Tzitzis and the garments of the soul

לפרשת ציצית איתא בגמ' אר"מ מה נשתנה תכלת מכל צבעונין לפי שתכלת דומה לים וים דומה לרקיע ורקיע דומה לכסה"כ.

On the parshah of tzitzis it is brought in the Gemara: Rabbi Meir said — why is techeiles (the blue dye) different from all other colors? Because techeiles resembles the sea, and the sea resembles the firmament (rakia), and the firmament resembles the Throne of Glory (Kisei HaKavod).

The Sefas Emes opens with R' Meir's teaching that the blue of tzitzis leads the eye upward through a ladder: sea, sky, and the Throne of Glory — three ascending stages he will now map onto the soul.

והענין הוא דאיתא בזוה"ק כי צריך האדם לתקן לעצמו מלבושים לעוה"ב.

And the matter is as brought in the Zohar HaKadosh: that a person must fashion for himself garments (malbushim) for the World to Come.

The Zohar teaches that one's mitzvos and avodah weave spiritual garments in which the neshamah will be clothed in Olam Haba.

ובמצות מתקן לבוש לנפש.

Through mitzvos one fashions a garment for the nefesh (the lowest soul-level).

Physical mitzvos, done with the body, prepare the garment for the nefesh, the soul-level bound to action.

ובתורה לבוש להרוח.

Through Torah, a garment for the ruach.

Limud haTorah clothes the ruach, the middle soul-level associated with speech and understanding.

ובמחשבה ורצון לבוש להנשמה.

And through thought and will (ratzon), a garment for the neshamah.

The innermost soul-level, the neshamah, is clothed through pure machshavah and ratzon — inner thought and desire directed to Hashem.

ובנ"י זכו לאותן הג' לבושים.

And Bnei Yisrael merited those three garments.

The Sefas Emes now shows that the nation acquired all three garments — for nefesh, ruach, and neshamah — through three foundational events.

ביצ"מ וקי"ס זכו לתיקון הנפש כי עיקר החירות הוא לנפש כמ"ש במ"א וזהו רמז הים שהוא מים תחתונים.

At Yetzias Mitzrayim and the splitting of the sea (Krias Yam Suf) they merited the rectification of the nefesh — for the essence of freedom belongs to the nefesh, as explained elsewhere — and this is the hint of the "sea," which is the lower waters (mayim tachtonim).

The redemption from Mitzrayim freed the nefesh, the soul-level most tied to the body; this corresponds to the sea, the "lower waters," the first rung of R' Meir's ladder.

ורקיע רמז לתיקון הרוח שהוא בכח התורה והוא הממוצע בין נשמה לנפש ועליו כ' יהי רקיע כו' ויהי מבדיל בין מים למים.

And the "firmament" (rakia) hints at the rectification of the ruach, which comes through the power of the Torah and is the intermediary between the neshamah and the nefesh; concerning it is written: "Let there be a firmament… and let it divide between waters and waters" (Bereishis 1:6).

The rakia — the second rung — corresponds to the ruach, refined by Torah; just as the firmament stands between the upper and lower waters, the ruach mediates between neshamah and nefesh.

ולכן המלאכים ברקיע דכ' עושה מלאכיו רוחות.

And therefore the malachim are in the firmament, as it is written: "He makes His angels spirits (ruchos)" (Tehillim 104:4).

Since the rakia is the realm of ruach, that is where the malachim — themselves called "ruchos" — belong.

ובמשכן ומקדש זכו למלבוש הנשמה שהוא מים העליונים.

And through the Mishkan and Mikdash they merited the garment of the neshamah, which is the upper waters (mayim elyonim).

The building of the Mishkan and Bais Hamikdash brought the highest garment — that of the neshamah — corresponding to the upper waters and the Throne of Glory at the top of the ladder.

והגם כי עיקר כחן של ישראל קבלו בהר סיני.

And although the essential power of Yisrael was received at Har Sinai…

One might object that everything was already given at Matan Torah; the Sefas Emes acknowledges this before explaining what the Mishkan added.

אבל אמרו חז"ל גדולה תשובה שמגעת עד כסא הכבוד לכן אחר שהיו בנ"י בעלי תשובות זכו להשראת השכינה ביניהם ולמלבוש הנשמה.

…yet the Chazal said: "Great is teshuvah, for it reaches the Throne of Glory" (Yoma 86a) — therefore, after Bnei Yisrael became baalei teshuvah (following the cheit ha'egel), they merited the resting of the Shechinah among them and the garment of the neshamah.

Through the teshuvah that followed the eigel — teshuvah that reaches the very Kisei HaKavod — they earned the Shechinah's indwelling in the Mishkan and the loftiest garment, that of the neshamah.

ורמז לכל אלה הג' כי בקי"ס ראתה שפחה על הים מה שלא ראו נביאים.

And a hint to all these three: at Krias Yam Suf, a maidservant beheld on the sea what even the nevi'im did not behold.

Each of the three stages had a corresponding revelation. At the sea (nefesh), even a lowly maidservant saw a vision surpassing the later prophets.

ובמתן תורה כתיב יום אשר עמדת לפני ה'.

And at Matan Torah it is written: "the day you stood before Hashem" (Devarim 4:10).

At Sinai (ruach), the nation "stood before Hashem" — the revelation matched to the second garment.

ובמשכן כתי' ויעמדו לפני ה'.

And concerning the Mishkan it is written: "and they stood before Hashem."

At the Mishkan (neshamah) they again "stood before Hashem" — the third and highest standing.

וידוע כי אין יכולין לקבל עני השכינה רק בלבוש מלכות.

And it is known that one cannot receive the radiance of the Shechinah except in royal garb (levush malchus).

To stand before Hashem and receive the glow of the Shechinah, a person must be clothed in a fitting "royal garment" — these very spiritual malbushim.

וכמו כן הג' פעמים שנתראו בנ"י לפני ה' בעזרה הי' בכח אלה הג' לבושים בזמן חירותנו.

And likewise, the three times that Bnei Yisrael appeared before Hashem in the Courtyard (the shalosh regalim) were through the power of these three garments: at the time of our freedom (zman cheiruseinu — Pesach)…

The three pilgrimage festivals, when Yisrael appeared in the Azarah, draw on these same three garments. Pesach, "the time of our freedom," corresponds to the garment of the nefesh.

ובזמן מתן תורתנו.

…and at the time of the giving of our Torah (zman Matan Toraseinu — Shavuos)…

Shavuos, "the time of the giving of the Torah," corresponds to the garment of the ruach, woven by Torah.

וזמן שמחתנו.

…and the time of our rejoicing (zman simchaseinu — Sukkos).

Sukkos, "the time of our rejoicing," corresponds to the garment of the neshamah and the resting of the Shechinah.

ואלה הג' לבושים דומין זה לזה.

And these three garments resemble one another.

Though distinct, the three garments are of one fabric — each nested within the next, as the next sentence explains.

וע"ז אמרו חז"ל אין צור כאלקינו אין צייר שהקב"ה צר צורה תוך צורה.

And concerning this the Chazal said: "There is no Rock (tzur) like our God" (Shmuel I 2:2) — read it as "there is no Artist (tzayar) like our God," for Hashem forms a form within a form (tzurah toch tzurah).

Chazal reread "tzur" as "tzayar," the Artist: Hashem alone fashions a form within a form — garment within garment, soul-level within soul-level — each one nested inside the other.

והנה כ' בצלם אלקים עשה את האדם.

And behold it is written: "In the image of Elokim He made man" (Bereishis 9:6).

Man himself is built this way, "in the image of Elokim," as a layered being of nested forms.

וכ' כל הנקרא בשמי ולכבודי בראתיו זו הנשמה שמתחת כסא הכבוד.

And it is written: "All that is called by My Name, and for My glory I created it" (Yeshayahu 43:7) — this is the neshamah, which is from beneath the Throne of Glory.

The phrase "for My glory I created it" refers to the neshamah, hewn from beneath the Kisei HaKavod — the innermost form.

יצרתיו הרוח.

"I formed it" — this is the ruach.

The verse's word "yetzartiv" (I formed it) points to the ruach, the middle layer.

אף עשיתיו הנפש.

"Indeed I made it" — this is the nefesh.

And "asisiv" (I made it) points to the nefesh, the outermost layer bound to action.

וע"י המצות זוכה האדם לתקן הגוף להיות זוכה להתדבק בנפש ונפש ברוח ורוח בנשמה כי באמת הם דומים כשיש לאדם גוף נקי.

And through the mitzvos a person merits to refine the body, so as to merit cleaving — the body to the nefesh, the nefesh to the ruach, and the ruach to the neshamah — for in truth they resemble one another when a person has a pure body.

Mitzvos purify the body so it can bind to the nefesh, which binds upward to the ruach, which binds to the neshamah; with a clean guf, this whole chain of nested forms unites as one.

ולכן כתיב ג"פ ציצית שהוא הסתכלות שיוכל הגוף להסתכל בשורש הנפש וברוח ובנשמה כנ"ל כמ"ש בזוה"ק בפרשה זו שיש לאדם חלק בג' עולמות ע"ש.

And therefore the word "tzitzis" is written three times — for it is a "looking" (histaklus), that the body should be able to gaze toward the root of the nefesh, and the ruach, and the neshamah, as above; as is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh on this parshah, that a person has a portion in three worlds (see there).

The threefold mention of tzitzis corresponds to these three soul-levels; gazing at the tzitzis lets the body look toward the root of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah — man's share in three worlds, as the Zohar teaches here.

ולכן נזכר פ' יציאת מצרים בציצית שע"י יצ"מ נעשין בנ"י בני חורין שיוכלו לצאת מגשמיות הגוף ולהתדבק בנר"ן.

And therefore the passage of Yetzias Mitzrayim is mentioned in the parshah of tzitzis — for through Yetzias Mitzrayim Bnei Yisrael became free men (bnei chorin), able to depart from the physicality of the body and to cleave to the nefesh-ruach-neshamah (naran).

The remembrance of the Exodus belongs with tzitzis because the freedom of Mitzrayim is precisely the power to break free of the body's gashmiyus and attach to the three soul-levels.

וכ' רש"י רמז כנפי בגדיהם למ"ש ואשא אתכם על כנפי נשרים.

And Rashi wrote that "the corners (kanfei) of their garments" alludes to that which is written: "and I bore you on the wings (kanfei) of eagles" (Shmos 19:4).

Rashi links the "corners" of the tzitzis-garment to the "wings" of eagles on which Hashem carried Yisrael out of Mitzrayim — playing on the double meaning of kanaf.

והענין כנ"ל כי ביצ"מ נתעלו בנ"י שלא בהדרגה ואביא אתכם אלי ונשאר זה הכח בבנ"י ואיתא בזוה"ק כי ציצית הם כנפי מצוה כמ"ש בזוה"ק מצוה דלא אתעבידת בדחילו ורחימו לא פרחת לעילא.

And the matter is as above: that at Yetzias Mitzrayim Bnei Yisrael were elevated not by gradual stages — "and I brought you to Myself" — and this power remained within Bnei Yisrael; and it is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh that the tzitzis are "wings of the mitzvah," as the Zohar says: a mitzvah that is not performed with awe and love (dechilu u'rechimu) does not fly upward.

At Mitzrayim Yisrael were lifted instantaneously, "brought to Me," and that capacity to soar remains in them; the tzitzis are the "wings" of the mitzvah — and the Zohar warns that without yirah and ahavah a mitzvah has no wings to ascend.

וזה רמז לבן ותכלת.

And this is the hint of the white (lavan) and the techeiles.

The two colors of tzitzis correspond to the two wings — the awe and the love — that lift a mitzvah on high.

לבן אהבה לזכור תמיד חסד ה' החופף על האדם תמיד.

White is ahavah (love) — to always remember the chesed of Hashem that hovers over a person constantly.

The white strings represent love, born of constant awareness of Hashem's chesed that perpetually surrounds and protects a person.

ותכלת ליראה ממדת הדין והם כנפים להעלות כל המצות.

And techeiles is for yirah (awe) of the attribute of din (judgment); and these are the wings to elevate all the mitzvos.

The blue represents yirah, drawn from the awesome middah of din; together love and awe form the two wings on which every mitzvah rises upward.

לכן שקולה ציצית ככל המצות וזה עיקר החירות וע"ש זה נק' צפור דרור שע"י כנפים שלה היא בת חורין וכמו כן איש ישראל יש לו אלה הכנפים להיות בן חורין לצאת ממאסר הגוף כענין שכתוב ביוסף וינס ויצא החוצה.

Therefore tzitzis is weighed as equal to all the mitzvos, and this is the essence of freedom; and on account of this the swallow is called "deror" (the free bird), for through its wings it is free (bas chorin) — and likewise a Yid has these wings, to be a free man, to depart from the prison of the body, as in that which is written concerning Yosef: "and he fled and went outside" (Bereishis 39:12).

Because tzitzis carries this power of flight (yirah and ahavah), it equals all the mitzvos and is the very root of freedom; like the "free bird" that escapes through its wings, a Yid uses these wings to break out of the prison of the body — as Yosef fled the test of Potiphar's wife.

[וי"ל עוד מענין שכתבו דמות דיוקנו של אביו ראה והוא ציור ומלבוש הקדושה ומעין זה הי' באותו החסיד שטפחו לו הציציות על פניו להצילו מן החטא שהוא בזכירת צורת המלבוש הפנימי זה ענין הציצית להסתכל בלבושי הקדושה כמ"ש]:

[And one may further say regarding what they wrote, that Yosef "saw the image of his father's face" — this being a form and garment of holiness; and of a kind with this was the incident of that chassid whose tzitzis slapped him across the face to save him from sin — for it lies in remembering the form of the inner garment. This is the matter of tzitzis: to gaze upon the garments of holiness, as explained.]

The Sefas Emes adds a bracketed coda: Yosef was saved by seeing his father's image — a "garment of holiness" — and similarly the chassid whose tzitzis struck his face was saved by recalling that inner garment. This is the avodah of tzitzis: to look upon and remember the malbushim of kedushah.

Summary: R' Meir's ladder of techeiles — sea, firmament, Throne of Glory — corresponds to three spiritual garments for the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, acquired at Krias Yam Suf, Matan Torah, and the Mishkan, and renewed each year on Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos. Mitzvos refine the body so these nested soul-garments unite; the threefold tzitzis lets a person gaze toward all three, and its white and blue — ahavah and yirah — are the wings that lift every mitzvah upward and free a Yid from the prison of the body.