Laws of Tzitzis — Halacha 1

Tzitzis made of wool or linen are valid for all types of garments, except that wool [fringes] may not be used for a linen [garment], nor linen [fringes] for a wool [garment] in our time, when there is no tichailes, on account of kil'ayim [the prohibition of mixing species]. And there are those who hold that one should not make tzitzis of linen at all — and such is the custom. (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, Siman 9, Se'if 2)

See the teaching beginning "Mai chaza d'azil l'haicha d'midlei minei" in Siman 29; see what is written there.

One must guard the garments very carefully from stain and dirt, and they should be clean, as it is written: "B'chol eis yih'yu v'gadaycha levanim" — "At all times let your garments be white" (Koheles 9:8). For the garments are the aspect of Malchus [Kingship / Sovereignty], the aspect of: "Melech haKavod" — "King of Glory" (Tehillim 24:10), etc. And then the Shechinah is in the aspect of: "Madoo'ah adom leelvooshecha" — "Why is there red upon Your garments?" (Yeshayahu 63:2) — the aspect of menstrual blood. And this is the aspect of the blemish of transgressions that come through the 365 sinews. And to rectify them, one must perform specifically the Tikun HaKlali [the General Rectification] — the aspect of bris [the covenant / sexual purity] — the aspect of: "Kanesher ya'ir kino" — "As an eagle stirs its nest" (Devarim 32:11) — which arouses the mochin, and from there whiteness is drawn to all the 365 sinews, etc. And the sins become whitened, in the aspect of: "Im yih'yu chata'aichem kashanim, kasheleg yalbinu; v'im ya'dimu katola, katzemer yih'yu" — "If your sins be like scarlet, they shall become white as snow; and if they be red as crimson, they shall become like wool" (Yeshayahu 1:18) — the aspect of the scarlet thread that whitens the sins, etc. — see there well.

And this is the aspect of tzitzis. For the general principle is that one must guard the garments very carefully so that the chitzonim [external forces / forces of impurity] do not cling to them, for it is their way to cling to the garments, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Berachos 6a): "Hanei ma'anei d'Rabbanan d'valu minayhu" [these garments of the Sages that wear out from them (i.e. from the demons)]. For they [the garments] are the lowest and outermost level of holiness, and there it is their way to cling. And therefore, all the blemishes of all the sins, G-d forbid, are recognized and imprinted upon them. And likewise, in the opposite direction, all the mitzvos are also imprinted upon the garments. For through the mitzvos, from them [the garments] is fashioned the chaluka d'Rabbanan [the robe of the Sages — the garment of the soul in the World to Come], which are the coverings and garments for the neshamah, so that the chitzonim should not cling to it. For when the garments are clean, they are a great protection, as explained elsewhere (Siman 127).

And therefore, one must guard the garments very carefully, as above. And therefore, the Torah commanded regarding tzitzis that hang upon the garments, for tzitzis are a protection for the garments so that the chitzonim should not cling to them. And through this, the entire Torah is guarded — both the positive mitzvos and the negative mitzvos — for upon them [the garments] everything is imprinted, as above. And this is what is written: "Ooreesem oasoa oozichartem es kol mitzvos Hashem" — "And you shall see it, and you shall remember all the mitzvos of Hashem" (Bamidbar 15:39), as above.

For through the tzitzis, the mochin are elevated, and from them whiteness is drawn to all the 365 sinews, in the aspect of: "At all times let your garments be white" — "b'gadaycha" [your garments] specifically — which can also be read as "b'gideicha" [your sinews], as written there. For tzitzis are the aspect of the Tikun HaKlali — the aspect of: "As an eagle stirs its nest" — "nishra da rucha" [the eagle, this is the spirit] — this is the aspect of tzitzis, the aspect of: "Me'arba haruchos bo'i haruach" — "From the four winds, come, O spirit" (Yechezkel 37:9) — which are the aspect of the four tzitzis, as our Rebbe wrote (Siman 8). And this is what our Rebbe wrote (Siman 7) — that tzitzis are a protection against sexual immorality.

And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Shabbos 153a): "'At all times let your garments be white' — this refers to tzitzis." And the corners of the tzitzis are the aspect of the wings of eagles, the aspect of: "Va'esa eschem al kanfei nesharim" — "And I carried you on wings of eagles" (Shemos 19:4). And through them, the mochin are aroused, and from them whiteness is drawn to the 365 sinews.

And this is the aspect of the 32 threads [ל״ב = 32 — the four sets of eight threads] of the tzitzis. Eagles are the aspect of the drawing of the whiteness that is drawn from the heart [לֵב = 32] to all the 365 sinews. For all the sinews are dependent upon the heart and draw sustenance from there. And through the elevation of the mochin, the whiteness is drawn from the brain to the heart, and there the blood becomes refined and becomes fat. For the heart is the aspect of Binah liba [Binah is the heart] — which is "the mother of understanding" — and it is the place of the chazeh [the chest / the division point of Ze'ir Anpin]. And from there the whiteness is drawn, in the aspect of the blood becoming refined and becoming fat. And from there come the tzitzis — the aspect of specifically 32 white threads. And then the garments become white, as above — the aspect of a white tallis.

And this is the aspect of: "If they be red as crimson, they shall become like wool" — "like wool" specifically — the aspect of tzitzis of wool. And this is the aspect of tichailes, which alludes to the fact that the blood has become refined and turned into fat. For tichailes is the joining of black and white,3 and black is the aspect of menstrual blood, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Niddah 20a): "This black — it is [really] red," etc. And the tichailes indicates that the blood has already been refined and the blackness has been transformed into whiteness.

And this is the aspect of tzitzis of wool and linen. For the garments are the aspect of Malchus, and the primary building and rectification of Malchus is through Chesed [lovingkindness] and Din [judgment]. And this is the aspect of tzitzis of wool and linen — for wool is the aspect of Chesed, the aspect of the scarlet thread that whitens sins; and linen is the aspect of Gevuros [severities], as it is written: "V'Gavriel lavush badim" — "And Gavriel was clothed in linen" (Yechezkel 9:2; see Shabbos 55a). And therefore, "garments" mentioned in the Torah without further specification refer to wool and linen (Menachos 39b) — for the primary building and rectification of the garments, which are the aspect of Malchus, are from wool and linen specifically — which are Chasadim and Gevuros, as above.