גדילים תעשה לך על ארבע כנפות… (כי תצא כב:יב)

A Russian Minister once called an assembly of all the Rosh Yeshivas and Rosh Kehillos. The goal of the assembly was to eradicate the Jewish curriculum from the yeshivas and to modernize the student’s clothing. The area’s Rabbiner, Dr. Leilental, was also present.

In the middle of the meeting, the Minister turned to Reb Itzele of Petersburg zt”l and asked: “Why do you need to wear a large Tallis Katan, whereas Dr. Leilental, who is also religious, wears a small tallis, without even the strings sticking out?”

The Gaon explained to the Minister that the reason we wear tzitzis is so that we remember Hashem’s mitzvos, as it says in the Torah: “וראיתם אותו וזכרתם.” Dr. Leilental, he said, is a highly educated man with a sharp memory, so a small tallis is enough to remind him of Hashem’s mitzvos. “But I am an elderly Yid whose mind doesn’t work so well anymore — I need larger tzitzis to remind me to keep Hashem’s mitzvos.”