...and we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves, and so we must have looked to them.”
(לג) וכן היינו בעיניהם. שָׁמַעְנוּ אוֹמְרִים זֶה לָזֶה, נְמָלִים יֵשׁ בַּכְּרָמִים כַּאֲנָשִׁים (סוטה ל"ה):
וכן היינו בעיניהם SO WE MUST HAVE BEEN IN THEIR EYES—We heard them say one to another; “There are ants in the vineyards that look like human beings" (Sota 35a).
(לג) כחגבים - הנמוך נראה לגבוה ממנו הרבה כחגבים, שהם נמוכים מאד. וזה מוכיח: היושב על חוג הארץ ויושביה כחגבים.
כחגבים, anything low considers itself as like a grasshopper when compared to something much taller. We find proof of this in Is. 40:22, “compared to the One Who is enthroned above the vault of the earth views its inhabitants as if they were grasshopper.”
(לג) הנפילים. שכל הרואה אותם מתפלא עליהם. ד"א שכל הרואה אותם מתיירא שלא יפלו עליו:
“the Nephilim, descendants of Anak (giant);” anyone who took a look at these people would be overawed by them and feel totally inadequate, scared that they would attack him.
That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the LORD and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge.
(לט) וראיתם אותו וזכרתם את כל מצות ה' תזכרו שאתם עבדים לאל יתברך ושקבלתם מצותיו באלה ובשבועה וזה בראותם הציצית שהוא כחותם המלך בעבדיו ובזה תחדלו מתור אחרי לבבכם להשיג שרירות לבכם כעושר וכבוד אפילו בגזל:
(מ) ואחרי עיניכם להשיג תאוות שנתתס עיניכם בהן:
(מא) אשר אתם זונים אחריהם מטים נפשכם השכלית בהן מדרכי חיי עולם לדרכי אבדון ומות:
'וראיתם אותו וזכרתם את כל מצות ה, you will be reminded that you are God’s servants whose commandments you have accepted....This reminder will be due to your looking at the “fringes.” This in turn will lead to your ceasing to follow the inclination of your hearts and eyes to indulge your diverse urges, originating in your bodies. Without these fringes as a constant reminder of your purpose on earth, you would be likely to fall prey to these urges inspired by the evil urge.
(לט) ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם. כְּמוֹ "מִתּוּר הָאָרֶץ" (במדבר י"ג); הַלֵּב וְהָעֵינַיִם הֵם מְרַגְּלִים לַגּוּף, מְסַרְסְרִים לוֹ אֶת הָעֲבֵרוֹת, הָעַיִן רוֹאָה וְהַלֵּב חוֹמֵד וְהַגּוּף עוֹשֶׂה אֶת הָעֲבֵרָה (תנחומא):
The verb תתרו has the same meaning as in (Num. 13:25), “and they returned from searching (מתור) the land”. (The translation therefore is: AND YOU SHALL NOT SEARCH AFTER YOUR OWN HEART). The heart and the eyes are the “spies” of the body — they act as its agents for sinning: the eye sees, the heart covets and the body commits the sin (cf. Berakhot 1:8; Tanchuma).
Caleb and Joshua saw the beauty of the land. The remaining spies could see only obstacles that stood in the way of the Israelites taking possession of the land. And the Israelites themselves, who heard the spies' reports, were blinded by their fear of the unknown, rather than being open to the opportunities that would be afforded to them as they enjoyed freedom in the land that had been promised to their ancestors.
By contrast, the tzitzit require us to have our eyes open to appreciate them, and in so doing we are reminded of God's mitzvot and of the kindness that God showed to us in redeeming us from Egypt.
We can go through our lives with blinders before our eyes, refusing to bear witness to God's graciousness toward us. Or, we can open eyes that have previously been blind and proclaim, Ashreinu, "How greatly have we been blessed!"
(by Alan Cook, 2006, in Voices of Torah page 402-403)