The mitzvah of tzitzit is a unique one. The Torah commands us to attach tzitzit to any four cornered garment that we wear yet it never once commands us to wear one.   Moreover, since this is the case, why then do we specifically make it a point to wear a tallit during tefila and a tallit katan all day long, both of these being four cornered garments with tzitzit?
    As we know from the pesukim of Shema, the Torah clearly states the reason for this mitzvah.  Regarding the tzitzit it says, “. . . and you will see it and you will remember all the mitzvot and you will do them”. The Sefer Hachinuch explains how tzitzit has the power to be a reminder. Wearing tzitzit is much like a person wearing the badge of a king on his clothing. As long as that badge is worn, it stands as a reminder to that person that he is a servant of the king and that thought stays with him all day long.
    In a more esoteric way, the Sefer Hachinuch relates how the numeric value of the Hebrew word tzitzit, which is 600, plus the sum of the eight strings and five knots which make up each tzitzit, equal the total number of mitzvot in the Torah, 613. Thus, wearing a garment with tzitzit is like being enveloped in all 613 mitzvot, the entire Torah.
    An additional aspect to this is found in Halacha. In order to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzit properly, a person should keep two tzitzit in front of himself and the other two in back at all times. This is in order to always be surrounded by mitzvot. Parenthetically, this is the reason we have an atara, a “crown” or “collar”, on our tallit. The tzitzit that are in the front have more holiness, as they serve the front of the body. Therefore, in order to know which side of the tallit is the front, the atara is sewn along one side, usually consisting of a decorated strip of fabric or several rows of small silver ornaments in order to beautify the mitzvah.
    There are two quotes in the Gemara that really drive home the reason to wear a garment with tzitzit at all times. In the first, the Gemara tells of a certain Rav Ketina who purposely wore garments that did not require tzitzit on them. He encountered an angel who told him that he was not doing the proper thing. Indeed, the angel told him that although one who does not wear a garment with tzitzit has technically not transgressed the mitzvah and therefore, is not punished directly; nevertheless, when Heavenly Wrath is forthcoming he becomes more vulnerable to it, as he is lacking the extra protection that the mitzvah of tzitzit would afford. The second Gemara relates that one who is conscientious in performing the mitzvah of tzitzit will receive the great reward of being able to greet the countenance of the Divine Presence at the end of his days.
    May we all strive to embrace the message inherent in the mitzvah of tzitzit:  to always remember Hashem at every moment and to always keep His mitzvot foremost in our hearts and minds.