| This tassel will be for you to look at; when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of G-d, for the numerical value of the word “tassel” [ציצית] is 600; this together with the 8 half threads and 5 knots gives 613, the number of commandments in the Torah. This will help you to remember to perform them.
(Bamidbar 15:39)
You will remember all the commandments
We are told in the Midrash that Moses said to G-d, “What’s the point of giving the Torah to the Jewish people? They live in a material world. They’ll forget it all immediately.” G-d replied, “I will give them the commandment oftzitzit, through which they will remember all of My commandments.”
Granted that we need the tassels to remind us of the 613 commandments, but why do we need the talit, the garment upon which the tassels are hung? Why not just carry the tassels themselves?
The answer lies in the allegorical significance of garments. The difference between clothing and food–our two main necessities–is that food becomes a part of us when we eat it, while clothing always remains outside of us. Food is therefore an allegory for the aspects of the Torah that we can comprehend and digest, while clothing is an allegory for whatever is beyond our grasp.
The instruction to attach the tassels to a garment indicates that it is not sufficient simply to remember the commandments. We must also remember that the basis of the Torah and its commandments is suprarational, for they originate in G-d’s wisdom, which transcends the limitations of human intellect.
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