Numbers 15:38

Hebrew Bible

36 So the whole community took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the Lord commanded Moses. 37 The Lord spoke to Moses: 38Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make tassels for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread on the tassel of the corners. 39 You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness. 40 Thus you will remember and obey all my commandments and be holy to your God.

Deuteronomy 22:12

Hebrew Bible

10 You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together. 11 You must not wear clothing made with wool and linen meshed together. 12 You shall make yourselves tassels for the four corners of the clothing you wear. 13 Suppose a man marries a woman, sleeps with her, and then rejects her, 14 accusing her of impropriety and defaming her reputation by saying, “I married this woman but when I approached her for marital relations I discovered she was not a virgin!”

 Notes and References

"... Tallit is a prayer shawl, traditionally made of wool or silk, worn by adults during morning ∗worship, on Tisha B’Av in the afternoon, and on Yom Kippur at all services. Each of the prayer shawl’s four corners has a fringe called tzitzit that is knotted in a particular way. These fringes are based on Numbers 15:38–40 and Deuteronomy 22:12, which ordain the making of twisted cords on the four corners of one’s garment as a constant reminder of divine commandments; Numbers 15:38–40 also specify that the fringes should include a blue thread, although this is no longer considered a requirement for the tzitzit. Until recently, only men wore tallitot; in the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is increasingly common for women to wear tallitot during worship, including in some Orthodox settings. In some traditional communities, men wear a smaller, four-cornered garment called a tallit katan or arba kanfot under their clothing as a reminder throughout the day of the obligation to observe divine commandments ..."

Baskin, Judith Reesa The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture (p. 582) Cambridge University Press, 2011

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