Rabbi Chiya, Rabbi Yonasan and the Tzitzis in the Cemetery
Walking through a cemetery, Rabbi Chiya tells Rabbi Yonasan to lift his dragging tzitzis, lest the dead say the living are mocking them.
The Gemara relates that Rebbe Chiya and Rebbe Yonasan were walking in a cemetery. Rebbe Yonasan’s tzitzis were dragging over the graves. Whereupon Rebbe Chiya said, “Lift up your tzitzis, lest the departed say, ‘Tomorrow they will be joining us and now they mock us.’” Since the departed can no longer fulfill mitzvos, dragging tzitzis over their graves is a form of mockery.