Fringes In the Borders of the Garment

Ancient Israelites were commanded to make fringes in the borders of the garment. The Mosaic requirement is set forth:

"Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:

"And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:

"That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God" (Numbers 15:38-40).

In Hebrew, this garment is referred to as the tallit katan, meaning "little tent." The ancient progression from personal tallit, to booth (succoth in Hebrew), to tabernacle, to temple is apparent in the Old Testament. Leviticus 23:42 describes one of three required feasts (Feast of Tabernacles) where Israelites were commanded to dwell in booths for seven days. Jesus used this setting in John, chapters 7 and 8 to teach from the temple. Today, the tallit is a prayer shawl worn by faithful Jews.

The commandment to make fringes is important. These fringes were sewn into the four corners of a rectangular fabric. The corners were called "wings" (kanaph in Hebrew) and each wing had a tassel with twisted threads going in two opposite directions. The tassels are called tzitzit, which is the Hebrew word for fringes. The numerology symbolism becomes important here.

In Hebrew, each letter has a numeric value and the letters are added together to create a numeric value for each word. The Hebrew word for fringes (tzitzit) has a combined numeric value of 600. To this number are added the four tassels on the corners (wings) of the tallit, and the number four is doubled because they run in two opposite directions, creating a total of eight. There are five knots specially tied in each tassel. So we have the numbers 600, 8, and 5, and the arithmetic below:

                      600 (numeric value of tzitzit)  +  8 (twisted threads)  +  5 (knots)  =  613

And now you're totally bored with the math and saying, "So, what?" Well, it just turns out that ancient rabbis numbered all the commandments of the law of Moses and came up with the number 613. You may be interested to know there are 248 "thou shalt's" and 365 "thou shalt not's." You can see the law of Moses was weighted toward the more negative side of the law. 248 corresponds to the number of body parts (I'm sure modern doctors have discovered a few more) and 365 corresponds to the number of days in the year.

So what are your chances of salvation subscribing to the law of Moses? I can't even keep 10 commandments very well sometimes! No wonder Paul said:

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

"Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised (clinging to Mosaic law), Christ shall profit you nothing.

"For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law" (all 613 commandments).

"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace" (Galatians 5:1-4).

This makes me especially grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His resulting grace!

WINGS OF THE GARMENT

The borders, or wings, of the garment become significant in other ways. Without the tassels, the rest of the garment has no religious significance.

These tassels, worn by Jesus, would be what the woman with the issue of blood touched. The tallit would hang over the back of the shoulders and the woman touched the tassel on one side or both. The Savior replied, "Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me" (Luke 8:46). The "wings" of the garment worn by the Savior now become a source of power. The Greek word here for virtue is dynamis, the root of the English word "dynamite." That's a lot of power!

Today's Sunday School lesson, in our ward, was on Ruth. She said to Boaz, her husband-to-be, "Spread therefore thy skirt (kanaph in Hebrew, meaning "wing") over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman" (Ruth 3:9). Boaz had previously said to Ruth, "The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust" (Ruth 2:12). In these verses, both skirt and wings are translated from the Hebrew word kanaph. The context of "wing" in this case represents the power resulting from covenants. Boaz becomes a kinsman-redeemer, as he buys back a field, sold by Naomi, her mother-in-law, and also chooses to redeem Ruth. Boaz, whose name means "in him is strength and fleetness," says, "Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day" (Ruth 4:10). A nearer kinsman had accepted the role of kinsman-redeemer and then later declined, saying, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance" (Ruth 4:6). He reminds us of Satan, who said, "I will redeem all mankind," but was not willing to be "marred" in the redemption process (see Moses 4:1).

As a side note, the concept of raising up seed and an inheritance for deceased ancestors implies that the law of Moses taught something about the eternal nature of families and the sealing power that would unite families for the eternities.

The symbolic nature of wings are explained by the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he describes the four beasts spoken of in Revelation:

"Their eyes are a representation of light and knowledge, that is, they are full of knowledge; and their wings are a representation of power, to move, to act, etc." (D&C 77:4).

I am so grateful for the redeeming power of Jesus Christ, who shall "arise with healing in his wings" (3 Nephi 25:2) to rescue and heal those of us who are too weak to live the whole law.