The gemara justifies the prison guards custom of not wearing tzitzis (and wearing black shoes which was a minhag of goyim that a jew must give up his life for in a time of shmad - sanhedrin 75b see tosafos). It seems that he was wearing a 4 cornered garment without tzitzis which was a bitul mitzvas aseh, and that is why R' brokah was surprised that he was a ben olam ha'ba. If he was simply not wearing a 4 cornered garment, it is unlikely that R' Brokah would have been so surprised since there is no chiyuv to wear a 4 cornered garment in order to wear tzitzis. Although this is debatable, it is meduyak in rashi "he did not put tzitzis on his tallis" - implies he was wearing a 4 cornered tallis and left off the tzitzis.
The question is that since he had to look like a goy in order to spy (perhaps it was even pikuach nefesh), why was he allowed to wear a 4 cornered garment w/o tzitzis. He should have worn a garment that is not chayev in tzitzis at all so he would not have to be mevatel a mitzvas aseh!
Perhaps this is a proof to the Mordechai that there is no issur to wear 4 corners without tzitzis, rather when wearing 4 corners there is a mitzvah to put on tzitzis. In a situation where one cannot put on tzitzis i.e. shabbos, it is permitted to wear the garment and is not considered a bitul mitzvah. Based on this, here to he was not able to put on tzitzis (so that he can spy), and was allowed to wear the 4 cornered garment w/o tzitzis. There is no advantage to wear a garment that is exempt from tzitzis.
4 comments:
according to the mordechai, if one is in an island and has not tzitzis and has 2 garments one that is 4 cornered and one not, are you suggesting that there is no advantage of then the other???
in our gemrar i assume that there was standard clothing that happened to be 4 cornered so he couldn't stick out by not wearing one - am i being to balabatish?
(also, regarding the shoe thing - see yaavets on rashi)
You may be correct that the mordechai would only say this by an o'nes that is imposed by the torah itself, to the exclusion of circumstancial o'nes i.e. sakana, desert island.
the Biniyahu says he would make one keren rounded.
I know what rashi says but from the gemorah it seems he just was not wearing techeles. which is why rashi says tzitzis because if he wore tzitzis but not thecheles how would that help him at all in his job
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