The tsitsith, which is appended to each of the four corners, consists of four long threads drawn through a small hole about an inch from the corner; the two parts of the threads are bound together by a double knot; the largest thread—called shammash, “the servant”—is then wound seven, eight, eleven, and thirteen times round the other seven halves of the four threads, and after each set of windings a double knot is made.—If one of the four tsitsith is not in order, e.g., two of the threads being torn off, the talith is called pasul, “disqualified” for the mitsvah, and must not be worn till that tsitsith is replaced by a new one. There is, however, an important element in this Divine commandment, which is now altogether neglected, viz., “And they shall put upon the fringe of the corner a thread of ‏תכלת‎ purple blue wool” (Num. xv. 38). Tradition determined the exact shade of the purple blue indicated by the term ‏תכלת‎; in the Talmud (Menachoth 42b) the various ways of its preparation are given. But the colour seems to have been rare, and we are warned against using imitations of techeleth. Regulations were also made providing for the case when techeleth could not be obtained. The natural white colour was then substituted, and no other colour was allowed. After the conclusion of the Talmud doubts seem to have arisen as regards the exact shade of the purple blue demanded by the Divine precept in the term ‏תכלת‎, and thus the use of the thread of purple blue wool gradually ceased to form part of the tsitsith. The exact time when it ceased cannot be fixed. ‏תפלין‎ [48] “Ornaments.” Four times the Law repeats the commandment concerning the tefillin: “And thou shalt bind them”—the words of God—“for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for a frontlet between thine eyes” (Deut. vi. 8 and xi. 18); “And it shall be unto thee for a sign upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, in order that the Law of the Lord be in thy mouth” (Exod. xiii. 9); “And it shall be for a sign upon thy hand, and for a frontlet between thine eyes” (ibid. 16). The object of this commandment is to direct our thoughts to God and His goodness, and to remind us of the important lessons taught in the following four paragraphs, in which the commandment of tefillin is mentioned:—