IV. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TZITZIT

Although there are numerous interesting references to the talit in Scripture, the most significant thing about the talit is that each tzitzit on its’ corners actually spells the Name of Yahweh (the term, G-d, is not a name). In the Hebrew language, which does not have vowels, the Sacred Name is spelled with the sacred tetragrammaton, the four consonant letters: Yod, He, Vav, He (YHVH). There are eight threads which are used to make each tzitzit. Seven of these are white and one is blue. The blue thread is called the, the “servant thread” (the “shamash”). It is much longer than the other seven threads because it is wrapped around the others in such a way as to spell the Sacred Name. Each of the four consonants in the Sacred Name are indicated on the tzitzit by the number of times that the blue string is wrapped around the other seven strings according to the sequential order of each letter in the Hebrew alphabet. A knot is tied in between each of the wrapped sections. Thus, by counting the number of wraps in each section, one can determine which letter is being referenced. (10 windings, then a knot; 5 windings, then a knot, 6 windings, then a knot and 5 windings, then a knot.) In this way, the Name of Yahweh is literally spelled out in the construction of each tzitzit. The “shamash” is also the name which refers to the 9th candle of the Hanukkah menorah (a group of 9 candles in a row on a single candle stand). It is located in the center and raised slightly higher than the other 8 candles. The “shamash” is the candle that is used to light all the rest of the candles. It was “given” (“natan” in Hebrew) in Numbers 15: 37 to the tzitzit just as our Messiah was “given” by the Father to be the fulfillment of the Torah.

There are a number of other ways, in addition to the winding system described in the previous paragraph, to symbolically tie the tzitzit so that the Name, Yahweh, may be “spelled out”.