Shabbat Midrash (Teaching) Outlines

• God is building up Zion-literally Jerusalem-and soon we will see Him appear in His glory.
• First the natural and then the spiritual
• God is building up Zion in the hearts of God's people

(The Sh'ma)

Deut 6:4-9

Num 15:37 - Make fringes "Tzit Tzit" (blue thread)

Jewish boy coming of age:

• Bar Mitzvah (son of the Commandments)
• Take part in religious community
• Wear Kippah
• Wear Phylacteries
• Wear Tallit and tzit tzit (fringes)

Tallit was created to hold the fringes (tzit tzit)

The cloak or outer garment - Matt 5:40

• Worn by Jews in prayer
• Placed over head to create a prayer closet
• Prevents distraction

Can a woman wear a tallit? No scriptural reason why not. Gavriella (Carolyn) wears one when she blows the shofar to open our service.

When the tallit is placed on the shoulders, there is a blessing that is recited.

"Blessed art Thou O Lord our God who has sanctified us and commanded us to wrap ourselves in the tzit tzit (fringes)."

The fringes are a physical reminder of the 613 mitzvot (laws or ordinances) - 365 shall nots and 248 thou shalls - found in the Torah.

• 8 strands - eight signifies new beginnings and reminds us that God's mercies are new each day
• 5 sets of knots - reminds us of the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible)
• 4 sets of windings - 4 letters of God's name (Yud Hey Vav Hey) Also the 4th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is dalet which means door (I am the door)
• 8 + 5 = 13 This is the numerical value of the word ECHAD (meaning one) - THE LORD IS ONE

We are reminded of:

• God's Word
• God's Name
• Oneness of God

Most tallits are decorated with blue to remind us of the blue thread. The dye was made from a snail (tehellet) that disappeared at about the time of Yeshua's death. Just recently, the snail has reappeared. The blue color also reminds us of the sea where life first began. In the Genesis account man was created on the second day after the life forms in the sea. The blue color also represents the sky, the heavens where God dwells. In Exodus, 70 elders saw a vision of God and underneath his feet was a sapphire (blue) pavement.

Blue is to remind us of royalty. The tallit is a garment of the priesthood, the royal priesthood mentioned in I Peter 2:9.

Wearing the tallit is a reminder of who we are. The Atara or Braka is the "diadem" - a declaration of royalty.

Blue Thread

Numbers 15 - does not say "you shall look upon it" - it says you shall look upon HIM. When I hold the tzit tzit in my hands, I am not looking just at thread. I see a representation of YESHUA.

When I wrap myself in the tallit, it's as if I am clothed in the shekina glory of the Lord. That same glory that filled the temple. In the book of Numbers, the word for "him" is oto. If you rearrange the three letters in the Hebrew alphabet, you get tav, which means "cross" and vet, which means "messiah".

The totality of God's word is wrapped up in the Messiah who gave his life on the cross for our sins.

Old Covenant Examples

I Sam 15:24

• War against Amalekites
• Saul had orders to kill them all
• Saul pleaded for forgiveness

When Samuel was about to leave, Saul grabbed the corner of his garment and tore off the tzit tzit. The tzit tzit represented authority. Samuel said to Saul,

"Just as you have torn the corner from my garment, so your authority shall be torn from you."

I Sam 24

• Saul seeks David to do him harm
• Goes into a cave looking for him
• David cuts off the fringe of Saul's garment
• Representative of David removing Saul's authority

New Covenant Perspective

Matt 14:35

Those who were ill came to Yeshua just to touch the corner of His garment - all who did were healed.

Mark 5:38

Young girl had died - Yeshua removed His tallit as He entered the place of death - laid the tallit upon the girl's body and said,

"Talitha Kamim" (meaning: to the one who is beneath the tallit, ARISE)

Mark 5:25

Woman with the "issue of blood" touched His tzit tzit and was healed. She reached for the blue thread which represented Yeshua's authority.

The Romans gambled for Yeshua's tallit at the foot of the cross because of the healing miracles that were associated with it.

Wings

Numbers 15:38

The word for corner can also mean "wings".

Ruth 2:12

Boaz said to Ruth (wings)

Mal 4:2

Son of Righteousness will arise with healing in His wings (tzit tzit)

Windings

• 7 in first set - add then up and they total 39 - stripes Yeshua took for our healing
• 8 in second set
• 11 in third set
• 13 in fourth set

7 + 8=15 (Yud Hey)

11= (Vav Hey) - God's Name

When we put on the Tallit, we are reminded of God's word, God's name, the oneness of God, the very essence of who God is and who we are according to His word.

Finally, the word tallit comes from a root word meaning "lamb".