nazarene Israelites today.

 

If you are struggling with the question of whether you should wear tzitzits, or if you are dealing with challenges surrounding your wearing of them, take it to Yehovah. Talk to Yah about your situation and express to Him your concerns about wearing them.

 

As in all things related to walking out this beloved faith of ours, your keeping of Yah’s instructions in righteousness is between you and Him. I don’t have a heaven or hell to place anyone into. We are all on this amazing journey to the Kingdom. Consequently, we are all at different places in our journey to the Kingdom. So, I don’t pass judgment or reject any who chooses not to wear tzitzits. Hey, I come across very few people who wear them anyway. So, I’m used to it. But when I do run into someone who is wearing them, I tell you, it’s a beautiful thing to commune with that individual and share the blessings of our faith with one another.

 

Then there are those who are drawn to my wearing of tzitzits, either out of curiosity or simply to strike up a conversation around them. Those times are precious, as I get to provide witness of our beloved faith to souls that desperately need the truth and redemption. And my prayer is that they see the light of Messiah beyond the simple threads of my tzitzits and come to enjoy a covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe.

 

Beloved, there is great spiritual power and meaning to be had by the wearer of Yah’s consecrated tzitzits; the one who keeps the commandments of Yehovah and holds tight to the testimony of Yeshua Messiah (Rev. 12:17). For there is coming a day when teshuvah and revival in Yerushalayim—greater even than that great day of Shavuot in 28 AD. The prophets foretell of a  day when Yerushalayim and her inhabitants will be the epicenter of a great revival which will draw the Gentile nations to come and earnestly seek Yehovah and His Messiah (Isa. 2:2; Jer. 3:17; 16:19). Of that time, the prophet wrote:

 

(20) “Thus said Yehovah Sabaoth, ‘Peoples shall yet come, inhabitants of many cities, (21) and the inhabitants of the one go to another, saying, “Let us earnestly go and pray before Yehovah, and seek Yehovah Sabaoth. I myself am going.” (22) And many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek Yehovah Sabaoth in Yerushalayim, and to pray before Yehovah.’ (23) “Thus said Yehovah Sabaoth, ‘In those days ten men from all languages of the nations take hold, yes, they shall take hold of the corner of the garment of a man (that is, “kanaph,” the wing of his garment), a Yehudi, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that Elohim is with you”’” (Zec. 8; The Scriptures, IVP).

 

Therefore beloved, if you are led to wear tzitziyot, not simply because you are commanded of Yah to do so, but because you love Yehovah with all your being and you desperately want to imitate our Master Yahoshua HaMashiyach, do so in peace, joy, love, hope, and great anticipation of the coming Malchut Elohim (aka the Kingdom of God).

 

Until next time beloved, Shabbat Shalom, Shavuatov, take care.