And they shall place on each tzitzis on the corner a thread of blue (Bamidbar 15:38)

Years ago, I was a summer camp counselor. One year, on the first day of camp we split the boys into different groups for swim instruction, based on their ability. One boy named Charlie was placed in the lowest group. Not only was he in the lowest group, but he also refused to go into the water. Although I was not a swim instructor and could not swim very well myself, I made Charlie into my project that summer. I decided Charlie would be in a private swim group with me. The first week, I got him to sit on the side of the pool and put his feet in the water. By the next week, I got him to stand on the top stair in the pool. Slowly, we progressed to going to the other stairs and a little after the mid-point of the summer, he actually came into the pool (holding tightly to edge of the pool). I continued working with him slowly and eventually, I took him out to the middle of the pool holding him tightly. The last week of camp, I would hold him in the middle of the pool and then let go of him a few strokes from the wall. He would swim the rest of the way! It was a big accomplishment after eight long weeks.

Now imagine if I had taken Charlie on the first day of camp and threw him into the middle of the pool. He probably would never trust me again. He also probably would never go near a swimming pool again. The proper way to train someone is going step-by-step.

Our Sages tell us a reason for the requirement to have a blue string on our tzitzis (regarding if this is a requirement today, please ask your Rav). Seeing the blue string will remind us of the blue of the sea, which reminds us of the blue of the sky, which reminds us of Hashem’s Holy Throne. The commentators ask why so many steps are necessary – why don’t the Sages just say the blue string reminds us of Hashem’s Holy Throne? The answer is that to be able to rise high, a person must go step-by-step. A person cannot rise to a high level without first taking smaller steps. Therefore, all of the reminders are necessary because that is the only way one will be able to come closer to Hashem.

Many people wonder why our daily morning prayers need to take so long. The reason is because to rise to the level we are on during Shemone Esray takes preparation. A person cannot just wake up in the morning and immediate start praying before Hashem’s Holy Throne. To reach that level, first we need to slowly climb with our Morning Brachos, Pesukei D’Zimra, and the Brachos of Krias Shema. Each of these sections of our prayers give us the ability to connect closer with Hashem until we have climbed to the top level when we can daven Shemone Esray. Note that it is not only common people who need to daven these preliminary services during Shacharis – even the Gedolim say all of these prayers. The reason is because no one can start from level 1 and rise to level 100 without taking the steps in between.

Many people have the need for speed. People want to go 0 to 60 in 2.2 seconds. But if a person really wants to be able to reach the highest levels, he needs to take his time and slowly move up the ladder. Even though biographies sometimes portray Gedolim as being great since they were born, this is not totally true. The Gedolim reached their high level because they rose step-by-step.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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