צִיצִת

The greatness, preciousness, and holiness of the mitzvah of tzitzis and tefillin are very great and precious — as our Rabbis of blessed memory extolled them greatly. And in them is the primary mark of the acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven [kabalas ol malchus shamayim] of the Israelite man. And behold — when the forced convert [ha'anus] saved the king from literal death, and the king swore to him that he would give him all the honor he wished, the forced convert answered and said that this is the primary honor for him: that he should be permitted to wear tallis and tefillin publicly [b'farhesya]. And this was the primary appointment and honor for him. And afterward, when one king from among his descendants abolished these mitzvos from him — he saw afterward that the ox and the sheep among the constellations were laughing at him. (For tefillin and tzitzis are in the dimension of ox and sheep [shor v'seh] — see the inner text.) And even though this king was a very great sage who had conquered the entire world through his wisdom — even so, he and his offspring were cut off; the great fire ruled over them and they were burned and entirely cut off. But the other kings in whose lands Jews dwelt who were clothed in tallis and tefillin — those kings traveled through this great fire and were not harmed at all — in the merit of the mitzvah of tzitzis and tefillin that the Jews in their lands wore. See and understand the greatness of the power of the holiness of these mitzvos — how they protect and save from everything! And all the more so for the Jews themselves who merit to be wrapped and clothed in them. [Translator's note: No source citation appears for this teaching in this edition. This teaching appears to be drawn from a story or tradition concerning Jews under foreign rule.]