Menachot 43b (מג:) — the Talmud in English

And we raise an objection:

And according to the Rabbis,

who disagree with Rabbi Shimon and maintain that night is also the time for tzitzit, so that it is a positive mitzva not limited by time and women are obligated in it,

this

verse,

“which you cover yourself with,”

which Rabbi Shimon expounded as including the garment of a blind person—

what do they do with it?

For they do not require an exposition to include the garment of a blind person, since, as the Rabbis obligate even a nighttime garment in tzitzit, all the more so a blind person’s garment, which is visible to others, should be obligated in tzitzit?

And we answer: The Rabbis

require it

to expound this verse

in accordance with that which was taught:

It is written concerning tzitzit: “

You shall make twisted threads for yourself

on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself,”

and we expound: “

four

corners,”

and not three;

a garment with three corners is exempt from tzitzit.

You say

that the verse comes to exclude

four and not three, or perhaps it

comes to exclude

only four and not five;

a garment with five corners is exempt from tzitzit?

When it says

later in the verse, “

with which you cover yourself,”

it comes to include a garment with five corners, which is obligated in tzitzit. If so,

the one with five has been stated,

and necessarily

what do I establish

as the exclusion of

“on the four corners”?—

Garments with

four

corners are obligated in tzitzit,

but not

a garment with

three

corners.

And we raise an objection:

What have you seen that leads you to include a garment with five

corners as obligated in tzitzit

and exclude a garment with three

from the obligation of tzitzit? Why not expound the opposite: The verse “with which you cover yourself” includes a garment with three, while the verse “on the four” excludes a garment with five?

And we answer:

I include a garment with five

to obligate it in tzitzit, but not one with three, because

four is included within five,

whereas I exclude a garment with three, since four is not included within three.

And we raise an objection:

And Rabbi Shimon,

who expounds the verse “with which you cover yourself” to include the garment of a blind person—from where does he derive that a garment with five corners is obligated in tzitzit? And we answer:

Rabbi Shimon derives it from

the word

“which”

that appears in the verse “with which you cover yourself”;

he derives it,

while from the words “you cover yourself with it” he derives the inclusion of the garment of a blind person.

And the Rabbis,

who derive the obligation of a garment with five corners from “with which you cover yourself,” and do not derive it from the word

“which,” since they do not understand

that word to be intended for an exposition.

And we raise an objection:

And according to the Rabbis, this “and you shall see it”

which Rabbi Shimon expounded to exclude a nighttime garment,

what do they do with it,

since they maintain that night is the time for tzitzit, and women are obligated in tzitzit?

And we answer:

They require it in accordance with that which was taught: “And you shall see it and remember

all the mitzvot of the Lord.”

See this mitzva and remember

through it

another mitzva that depends on it. And which is that? This is the recitation of the Shema,

for the time for reciting the Shema is from the time when there is sufficient light to distinguish between the shades of the tzitzit.

As we learned

in Berakhot:

From when does one recite the Shema in the morning?—

From when one can distinguish between the tekhelet

in the tzitzit

and the white

in it.

And another teaching was taught: “And you shall see it and remember.” See this mitzva

of tzitzit

and remember

through it

another mitzva adjacent to it

in the Torah.

And which is that? This is the mitzva of kilayim, as it is written: “You shall not wear shaatnez, wool and linen together.”

And adjacent to it is

“You shall make twisted threads for yourself.”

Another teaching was taught: “And you shall see it and remember all the mitzvot of the Lord.” Once a person becomes obligated in this mitzva

when the day has become light,

he becomes obligated in all the mitzvot,

since most mitzvot apply during the day.

And this beraita

is in accordance with Rabbi Shimon, who says that tzitzit

that ritual fringes

is a positive mitzva limited by time,

and its obligation applies only during the day. According to the Rabbis, however, the time for tzitzit does not begin only when the day has become light, since its time also applies at night.

Another teaching was taught: “And you shall see it and remember all the mitzvot of the Lord.” This mitzva is equivalent to all the mitzvot,

as it is written, “all the mitzvot of the Lord.” And likewise, this mitzva has the numerical value of six hundred thirteen, corresponding to all the mitzvot: The numerical value of tzitzit is six hundred; add to them the five knots in the tzitzit and the eight threads, and the total is six hundred thirteen.

And another teaching was taught: “And you shall see it and remember ... and you shall perform.” Seeing

the tzitzit

leads to remembrance

of all the mitzvot.

And remembrance leads to performance.

And Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai says: Whoever is diligent in this mitzva merits and receives the Divine Presence.

For

it is written here

with regard to tzitzit,

“and you shall see it,” and it is written there, “You shall fear the Lord your God, and Him you shall serve.”

Just as there, where it is written “Him,” the reference is to the Divine Presence, so too with regard to tzitzit, where it is stated “and you shall see it,” the reference is to seeing the Divine Presence.

The Sages taught: Beloved are Israel, for the Holy One, blessed be He, surrounded them

The Sages taught: Beloved are Israel, for the Holy One, blessed be He, surrounded them

with mitzvot. He commanded them to place

tefillin on their heads, tefillin on their arms, and tzitzit on their garments

(the four tzitzit constitute four mitzvot),

and mezuzot on their doorways.

And concerning them,

concerning these seven mitzvot that surround a person,

David

the king said in Psalms:

“Seven times a day I praise You for Your righteous ordinances.”

And when David entered the bathhouse,

and saw himself standing naked, he said: Woe is me, for I am standing naked without a mitzva!

And when he remembered the circumcision in his flesh,

his mind was put at ease.

After he emerged, he recited a song concerning it,

concerning this mitzva,

as it is stated: “For the leader, on the eighth: A psalm of David,”

meaning, a psalm of David

concerning

the

circumcision that was given on the eighth day.

Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: Anyone who has tefillin on his head, tefillin on his arm, tzitzit on his garment, and a mezuzah on his doorway is completely fortified.

He is entirely protected.

from sinning. As it is stated: “A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

And the threefold cord refers to tefillin, tzitzit, and mezuzah.

And he says: “An angel of

the Lord encamps around those who fear Him

[those who are surrounded by mitzvot],

and rescues them”

from sin.

It was taught: Rabbi Meir would say: Why did

the color of the

techelet

that the Holy One, blessed be He, designated for the mitzva of tzitzit differ more

than

other

types of colors? Because techelet resembles the sea

[in which miracles were performed for Israel],

and the sea resembles the firmament, and the firmament

resembles

the Throne of Glory,

and through the techelet in his garment, whose color resembles the Throne of Glory, he recognizes and remembers Him who sits upon the Throne.

There is an additional reason for the color of the techelet: It is pleasing to Israel that an image of His Throne should be upon them.

And from where did we learn that the firmament resembles the Throne of Glory? We learned it from the verse,

as it is stated: “

And they saw the God of Israel,

and beneath His feet was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, and like the very heavens for purity.”

And we learned that the waters resemble sapphire, and sapphire is the appearance of the Throne of Glory. For

it is written: “Like the appearance of a sapphire stone was the likeness of a throne,”

so, then, the appearance of the firmament is like the appearance of the Throne of Glory. [Techelet resembles the sea, and the sea resembles the firmament; this is something visible to the eye.]

It was taught: Rabbi Meir would say: Greater is the punishment of

one who does not place threads of

white

on the corner of his garment

than the punishment of

one who does not place a thread of

techelet,

because it is not readily available.

To what can this be compared? To a flesh-and-blood king who said to two of his servants

to bring him seals [it was their practice to make a seal for an animal or a slave when they purchased it, as a sign of servitude],

to one he said, “Bring me a clay seal,” and to the other he said, “Bring me a gold seal.” Both neglected their duty and did not bring them. Which of them receives the greater punishment? You must say

it is the one to whom

the king

said, “Bring me a clay seal,”

because it is readily available

and he did not bring it;

his punishment is greater. Therefore, the punishment is greater for one who does not place white threads, since white threads are readily available.

It was taught: Rabbi Meir would say:

A person is obligated to recite one hundred

blessings every day, as it is stated: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you?”

And we read it as: “One hundred He asks of you”!

Rabbi Hiyya, son of Rav Avya, on Shabbat and Festivals

[on Shabbatot and Festivals, when they recite only seven blessings instead of the eighteen],

took pains to fill them

to the count of one hundred blessings

with spices,

with fragrant substances that require a blessing over their scent,

and delicacies,

types of delicacies that require a blessing; by increasing his blessings over enjoyments, he completed his blessings to the count of one hundred.

It was taught: Rabbi Judah would say: A person is obligated to recite three blessings

every day, and these are:

a.

Who made me an Israelite

[and some versions read: “Who did not make me a gentile”].

b.

Who did not make me a woman.

c.

Who did not make me a boor

[an unlearned person].

Rav Aha bar Yaakov heard his son reciting

[he heard his son reciting the blessing]

“Who did not make me a boor.” He said to him: Is all this really necessary?

You are adding a blessing and praise of yourself that you are not an unlearned person!? Certainly, this blessing should not be recited at all.

He said to him,

his son:

But then,

if he does not recite this blessing,

what does he recite

to complete the three blessings that Rabbi Meir said a person is obligated to recite every day?

Rabbi Hiyya answered him: He recites

“Who did not make me a slave.”

And we raise an objection: Why is it necessary to recite “Who did not make me a slave”? After all, a slave

is equivalent to a woman,

since a woman is obligated in mitzvot in the same manner as a slave. For this he already recites “Who did not make me a woman”; why, then, does he need two blessings concerning the same matter?