Kabbalah Bilangan 15:39: Sha'arei Kedusha & Reshit Chokhmah

To recall the exodus from Egypt while reciting the verses about Tzitzit day and night;²⁰⁷Talmud Bavli, Brachot 12b; Exodus 13:3; Deuteronomy 16:3 to remember the Shabbat day every day;²⁰⁸Exodus 20:7 to remember the day of the giving of the Torah;²⁰⁹Deuteronomy 4:9 to remember that we angered HaShem-יהו"ה in the desert;²¹⁰Deuteronomy 9:7 to remember the incident involving Miriam;²¹¹Deuteronomy 24:9 to make a special blessing before reading the Torah;²¹²Talmud Bavli, Brachot 21a to look upon the Tzitzit while reciting “and you shall look upon it;”²¹³Numbers 15:39; Talmud Bavli, Brachot 12b; Menachot 43b to fully repent;²¹⁴Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah to have fear of HaShem-יהו"ה when reciting the order of the sacrifices in the morning and when reciting the Pesookei D’Zimra which follow them; to love HaShem-יהו"ה during the blessing of “An eternal love etc.,”²¹⁵In the liturgy of the blessings of the Shema and during the verse,²¹⁶Deuteronomy 6:5, the first paragraph of the Shema recital “And you shall love HaShem-יהו"ה your God” etc., to bless Him with “Yishtabach” and in “Yotzer Ohr” and in “Yotzer HaMeorot” and during the seven blessings that accompany the “Shema” morning and evening; to sanctify HaShem’s-יהו"ה name by potentially giving over one’s soul unto death when reciting the verse,²¹⁷Deuteronomy 6:4, the Shema “Listen Israel, HaShem-יהו"ה is our G-d, HaShem-יהו"ה is one;” to sanctify His name when reciting “Nakdeeshach;” to give one’s soul over unto death and to adhere to Him when reciting the verse, “To You HaShem-יהו"ה, I give over my soul;”²¹⁸Zohar II 200b, 202b; Zohar III 120b – The Nefilat Apayim prayer to know that HaShem-יהו"ה is God when reciting the verse, “Shema Yisroel – Listen Israel, HaShem-יהו״ה is our God, HaShem-יהו״ה is one,” to delight on Shabbat;²¹⁹Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 118a; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Shabbat Ch. 30 to do the Havdalah ceremony at the end of the Holidays, to say the Hallel prayers at their specific times; to swear in His Name to fulfill a mitzvah; to recite special blessings when enjoying anything of the world;²²⁰Talmud Bavli, Brachot 35a to afflict oneself with the five afflictions of the day of atonement-Yom Kippur;²²¹Mishnah Yoma 8:1; Taanit 1:6; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Shevitat Asor 1 to burn the leavening on the 14th day of Nissan;²²²Mishnah Pesachim 2:1 to honor those who are advanced in years or in wisdom;²²³Leviticus 19:32; Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 32b and on; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Talmud Torah, Ch. 6; Sefer HaMitzvot pos. mitzvah 209; Zohar HaRakia, pos. mitzvah 24 to be modest in the lavatory;²²⁴Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 57; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot, 5:6 to praise Divine justice on all occasions;²²⁵Sefer Mitzvot Gadol pos. mitzvah 17; Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 5 to give offerings to HaShem-יהו"ה from the choicest of our goods; to build a house of prayer;²²⁶Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Tefilah 11:1 to destroy the name of idolatry,²²⁷Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avoda Zarah 7:1 to only mention them for disgrace, to chop down an Asherah grove,²²⁸Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 39 to burn an Asherah grove,²²⁹Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 40 to break their idols,²³⁰Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 38 to destroy their high places,²³¹Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 41 to destroy their alters,²³²Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 42 to destroy instruments used for idolatry;²³³Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 43 to separate from one’s wife before her menstrual period;²³⁴Talmud Bavli, Niddah 63b; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Issurei Bi’ah 4:12 to refrain from marital relations during her menstrual period;²³⁵Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Issurei Bi’ah 4 to have awe and fear of Torah scholars;²³⁶Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 22b; Bechorot 6b; Bava Kamma 41b; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Talmud Torah 5:1; Sefer HaYirah 200 and elsewhere. to circumcise one’s heart;²³⁷Deuteronomy 10:16; Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 9 to love being rebuked;²³⁸Talmud Bavli, Tamid 28a; Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 9 to go beyond the letter of the law in keeping the mitzvot;²³⁹Talmud Bavli, Bava Metziya 30b; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 5:11; Hilchot De’ot 1:5 to walk wholeheartedly with HaShem-יהו"ה your God, and not go in the ways of the Chaldeans;²⁴⁰Deuteronomy 18:13; Sefer Mitzvot Katan, pos. mitzvah 10 to love one’s fellow Jew;²⁴¹Leviticus 19:18; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot 6:3; Sefer HaMitzvot pos. mitzvah 206; Sefer Mitzvot Gadol pos. mitzvah 9; Sefer Mitzvot Katan pos. mitzvah 8 and elsewhere. especially to always judge others favorably even when they are not before you;²⁴²Mishnah Avot 1:6; Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 127b; Sifra Kedoshim Ch. 4; Orchot Tzaddikim 25 to try to make peace between people;²⁴³Mishnah Pe’ah 1:1; Avot 1:12; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot 5:7 to give charity to the poor;²⁴⁴Leviticus 25:36; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Matnot Aniyim 7:1 To return any fixed interest charged to a Jew;²⁴⁵Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Malveh v’Loveh 4:6-7 to fulfill the laws that relate to saving a life and the perpetuation of life;²⁴⁶Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 5:1 and elsewhere. to annul the vows of one’s wife and children;²⁴⁷Mishneh Torah, Nedarim 3; Tur and Shulchan Aruch 341 and elsewhere. to instruct, render, and teach Torah law;²⁴⁸Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Talmud Torah 4-5 that a judge must fulfill the verse,²⁴⁹Exodus 23:7 “Distance yourself from a false word;”²⁵⁰Sefer HaMitzvot neg. mitzvah 281; Sefer Yereim 235 to render proper Torah judgments in the laws that govern partnerships, divisions of land and inheritances, and all other types of legal claims and suits.

Tzitzit: You already are aware that the mitzvah of Tzitzit (ציצית) is equal to all the mitzvot of the Torah.⁶⁷⁶Talmud Bavli, Nedarim 25a The word Tzitzit (ציצית) has the numerical value of 600, and together with the 8 threads and 5 knots, equals 613.⁶⁷⁷Rashi to Numbers 15:39 and elsewhere. Similarly, it is written,⁶⁷⁸Numbers 15:39 “You will see it and remember all of the commandments of HaShem-יהו״ה,” thus teaching us that Torah equates the Tzitzit to all the mitzvot.

Another correction for the sign of the Brit is to be of lowered eyes, because by the sight of the eye one comes to damage the Brit, as it says “and do not follow after your eyes and after your heart” (Numbers 15:39), since the eye and heart are the two main causes of sin. When the eye damages he is called “Ra Ayin” (evil eye), as it says “do not eat bread from one who has evil eye” (Proverbs 23:6), and the reason is that just like the damage of the Brit is called Ra (evil) so too the damage of the pupil of the eye, which is Yud, is called Ra (evil), since he uses his holy vision in vain and to a place of nakedness, etc. Since we find that the correction of the Brit is “depart from evil”, it includes that he should not have an evil eye, and that is “depart from evil”—any type of evil, whether the eye or the tongue, as it says “guard your tongue from evil”, and including the Brit since all these can become evil, as we explained.