Jesus wore two articles of clothing, a halluq (ha-luke) and a talit (ta-leet). The talit is an undergarment. It is usually made of linen and covers the body all the way to the middle of the shin. The talit is a prayer shawl, also known as a prayer closet. The talit is worn over the halluq, and is pulled up over the head during prayer. On the corners of the talit are 4 tassels called tzitziyot (tzitzit - singular). The Jews continue to wear these tassels because of the command to wear them in Numbers 15:37-41 and Deuteronomy 22:12.

The English word that is translated “hem” is a translation of the Greek word “krespedon” which means “a tassel of twisted wool.”

The Jews of Jesus’ day believed that the tzitziyot (tassels) that were tied to the corners of the prayer shawl of the Messiah had healing powers. They believed this because of Malachi 4:2, which says, “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” The “sun of righteousness” is a Hebrew figure-of-speech or idiom, which means ”the Messiah,” and the word “wings” is the Hebrew word kanaph (kanaphim – plural), which is the same word that is used to when referring to the edge of a prayer shawl.

The woman with the issue of blood was considered to be unclean (see Mark 5). She had spent years alone, because she was not aloud to touch anyone. She was lonely, she was desperate, she was knowledgeable about the Scriptures, and she recognized the Messiah when he came. This woman would not have touched just any rabbi, because touching a rabbi as a ceremonially unclean person would have gotten her into trouble with the Temple authorities. But she believed that this Jesus was not just any rabbi. She truly believed that he was the one of which Malachi spoke. She believed it so much that she was willing to walk out into the middle of a Jewish crowd and touch the tassels on Jesus’ talit.

No matter how sinful we are, we can rush through the most religious, righteous crowd, touch the Messiah, and be healed.

Forever learning,
Johnny

© 2008 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 11th, 2008 at 4:01 pm and is filed under Hebraic Perspective. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.