Jewish Prayer Shawl
Question
Are you familiar with a prayer shawl that the Jews wore where they were to look on the tassels of the prayer shawl, and remember the books of the Old Testament and be healed?
Answer
The practice of wearing a prayer shawl with tassels is mentioned in Numbers 15:38-39: "Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot" (cf. Deut. 22:12; Matt. 23:5).
The principle is simple: in our lives we need some constant reminders of God and his good law. When the kingdom of God was largely defined by the borders of ethnic Israel (under Mosaic Law), this was God's ordained way for the Jews to remind themselves of his Law and of their covenant obligations to obey that Law. Under the New Moses (Jesus) the Kingdom of God now extends to every tribe and every nation, and the same principle still applies. But now its precise application differs. Modern Christians practice this principle by doing such things as decorating their homes with pictures of Bible verses. As they see these things around their homes, they are reminded of God and his Word/Law.
Numbers 15 reminds us that as believers following the New Moses (Jesus), we must bring ourselves into conformity with his regulations and be more diligent about making sure to remember his wonderful commandments. Some messianic Jews use the tzitzit (tassels) as a tool for witnessing to Orthodox Jews. In Numbers 15 the tassel was to have a blue cord. Today, Orthodox Jews do not use blue cords in their tassels. When Messianic Jews use a blue cord in their tassels, it attracts attention and Orthodox Jews often inquire about it, usually starting an interesting discussion regarding Orthodox Jewish claims of Torah observance.
The Bible doesn't mention anything about looking upon the tassels in order to be healed. Here you may be thinking of the bronze serpent that Moses fashioned (Num. 21:9).
Answer by Ilya Lizorkin