Two levels of remembrance in tzitzis

בפרשת ציצית ב' זכירות וזכרתם כו' למען תזכרו.

In the passage of tzitzis there are two "rememberings": "and you shall remember…" and "in order that you shall remember…"

The Sefas Emes notes that the parsha of tzitzis contains two distinct expressions of remembrance, and he will explain that each points to a different level of memory.

כי הנה מצות ציצית הוא שיזכור האדם עיקר שליחותו בעוה"ז שהנשמה נשתלחה ונתלבשה בלבוש הגוף הגשמיי וכדאיתא קודם שנולד הולד מלמדין אותו כל התורה וכשנולד משכיחין ממנו.

For the mitzvah of tzitzis is that a person should remember the essence of his shlichus (mission) in this world — that the neshamah was sent down and clothed in the garment of the physical body, as it is taught: before the child is born he is taught the entire Torah, and when he is born it is made to be forgotten from him.

Tzitzis reminds a person of his soul's true mission: it descended from above and was "dressed" in a body. Although the unborn child knows all of Torah, birth into the physical world makes him forget it — and tzitzis is meant to reawaken that memory.

וע"י הציצית יכול לחזור ולזכור השליחות שלא לתור אחר מלבוש הגוף זהו לבבכם עיניכם הגשמיי.

And through the tzitzis a person can return and remember his mission — not to stray after the "garment" of the body; this is the meaning of "your heart and your eyes," the physical ones.

The verse "do not stray after your heart and your eyes" warns against being pulled by the physical body, the soul's mere garment. Tzitzis helps a person remember not to chase after these material desires.

ואלה הל"ב חוטין בחי' ל"ב נתיבות חכמה שיש ל"ב נתיבות איך החכמה מתפרשת ומתפשטת במעשה בראשית ויש בכל איש ישראל מן ל"ב נתיבות אלה וע"י הציצית מתעוררין אלה הרשימות.

And these thirty-two threads correspond to the thirty-two pathways of wisdom — for there are thirty-two pathways by which chochmah (wisdom) divides and spreads forth within the work of creation; and within every Jew there is a portion of these thirty-two pathways, and through the tzitzis these inner imprints are awakened.

The thirty-two threads of tzitzis correspond to the thirty-two "pathways of wisdom" through which Divine chochmah flows into creation. Each Jew carries an echo of these pathways within, and tzitzis stirs those latent impressions to life.

אכן יש עוד זכירה למעלה מזו לזכור איך הי' הנשמה קודם בואה לעוה"ז שהיא חלק אלקות ושעל זה אמרו תכלת דומה לרקיע ורקיע לכסה"כ ששם חקוקה צורת יעקב אע"ה ויש חלק לכל נשמת ישראל שם.

However, there is yet another remembrance higher than this — to remember how the neshamah was before it came to this world, that it is a portion of the Divine (chelek Eloka); and concerning this Chazal said: techeiles resembles the sea, and the sea resembles the firmament, and the firmament resembles the Throne of Glory, where the image of Yaakov Avinu is engraved, and every Jewish soul has a portion there.

Beyond remembering the mission in this world, there is a loftier memory: recalling the soul's pristine state before descent, as an actual "piece" of the Divine. The chain — techeiles to sea to firmament to the Kisei HaKavod, where Yaakov's image is engraved — leads the mind back to the soul's heavenly root, where every Jew has a share.

וזה תזכרו בעצם שהי' מקודם דבוק בשורש החכמה קודם להתפשטות הל"ב נתיבות וזהו בחי' תכלת.

And this is "you shall remember" in essence — that beforehand the soul was attached to the root of chochmah, prior to the spreading forth of the thirty-two pathways; and this is the aspect of techeiles.

The higher "remembering" is of the soul's original bond with the very source of wisdom, before it divided into the thirty-two pathways. This undivided unity with chochmah is symbolized by the techeiles.

לב"ן ל"ב נתיבות ותכלת בחי' חכמה עצמה ונק' תכלת מלשון כליין וביטול כמ"ש והחכמה מאין תמצא.

The white (lavan) corresponds to the thirty-two (lamed-beis) pathways, while the techeiles is the aspect of chochmah itself; and it is called "techeiles" from the language of "kalin" — yearning/cessation and bittul — as it is written, "and wisdom is found from nothingness (me'ayin)."

The white threads represent the thirty-two pathways (the numerical value lamed-beis = 32), but the techeiles points to chochmah in its undivided essence. "Techeiles" hints at "kelos hanefesh" (the soul's yearning) and bittul — self-nullification — for wisdom emerges only from "ayin," from the nullification of the self before its Source.

לכן אמרו חז"ל גדול עונשו של לבן חותם של טיט כמ"ש וייצר כו' עפר מן האדמה.

Therefore Chazal said: the punishment for the white is greater — "a seal of clay," as it is written, "and He formed [man]… dust from the ground."

The "white," tied to the lower, formed world of the thirty-two pathways, corresponds to the "seal of clay" — the physical formation of man from earth. Neglecting it carries grave consequence because it is the level upon which earthly avodah is built.

ותכלת בחי' ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים והיא מדריגה גבוהה מאוד ולכן נחסר תכלת עתה בדורות השפלים:

And the techeiles is the aspect of "and He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life" — and it is a very lofty level; therefore the techeiles is lacking now, in these lowly generations.

Techeiles corresponds to the Divine breath of life breathed into man, the soul's highest dimension. Because this level is so exalted, the techeiles is absent in our diminished generations, which cannot fully grasp or hold that loftiest memory.

Summary: The two "rememberings" of tzitzis correspond to two levels of memory. The lower (the white threads, the thirty-two pathways of wisdom) recalls the soul's mission in this world, not to be drawn after the body. The higher (the techeiles) recalls the soul's original state as a portion of the Divine, bound to the very root of chochmah through bittul and yearning — a level so exalted that the techeiles is absent in our lowly generations.