Мидраш к Мишлей 4:13

(Numb. 15:37-38:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses saying, ‘Speak unto the Children of Israel and tell them to make tassels for themselves.’” This text is related (to Ps. 97:11), “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for those with an upright heart.”⁶⁶Numb. R. 17:5. It also says (in Is. 42:21), “The Lord [desired] because of His righteousness [to magnify and glorify the Torah].” The Holy One, blessed be He, sowed the Torah and the commandments for Israel, in order to bequeath them life in the world to come. He did not put a thing in the world concerning which He did not give Israel a commandment. Did [an Israelite] go out to plow? [There is] (Deut. 22:10), “You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.” To sow? [There is] (Deut. 22:9), “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed.” To reap? [There is] (Deut. 24:19), “When you reap your harvest in your field [and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to take it.]” Did [an Israelite] thresh? [There is] (Numb. 25:4), “You shall not muzzle an ox in its threshing.” Did [an Israelite] knead? [There is] (Numb. 15:20), “Of the first of your dough you shall set aside a loaf (hallah) as an offering.” Did [an Israelite] butcher? [There is] (Deut. 18:3), “that one shall give the priest the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the stomach.” With respect to a bird's nest, [there is] (Deut. 22:7), “You shall surely send away.” Concerning animals and fowl, [there is] (Lev. 17:13), “he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust.” Did he plant? [There is] (Lev. 19:23), “you shall regard [its fruit] as forbidden.” Did he bury the dead? [There is] (Deut. 14:1), “you shall not cut yourselves.” Did one shave hair? [There is] (Lev. 19:27), “You shall not round off the sideburns on your head.” Did he build a house? [There is] (Deut. 22:8), “you shall make a parapet [for your roof].” Concerning the doorposts, [there is] (Deut. 6:9), “And you shall write them upon the doorposts (mezuzot) of your house and on your gates.” Did he cover himself in a cloak (tallit)? [There is] (Numb. 15:38), “make tassels for themselves.” (Numb. 15:38:) “They make [tassels] for themselves.” Make them, and not that they shall be from [something already] made. Thus one must not extract threads⁶⁷Nimin, sing.: nima. Cf. Gk.: nema. from the cloak [itself] and make [tassels] from them. Rather [it is] a command to get [fresh] white and blue threads to make them.⁶⁸Cf. Men. 41b. When [did this rule apply]? When there was [a real] blue, but now we only have white, because the blue has been hidden. (Ibid., cont.:) “On the corners of [their garments].” Not in the middle, but on the corner. (Ibid., cont.:) “A twisted thread (petil).” And he must twist (petol) them. R. Meir said, “Why does blue differ from all [other] kinds of colors? Because blue resembles the sea; the sea resembles the firmament; and the firmament resembles the throne of glory. And from seeing it, he will remember his Creator” Thus it is stated (in Exod. 24:10), “And they saw the God of Israel, and under His feet there was something like brickwork of sapphire, like the heavens themselves for brightness.” (Numb. 15:39:) “So it shall be a tassel for you.” Thus it should be visible. And what is its size? Bet Shammai says, “Four fingers,” while Bet Hillel says “Three.”⁶⁹Men. 41b. And how many strings [should they have]? Bet Shammai says “Four,” while Bet Hillel says “Three.” (Ibid.:) “That you may see it.” [This is to] exclude a garment [typically worn] at night.⁷⁰Sifre to Numb. 15:39 (115); Men. 43a. Are you saying, it is to exclude a garment [worn] at night? Or is actually to exclude a blind person? Hence, it says again (in vs. 40), “So that you may remember.” Hence it ordains seeing and it ordains remembering: remembering for the one who does not see and seeing for the one who does see. (Vs. 39:) “That you may see it.” It (here) is masculine and not feminine.⁷¹Even though the antecedent, tassel, is feminine in Hebrew. As if you have done this, it is as if you see the throne of glory, since it is similar to the blue.⁷²Cf. also Sifre to Numb. 15:39 (115), where the argument is that the pronoun is IT (in the singular) and not THEM (in the plural) with reference to tassels. (Vss. 39-40:) “That you may see […]. So that you may remember.” The seeing leads to remembering [the commandments], and remembering leads to performing [them]. Thus it is stated (in vs. 40), “So that you may remember and perform all My commandments.” Why? (Deut. 32:47), “Because it is not a trifling thing for you.” To what is this comparable? To a homeowner who was evaluating his taxes, and writing settlements. His father said to him, “My son, be careful with the settlements, as your life is dependent upon them.” So did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Israel (in Deuteronomy 32:47), “Because it is not a trifling thing for you.” (Numb. 15:39:) "So that you do not follow your heart.” The heart and the eyes are procurers for the body, in that they prostitute the body.⁷³Numb. R. 17:6. (Vs. 40:) “So that you may remember and perform all my commandments.” [The situation] is comparable to a certain person who was thrown into the midst of the water. The helmsman⁷⁴Gk.: kybernetes. extended a rope to him. He said to him, “Grab this rope with your hand, and do not let go of it; for if you do let go of it, you will lose your life.” So also did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Israel, “As long as you adhere to the commandments, [the following holds true] (in Deut. 4:4), ‘But you who cling to the Lord your God are all alive today.’” And so it says (in Prov. 4:13), “Hold onto discipline, do not slack off; keep it, for it is your life.” (Numb. 15:40, cont.:) “And that you may be holy.” When you perform the commandments, you are made holy, and fear of you [comes] over the nations. [But if] you withdraw from the commandments and do sins, you immediately become profaned. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “In this world because of the evil drive, you withdraw from the commandments; [but] in the future to come I am rooting it out of you.” Thus it is stated (in Ezek. 36:26–27), “then I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you; then I will make you walk in My statutes; and you will observe My ordinances [by performing them].”

(6) EXCERPT......(B-Midbar 15;40) "So that you will remember and do all my mitzvot." This is comparable to one who was thrown into the sea. The captain extended a rope to him and said: 'Catch this rope in your hand and don't let it go, for if you let it go, you will have no life.' Even so, the Holy One (blessed be He) said to Israel: The whole time that you cleave to the mitzvot - (Dvarim 4:4) "And you who cleave to Ha-shem your God, you are all living today."  And similarly it says (Mishlei 4:13): "Hold tight to tradition/musar, don't let it alone, keep it safe, for it is your life."...

(Numb. 15:39:) AND YOU SHALL NOT GO ABOUT FOLLOWING YOUR OWN HEART [AND YOUR OWN EYES THROUGH WHICH YOU LUST (rt.: ZNH)]. The heart and the eyes are procurers for the body, in that they prostitute (rt.: ZNH) the body.⁸³Tanh., Numb. 4:15, cont.; Numb. R. 17:6. [(vs. 40:) SO THAT YOU MAY REMEMBER AND PERFORM ALL MY COMMANDMENTS: <The situation> is comparable to a certain person who was thrown into the midst of the water. The helmsman⁸⁴Gk.: kybernetes. extended a rope to him. He said to him: Grab this rope with your hand, and do not let go of it; for if you do let go of it, you will lose your life. So also did the Holy One say to Israel. As long as you adhere to the commandments, <the following holds true> (in Deut. 4:4): BUT YOU WHO CLUNG TO THE LORD YOUR GOD ARE ALL ALIVE TODAY. And so it says (in Prov. 4:13): HOLD ONTO DISCIPLINE; DO NOT SLACK OFF. KEEP IT FOR, IT IS YOUR LIFE.