Spectacular stories about the power of the commandment of Tzitzit

The Spiritual Effect of the Tzitzit – Wondrous Stories on the Power of the Mitzvah of Tzitzit

Wondrous and inspiring-strengthening stories about the mitzvah of tzitzit – how the tzitzit saved lives, guarded from dangers, awakened Jewish souls, healed sick people, and protected in wars, alongside wondrous words of mussar regarding the holiness of the tzitzit and its spiritual power.

Date and Time Line:

May 292026 |    13th of Sivan 5786 | 09:00

Why don't we remember anything by means of the tzitzit?

A certain merchant from a small city went out every year to a big city, great and glorious in all craftsmanship, and lodged there in a house of trade and commerce. And it came to pass one day, they brought to the innkeeper a sealed chest from the house of the couriers, and they opened it, and behold, a tunic of white wool like snow was placed inside it, the work of a wondrous weaver, and the innkeeper rejoiced over it greatly and took delight in it. And the merchant of the small city asked him about this joy of his and about the price of the tunic, and he answered him that its price was five hundred shekels, and his joy in it was great, for with great labor, effort, and toil they had obtained it for him, because this tunic was very good in its workmanship and its weaving, the work of a master craftsman, and its virtues were also great and very good, for when carrying it upon our flesh, it will wipe away sweat and filth from the skin, and will preserve body heat and strengthen the heart and the like, and to all his flesh it is healing.

And the small merchant said: If so, according to your words, I ask you to make an effort to purchase it for me as well, for I am known to be ill and my heart is very weak, and I have already asked many doctors and spent much money on remedies and they have not availed me, and if I obtain this tunic, I will not need anything else. And the merchant fulfilled his request, and after a period of time sent him such a tunic to his house in his small city.

And it came to pass after some days, when they came a second time to the big city, he asked that merchant about his state of health, and whether the tunic had availed him. And the merchant answered him: Truly it is wondrous in my eyes, for the tunic has not availed anything, and my state of health is as at first. And he investigated the merchant regarding his conduct in his house, and regarding the matter of cleanliness in his rooms, and where he keeps the tunic when stripping it off. Then the small merchant told him about the state of his house as it is in the small city, and he said: Behold, my house is very small, consisting of one room, there are the stove and the hearths, and there is the dwelling of my small children whom I cannot take care to keep clean, and the floor of the house and its walls are always full of dampness and slime, and twice on a rainy day my cow comes into the house to eat her fodder and dirty it, sometimes also so, and likewise under the stove is the coop of the chickens that fill the house and every vessel with filth, and on top of the stove I dry the damp wood and the like.

And the merchant laughed, and shook his head over his inferior and bad conduct, and said: And how can the tunic avail you, after you actively bring upon yourself every illness and every sickness? He who guards his soul will distance himself from such bad conduct, and will supervise the cleanliness of his house so that no filth or any smell of an animal enters it, as well as the heat and vapor of the stove and the smell of damp wood and the like—all of them distance from them an ultimate distance—and then the tunic can avail to protect from fine dust or from the humid air outside during the rainy season, and so too from the sweat of the flesh and the like. But you, how are you different from a beast, for you dwell, eat, and drink together with it, and you are wallowing in mud and filth? For these things, the tunic cannot avail at all.

The moral is self-evident regarding the matter of the tzitzit and its benefit. For in truth, one must first engage in Torah and commandments, in Divine service, and in prayer with all their details, and clean our material house of all dross and illness, and then the tzitzit will be able to avail us to remember and to strengthen our heart more for His service. And this is what is written: "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them that they shall make for themselves tzitzit"—that they look at themselves, "on the corners of their garments throughout their generations", as we have previously mentioned, that one should look at his walking and the movement of his body, the garment of the soul, for it is dust and ash.

And this is "throughout their generations", for the soul has existence in essence, but the body perishes entirely and has no lasting essence except in perpetuating its kind, for it will establish generations in its lifetime and establish children who will remain after its death; and this is "on the corners of their garments," the movement of the body which has no existence at all except if it establishes generations, understand this. And this corresponds to what we learned in the Mishnah (Avot 3:1): Know from where you came, from a putrid drop, and where you are going—that the body, from the aspect of its birth, has no vitality at all, but is merely a defeated corpse, emitting an odor during its life and in its death. (Mili D'Avot by Rabbi Y. of Volozhin, Chapter 3, Mishnah 1, Way 2).

Ethical Teachings of the Tzitzit

It is written: "and they shall put upon the fringe of the corner a thread of Tekhelet (a string dyed a very durable blue)" (Numbers 15:38), meaning to say, by gazing at the movement of the body — give a thread of Tekhelet. And our Sages of blessed memory said (Sotah 17a): Tekhelet resembles the sea, and the sea resembles the sky, and the sky resembles the Throne of Glory. Meaning to say, just as when a person lowers his body upon seeing his walking, his movements, and his origin from a putrid drop, so will he elevate his soul higher and higher and overpower the lust of his body until it returns to the place from which it was carved in purity. And this is hinted at in the color Tekhelet which resembles the Throne of Glory, understand this.

"And it shall be unto you for a fringe [tzitzit]" — the promise is this: that indeed looking at the tzitzit will be beneficial to you, but on condition — "that you may look upon it (alt. translation, him)", hinting to the Holy One, blessed be He, that they should see in their intention before Whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning, before the King, the king of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. And it added to explain a double condition: "and remember all the commandments of Hashem", if you pay attention to remember all of them by studying, and afterward do so, then I promise you that the tzitzit will be of benefit to you.

"And that you seek not after your own heart and your own eyes" — like the story of that person whose four tzitzit came and slapped him on his face and saved him from sin. For the wise man, his eyes are in his head to look into these matters and to add in holiness, until "and you shall be holy unto your L-rd", to learn from His ways and His attributes, as is written above. But we, in our many sins, the evil inclination is full in all the rooms of our material house, in speech, in thought, and in action, in heart, mouth, and hands, like the villager whose dwelling is the dwelling of cattle and chickens; so too our dwelling, Heaven forbid, is a place of residence for scoffers, and our eating is in wild lust, gluttony, and drunkenness, our eyes looking, Heaven forbid, at forbidden things, our will like the will of cattle for bodily things, and perhaps to this our Sages of blessed memory intended (Pesachim 108a): 'You and an ass ate in one feedbag.' Our heart burns with the fire of the lust of inclination, and cooks within it all bad things, Heaven forbid, and his entire body becomes a dwelling and altar for the Other Side (Sitra Achra), Heaven forbid. And how shall he wear a holy linen garment? And what will the tzitzit avail a bruised body, crushed by sin and tormented by such lusts? Therefore, the Torah doubled a warning with doubled caution, "and you shall look upon Him" — the Holy One, blessed be He, as mentioned above, "and remember all the commandments of Hashem", and then — "and it shall be unto you as tzitzit (fringes)", and looking at it rescues a person from transgression. (Mussar Chachamim)

The Testimony of the Tallit

In the book Matzevet Kodesh (Lvov 5623 {1863}, Part 2, Section 48) wondrous deeds were brought from our master, the Gaon, author of Turei Zahav, which was written in the record book of the holy society, which was placed under the hand of our master, teacher, and rabbi, the holy Gaon Rabbi Naftali Hirtz, who was Head of the Rabbinical Court and Faithful Teacher of the Holy Congregation here, inside the city.

Among other things, it is told there in the record book of the Holy Society: Our master, the Gaon, author of the Taz, walked in a tallit needed to fulfill a commandment, that was very torn, and it was old, worn out from several years that he wrapped himself in the aforementioned tallit, and when the women of our community saw our master the Gaon standing to pray in a torn and old tallit - they volunteered to give him a new tallit, and bought him a splendid and beautiful tallit, and brought the aforementioned tallit to our master, and when he saw the new tallit, he said to the women: Many thanks to you for the donation of your dear heart, only I do not want to wrap myself in a new tallit, for the old tallit will testify for me in the World to Come that I did not have a foreign thought during the Shemoneh Esreh prayer, and this is a great thing before a gaon like him, until here his words of blessed memory. May his merit stand for us and for all Israel, Amen.

He Held the Tzitzit and Fear Fell Upon the Minister

It is told that in the city of Tomaszów-Lublin the Pulkownik (the city minister) wanted to abolish the immersion for a mitzvah, and went to the mikveh with his wife and sons at the time when they needed to immerse there, and a great uproar arose in the city over this act. In Tomaszów there lived then the holy Rabbi, Rabbi Yoselle, of blessed righteous memory, [who was from the students of the Seer of Lublin, uncle of the holy Rabbi Yehoshua of Tomaszów], and the leaders of the community came to him to tell him of this act. And our Rabbi answered them that he would abolish this. Toward evening, while the minister and all his household were bathing in the mikveh, the Rabbi came and threw a stone through the window, and the stone struck the minister's wife. The minister became enraged and said that they must inform him who threw the stone and he would kill the thrower, and if they did not tell him who threw the stone, he would kill all the Jews of the city. The people went to our Rabbi to ask what to do. He told them that for purity self-sacrifice is needed, and therefore they should tell the minister that he was the thrower. And the minister came in fury with his sword drawn in his hand to our Rabbi's house to kill him, and our Rabbi took the tzitzit in his hand and said: I have Kosher tzitzit and I have no fear of you, and fear fell upon the minister and he went to his house and did not continue to come to the mikveh anymore. (Otzrot Otzar Rabbi Tzvi part 8 letter 6).

The Tallit Wept in Tears

It is told about the Maggid of Kelm who happened to be at the summer resort in Berlin near the city of Riga, and there, tens of thousands gathered from all over Russia, and especially from the nearby city of Riga, and enjoyed the springs and baths there and more. On the Sabbath, the Maggid went to pray in the synagogue, and saw that some of the people of Riga did not have a tallit during prayer, since they were negligent to bring a tallit with them.

The Maggid went up onto the stage and said: Gentlemen! I will tell you a shocking story. Once, during the summer days, I was in Riga; I entered a certain house to see the owner, and I saw that there was no person in the house and the house was empty. I entered, and I heard bitter weeping from one of the rooms. I went in there, and I saw that there was no person, and only a bag and a tallit were inside it, and the tallit was sobbing uncontrollably. I asked it: Tallit, tallit! Why are you weeping? It answered and said: How shall I not weep, if the master of the house has taken with him all the silver and the gold and treasures that he had, and left only me here alone?! I comforted it and said to it: Enough weeping! A day will come and the master of the house will set out on a long journey, and he will leave behind all the silver and gold and treasures, and he will take only you with him...

The Tzitzit That Saved

It is told in the book Ma'aseh Ish (Part 7, page 163) in the name of Rabbi Yaakov Flint: Every so often the Chazon Ish would say to my father: Bring the children! But the difficulty in organizing the matter always prevented him from fulfilling the request.

On the last Wednesday of the life of Maran the Chazon Ish, he said to my father Rabbi Mordechai: Bring the children! You are traveling right now and bringing them to me! Hearing such a clear request, my father of blessed memory took a taxi, traveled to Tel Aviv, and brought us. On our part, we agreed to come on one condition. On that same day, Father bought us a new scooter, and we agreed to come only with the scooter.

We reached the Chazon Ish, we entered his room, the Chazon Ish was lying on a folding bed on his right side, and asked my father to help him rise, and sat on the chair while my brother and I were surrounding him with the scooters. My father tried to quiet us with the scooters, but the Chazon Ish said to him: Leave them alone! He conversed with my father, and asked who among us was the older one, and placed me on his right knee and my brother on his left knee, and blessed us. Before we got down from his knees, he turned to my younger brother and asked him in the Holy Tongue: Do you know what tzitzit is? My brother did not grasp what the Chazon Ish was saying, so my father pulled his tzitzit out from his clothes and showed it to him: This is it! And then the Chazon Ish said: I want that all your life you will walk with tzitzit. My father of blessed memory tried to ask him several times: And what about my firstborn son? But he did not answer.

Interestingly, years later during the Yom Kippur War, my brother served in the north at an outpost called '120', which was built during the war. And behold, one day they told my brother to be on observation duty, so he sat at the post and read a newspaper, and placed his weapon on the side on the edge of the post. Suddenly the tzitzit became tangled with the rifle, and the rifle fell. My brother bent down to pick it up, and precisely at that exact second, a missile suddenly struck the post, in such a way that it was absolutely clear that if my brother had been sitting on the chair in a normal posture at that moment - the event could have ended in a great disaster, May G-d preserve us, and thus he was only lightly injured in his hand and shoulder.

The Tzitzit That Healed the Sick

Maran the Gaon, Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein, shlit"a, relates what he heard from his grandfather (in reality, his wife's grandfather), the Gaon Rabbi Aryeh Levin, zt"l, about a Jew who gave his soul [sacrificed himself] for his brother. In one of the gatherings where we were privileged to meet with the HaGaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Aryeh Levin, I heard him speak thus: "One of the commandments of the Torah is the commandment 'And you shall love your neighbor as yourself' (Leviticus 19:18). And I was privileged to know Jews who fulfilled this commandment with all their strength, and were willing to give their bodies and their money for another. But today I know that there is a situation where a person surrenders for his brother even his entire World to Come, and this is true self-sacrifice (mesirut nefesh)."

And I will tell you: The event took place with two righteous brothers, students of the Gra [Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna], zt"l: Rabbi Moshe Ashkenazi and his brother Rabbi Yitzchak. Throughout the days of the year, Rabbi Moshe was wandering in the towns and teaching Torah to the children of the Jews, and finding his livelihood in great hardship.

In these wanderings of his, Rabbi Moshe was engaged privately in his Torah and in his prayers, and returned to his home only on the Three Pilgrimage Festivals, when with him was a small bundle of money to sustain the members of the family. According to the custom of the pious of that generation—where each one looked for one mitzvah upon which he gave his soul—that righteous man was especially meticulous regarding the mitzvah of tzitzit, and his custom was not to move four cubits without tzitzit.

In the month of Nisan one year, when he returned to his home after being absent from it for several months and with him his money-bundle intended for purchasing the needs of the approaching Passover holiday, he made his way in a wagon that was driven by a simple wagon-driver. In one of the segments of the way, Rabbi Moshe got down from the wagon and approached one of the boulders that were on the main road, a noticeable distance off the paved road... Upon his coming to return to the wagon, his tzitzit caught on the boulder and one corner was torn off from the four corners.

Since he was meticulous not to move four cubits without tzitzit, Rabbi Moshe remained standing like a planted nail, and did not move from his place.

He calls to the wagon-driver from afar, and asks him to bring him a tzitzit from the nearby town. The driver, who knew of his great meticulousness regarding the mitzvah of tzitzit of this pious man, agreed to this on condition that he receive from Rabbi Moshe in exchange all the bundle of money that was in his hand. Without hesitation, Rabbi Moshe Ashkenazi took the money he had prepared during the entire winter, and handed it to the driver, so that he would bring him a tzitzit. The pious man risked his soul, and the souls of his family members, through his action, provided he would not harm a hair's breadth of the custom he took upon himself.

And what happened in the end? That wagon-driver was a man of bad heart and cruel like no other; he took the money, drove off, and did not return. Rabbi Moshe now remained destitute of everything, both without tzitzit, and also without money. For over twenty-four complete hours the pious man remained standing in his place, and did not move, until one passersby took mercy on him and brought him a tzitzit on loan so that he could return to his home.

In the course of time, Rabbi Aryeh continued to relate, the brother of Rabbi Moshe fell ill—none other than Rabbi Yitzchak Ashkenazi, who was revered by all the people of Lithuania (and there are those who say that he is the author of the formidable book 'Brit Olam' which explains the secret of the 22 letters of the Torah). And the doctors said they despaired for his life.

The members of the household sent to call his brother Rabbi Moshe from the towns in which he wandered, so that he would ask for mercy for his brother. Rabbi Moshe was also known for the power of his prayers, and therefore they hung many hopes in him.

When Rabbi Moshe arrived at his brother's home, he entered the room where the sick man lay, and asked all those present to exit from there. But since the doors of back then were not hermetically sealed, several family members succeeded in watching through the keyhole of the door the actions of Rabbi Moshe.

And behold, they see that Rabbi Moshe strips the tzitzit off his body, places it on the sick man's bed, turns to the Holy One, blessed be He, and says: "Master of the Universe, one mitzvah I have that I held onto with all my strength, and tzitzit is its name; behold, I relinquish all my reward in the World to Come for this mitzvah, provided that the merit of the mitzvah will stand for him, for my sick brother, and he will rise from his illness."

Thus, Rabbi Moshe stood and prayed, in weeping and in supplications, and the members of the household were agitated in their soul to see him surrendering his entire World to Come for the healing of his righteous brother.

Within a short time, Rabbi Yitzchak stood up from his illness, and to the wonder of all his doctors he healed completely, and became like any man. Rabbi Aryeh concluded and said: From this story I learned that there is a reality in which a person surrenders for his brother even his entire World to Come, and this is true self-sacrifice (mesirut nefesh). (Barchi Nafshi, Vayikra, page 256, Dirshu).

The Tzitzit in the Iranian Army

Another Jew related, who was privileged to immigrate to the Land from Iran: Many years ago, when he was a young man, he was drafted into the Iranian army and sent to the war against Iraq. The war was very difficult, most of the soldiers who fought were killed. One day, he was sent with a group of soldiers to a most dangerous place; there was a difficult battle there, and all the soldiers who were with him were killed, and only he returned alive to his position.

The commander who saw him and heard that only he returned alive, suspected him of being a spy for the benefit of Iraq, and brought him to trial.

At the time of the trial, after he was asked to say something in his defense, the soldier took off his shirt and showed them the tzitzit that he wears, while he explains that he is a Jew and to a Jew there is the mitzvah of tzitzit, which protects him from all danger. The commander accepted his words and immediately released him.

The Tzitzit That Ignited the Jewish Spark

It is told regarding the Admor, Rabbi Yehoshua of Belz, zt"l, that once a Jew entered to him on whose face deep sadness was evident. The man related to the Rabbi that his only son had gone out to evil ways, and now he was intending to marry a gentile woman. The father related to the Rabbi that he had tried to speak to the son's heart, but to no avail, and now he was thinking of throwing him out of his house, and came to receive advice from the Rabbi whether it would be right to do so. The Rabbi answered him that this would not be a proper deed—to distance him from his house—but on the contrary, he ought to bring his son closer without speaking to him about this matter at all, only to make an effort to persuade his son to come with him to the Rabbi.

The man returned to his city, and from now on changed his attitude toward his son for the better, showed him extra affection, and did not speak with him anything about the wedding. On one of the days, the father turned to the son and said to him: "Would you like to travel with me to the Admor of Belz?"

The son, who recognized goodness to his father for all that he did for him, decided to cause him satisfaction, and joined the journey. During the journey, the father and his son conversed on many topics, and among other things, the father mentioned the matter of the wedding. At that moment, the son's face took on a expression of determination, and he said one decisive thing: "In this matter I will not change my mind! And no one in the world will succeed in influencing me to change my mind. And your Rebbe will not succeed in this either!!!"

"And what regarding the family of that girl?" the father asked his son. "Are you not afraid to connect with such people?"

"What do I have to fear?" asked the son. "After all, I met them, and they seem to me respectable, good, and honored people."

Upon their arrival in the town of Belz, both of them entered to the Rebbe, and the Rabbe opened in a conversation with the son at a heart to heart, level, until the Rebbe that the son had a feeling of trust toward him. Then the Rebbe brought out a small tallit, approached the son, and said to him: "Wear it under your clothes, for you are destined to be among gentiles, and this is a place of danger; therefore it is worthwhile for you to wear the tallit for the purpose of protection."

The son, who felt trust in the Rebbe, and was happy that the Rebbe was not trying to influence him not to marry a foreign woman, agreed to wear the tallit.

A short time after the father and his son returned from their journey to Belz, the date of the son's wedding arrived. On the night of the wedding, the groom sat at the head of the table and got drunk with his gentile friends; as his heart was merry with wine, the groom felt intense heat, and removed the jacket and tie from upon himself. But despite this, the alcohol continued to flush him with heat; therefore, he tried to free himself from garment after garment of clothing until there was revealed to the eyes of all those present a strange garment—a small tallit of white color. Immediately one of those present cried out in astonishment: "Look, this is a garment of a Jew! The groom is wearing a garment of Jews! The groom is a Jew!!!" When the rest of those present saw this, they fell upon the groom and landed their blows upon him, severe and painful beatings the groom absorbed, and in the end, he was forced to flee for his life while his spirit was still in him. Thus, the groom was forced to discover the true nature of his in-laws, and the marriage was canceled, and everything in the merit of the mitzvah of tzitzit.

The Tzitzit That Established an Institution

Another moving story was with Rabbi Moshe Pardo, founder of the Or HaChaim institutions in Bnei Brak. Rabbi Pardo arrived in California in order to raise money for the institutions, and suddenly felt great weakness, barely entered the home where he was staying, and fell upon the bed. The master of the house rushed to summon help, and called for a local doctor. The Rabbi felt grieved in his heart; he had traveled for so many hours, planning to meet with generous donors, and now he was forced to waste his time in hospitals. However, he hoped that he would recover quickly, and return to his house as soon as possible.

The doctor who arrived to treat him was a Jew, but no Jewish sign was visible on him. He grew up in a small and remote settlement, and did not know other Jews and knew nothing of Judaism. When he saw Rabbi Pardo, he was very moved, a Jewish Rabbi... And when he examined him, he asked the Rabbi to take off his shirt. When the Rabbi took off the shirt, the doctor suddenly saw that the Rabbi was wearing a strange garment; he heard from the Rabbi that this garment is the tzitzit garment that the Jews wear because of the command of Hashem, may he be blessed, and was amazed to hear that to this day there are Jews who keep such a mitzvah...

To his amazement, the Rabbi said that not only in the Land of Israel are there Jews with tzitzit, but also in the United States there are large and splendid communities, and many Jews who do not walk around without tzitzit. The doctor was very moved. The Rabbi told him about his occupation, about the large enterprise that he has, in which about a thousand girls, all of whom with the help of Hashem, when the time comes, will marry men who lay tefillin and wear tzitzit. The doctor was stunned and confused, upon hearing that there are those who are meticulous even today regarding the mitzvah of tefillin. He thought that Judaism was over. Rabbi Pardo immediately understood that it was worthwhile to bring him closer, and suggested to him on the spot to lay tefillin. The doctor with great emotion laid tefillin and recited the Shema reading.

Thought Rabbi Pardo in his heart, that even if in the end he did not succeed in collecting money for his institutions, still everything was worth it to arrive at a place so far away so that a Jew would lay tefillin... and money the Holy One, blessed be He, will arrange for him another time.

After a long period, a foreign person called the office of the institutions, and requested to visit the institution. Rabbi Pardo did not know who it was, but nevertheless invited him with joy. When the time of the meeting arrived, who appears? The doctor in his honor and person. They were excited to meet, and the doctor requested to see his institutions, is it really true that a thousand girls, study in this institution? They passed from building to building and from classroom to classroom, and the doctor saw and was very moved.

At the end of the tour they turned to the office, and then the doctor said: "Look, I have plenty of money, family I have none at all... when you told me about the institution where there are a thousand female students, I thought that this was an exaggeration. I wanted to come check, and if it is true, to give you all my inheritance after my death..." The doctor immediately requested to call a lawyer, and on the spot signed that all his money will be given to the Or HaChaim institutions. And everything in the merit of the tzitzit.

The Tzitzit That Prevented the Dangerous Treatment

More relates the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein: An event regarding a young man who fell ill with the severe disease, the young man studied in one of the holy yeshivas, and suffered terrible torments, and recently began receiving chemotherapy treatments in the hospital.

Upon his coming to the department, he was required to wear sterile clothes, and therefore needed to change his clothes for the clothes of the hospital. The young man changed, but since in the hospital there are no tzitzit, he brought with him a laundered and clean tzitzit, that would meet the requirements of the hospital.

When the nurse saw the tzitzit, she did not agree to let him enter for the treatment with the tzitzit and demanded that he take it off, even though the young man explained that it was clean and sterile. There was no one to speak with, and she insisted that she would not let him enter for the treatment. But the righteous young man stood his ground and did not want to take off the four-cornered garment (arba kanfot). He sat outside and waited.

After three hours (!!!) one of the senior doctors passed by the place, and inquired what the young man was doing outside. The young man laid out the problem before the doctor. Hearing this, the doctor went into the treatment room. After a short hour, he came out deeply moved and agitated. The young man asked him why he was so excited. The doctor answered that first of all he should enter to receive the treatment with the tzitzit, and only afterward would he tell him.

When the difficult treatment was finished, the doctor approached the young man, and with tears in his eyes began to tell: "I am a Jew who does not observe Torah and mitzvot for now, but this time I was privileged to see how the Holy One, blessed be He, protects one who does His will. When I entered the room to tell the nurse that there is no problem with your tzitzit, I wanted to know what treatment you were receiving, and I could not believe seeing that the nurse intended to perform by mistake a treatment that is not suitable for you—a treatment that without a doubt could have deteriorated your condition up to death, G-d forbid." The doctor added and said that the nurse did not do it on purpose, "but if you had not insisted and stood on your desire to wear the tzitzit, who knows in what state you would be now?! And only in the merit that you refused to receive the treatment without the tzitzit—a great tragedy was prevented from you."