Introduction to Mitzvat Tefillin

Wordfile

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Dedicated in memory of Rabbi Jack Sable z”l and
Ambassador Yehuda Avner z”l,
by Debbie and David Sable
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Dedicated in memory of my recently departed father,
Dr. Lloyd Bayme - ד״ר אליעזר ביים
- Michael Bayme
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Introduction

          The Torah (Shemot 13:9; see also ibid. 13:16, and Devarim 6:8; and 11:18.) instructs, and we recite twice each day in the Keri’at Shema, that one must place tefillin on one’s arm and head:

And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, in order that the teaching of the Lord may be in your mouth—that with a mighty hand the Lord freed you from Egypt.

As we shall see below, the Torah relates wearing tefillin to the love of God, as well as to the Exodus from Egypt.

          In the upcoming shiurim, we will attempt to define and understand the mitzva of tefillin; we will discuss their structure and physical characteristics, as well as the manner in which they are worn. This week, we will introduce the mitzva and relate to its reasons, significance, and definition.

Ta’amei Ha-Mitzvot

          Tefillin are mentioned four times in the Torah, and these four parshiyot are placed inside the two boxes of the tefillin. The first two parshiyot, found in Sefer Shemot, discuss the wearing of the tefillin in the context of remembering the Exodus from Egypt.

The Lord spoke further to Moses, saying, “Consecrate to Me every firstborn; man and beast, the first issue of every womb among the Israelites is Mine.” And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how the Lord freed you from it with a mighty hand: no leavened bread shall be eaten. You go free on this day, in the spring month. So, when the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall observe in this month the following practice: Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival of the Lord. Throughout the seven days, unleavened bread shall be eaten; no leavened bread shall be found with you, and no leaven shall be found in all your territory. And you shall explain to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt.’ And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, in order that the teaching of the Lord may be in your mouth—that with a mighty hand the Lord freed you from Egypt. You shall keep this institution at its set time from year to year.” (Shemot 13:1-10)

And when the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and has given it to you, you shall set apart for the Lord every first issue of the womb: every male firstling that your cattle drop shall be the Lord’s. But every firstling donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. And you must redeem every first-born male among your children. And when, in time to come, your child asks you, saying, “What does this mean?” you shall reply, “It was with a mighty hand that the Lord brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstborn of both man and beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord every first male issue of the womb, but redeem every male firstborn among my children.” And so it shall be as a sign upon your hand and as a reminder between your eyes that with a mighty hand the Lord freed us from Egypt. (ibid 11-16)

While these two parshiyot focus on yetzi’at Mitzrayim, the two other parshiyot, found in Sefer Devarim and recited twice each day as part of the Keri’at Shema, focus on ahavat Hashem, the oneness of God, and the principle of sechar ve-onesh (reward and punishment).

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. And bind them as a sign upon your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, and you shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Devarim 6:4-9)

If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, loving the Lord your God and serving Him with all your heart and soul, and I will grant the rain for your land in season, the early rain and the late. You shall gather in your new grain and wine and oil. Take care not to be lured away to serve other gods and bow to them. For the Lord’s anger will flare up against you, and He will shut up the skies so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its produce; and you will soon perish from the good land that the Lord is assigning to you. And you shall impress these My words upon your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a reminder between your eyes. And you shall teach them to your children—reciting them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up; and inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates— to the end that you and your children may endure, in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to assign to them, as long as there is a heaven over the earth. (Ibid. 11: 13-21)

As we shall see, the Rishonim noticed the different contexts in which the mitzva of tefillin appears and which may reflect different themes of the mitzva.

          On the one hand, the Rambam implies that the tefillin, both shel rosh and shel yad, are meant to have a profound spiritual and behavioral effect upon the one who wears them. He writes (Hilkhot Tefillin u-Mezuza ve-Sefer Torah 4:25):

The holiness associated with tefillin is very great. As long as a person is wearing tefillin on his head and arm, he will be humble and God-fearing and will not be drawn to frivolous behavior or empty speech. He will not turn his thoughts to evil matters, but rather will direct his heart to words of truth and justice.

The Rambam further explains (ibid. 6:13) that tefillin are most impactful in tandem with two other mitzvot, i.e., tzitzit and mezuza.

The early Rabbis teach: Whoever wears tefillin on his head and arm, wears tzitzit on his garment, and has a mezuza on his entrance, can be assured that he will not sin, because he has many who will remind him. These are the angels, who will prevent him from sinning, as it states: "The angel of God camps around those who fear Him and protects them” (Tehillim 34:8).

Tefillin, tzitzit, and mezuza constantly remind a person of God’s presence and prevent him from sinning. The Sefer Ha-Chinukh (421) adopts this approach as well. The Rambam and the Chinukh apparently view tefillin as a central ingredient in safeguarding and developing one’s spiritual personality.

          Alternatively, the Ramban (Shemot 13:16) focuses on the relationship between tefillin and the mitzva of remembering the exodus from Egypt. In a well-known philosophical tangent in his commentary on the Torah, the Ramban discusses the centrality of yetzi’at Mitzrayim and the role of miracles in Jewish thought.

Now the fundamental reason of this commandment is that we lay the script of the exodus from Egypt upon the hand and upon the head, opposite the heart and the brain, which are the pivots of thought. … the great signs and wonders constitute faithful witnesses (Yeshayahu 8:2) to the truth of the belief in the existence of the Creator and the truth of the whole Torah. And because the Holy One, blessed be He, will not make signs and wonders in every generation for the eyes of some wicked man or heretic, He therefore commanded us that we should always make a memorial or sign of that which we have seen with our eyes, and that we should transmit the matter to our children, and their children to their children, to the generations to come, and He placed great emphasis on it, as is indicated by the fact that one is liable to extinction for eating leavened bread on Passover, and for abandoning the Passover-offering, and He has further required of us that we inscribe upon our arms and between our eyes all that we have seen in the way of signs and wonders, and to inscribe it yet upon the doorposts of the houses, and that we remember it by recital in the morning and evening.

The Ramban then explains why yetzi’at Mitzrayim is so central to Jewish theology:

Through the great open miracles, one comes to acknowledge the hidden miracles, which constitute the foundation of the whole Torah. For one does not have a part in the Torah of Moses our teacher until he believes that all our matters and our events are miraculous, as they are not due to nature or a natural order, whether regarding the public or the individual. Instead, if a person observes the commandments, His reward will bring him success, and if he violates them, His punishment will cause his extinction.

Ramban maintains that focusing on great miracles, such as the exodus from Egypt, calls our attention to the small miracles we experience every moment of every day.

          Prof. Nechama Leibowitz (see “Studies in Shemot,” pg. 227) summarized these two approaches as follows:

In other words, Sefer Ha-Chinukh regards tefillin as “guardians,” reminders making the wearer stop to think, a negative control on the play of his selfish instincts – a break. Ramban, on the other hand, sees them as a positive active force filling him with awareness of the workings of Providence at every step and turn of his life.

These two approaches, i.e., one which focuses upon the worship of God, and the other upon yetzi’at Mitzrayim, seem to emerge from the different parshiyot within which the mitzva of tefillin appears.

          Finally, we should note that identifying the reason for the mitzva of tefillin is particularly important. R. Yoel Sirkis, in his commentary to the Tur (Bach OC 8:7), notes that the mitzvot of tefillin, tzitzit, and sukka are unique in that the Torah states the mitzva’s purpose. In our case, the purpose is “in order (lema’an) that the teaching of the Lord may be in your mouth—that with a mighty hand the Lord freed you from Egypt” (Shemot 13:9). He suggests that this teaches that “the primary aspect of the mitzva and its fulfillment are dependent upon the intention one has while fulfilling the mitzva, unlike other mitzvot regarding which one fulfills the obligation even without a specific intention.”

The Significance of Wearing Tefillin

          The Rabbis praise those who fulfill the mitzva of tefillin. For example, the Talmud (Menachot 44a) relates that Reish Lakish said: “Anyone who dons phylacteries lives a long life.” Similarly, the Tur cites the Shimusha Rabba, which relates that Rava asserted: One who wears tefillin and tzitzit and reads Keri’at Shema and prays, is assured a portion in the world to come.”

          Regarding one who does not wear tefillin, the Talmud (Menachot 44a) teaches:

Rav Sheshet says: Anyone who does not don phylacteries violates eight positive mitzvot. This is referring to the mitzva to don phylacteries of the arm and head, each of which is mentioned in four different passages (Shemot 13:9, 13:16; Devarim 6:8, 11:18).

          The Talmud (Rosh Ha-shana 17a) further discusses the severity of not wearing tefillin.

The rebellious Jews who have sinned with their bodies (posh’ei Yisrael be-gufan), and also the rebellious people of the nations of the world who have sinned with their bodies, descend to Gehinom and are judged there for twelve months. After twelve months, their bodies are consumed, their souls are burned, and a wind scatters them under the soles of the feet of the righteous, as it is stated: “And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet” (Malakhi 3:21).

The Gemara explains that “posh’ei Yisrael be-gufan” refers to “the skull that did not don phylacteries.” Commentators have interpreted this passage in different ways, in light of the widespread custom, in some European communities, of not wearing tefillin. The Geonim (cited in Ittur, Tefillin 1:5) explain that the Gemara refers to those who have never worn tefillin. This appears to be the view of the Rif and Rambam as well. The Semag (Asin 3) and Rosh (1:5) explain that the Talmud refers to those who do wear tefillin but not every day. The Yere’im (399) explains that the Gemara refers to one who does not wear tefillin specifically due to contempt for the mitzva.

One or Two Mitzvot

          The Rishonim discuss whether wearing both phylacteries, i.e., the tefillin shel rosh and the tefillin shel yad, constitutes one or two mitzvot. The Rambam (Sefer Ha-Mitzvot, Positive Commandments 12-13), the Semag (21-22), and the Chinukh (421-422) count the tefillin shel yad and tefillin shel rosh as two separate mitzvot. The Yere’im (399) and Semak (153) list tefillin shel rosh and tefillin shel yad as only one mitzva.

          This debate may have practical ramifications. As we will discuss in a future shiur, the Rishonim disagree as to whether one should say one blessing or two upon donning the tefillin. Rashi (Menachot 36a, s.v. lo sach) rules that only one blessing is recited when putting on the tefillin, unless one interrupts in between the tefillin shel yad and the tefillin shel rosh. Rambam (Hilkhot Tefillin 4:4) rules this way as well. Tosafot (ibid. s.v. lo sach; see also Tosafot Berakhot 60b, s.v. asher), however, disagree and rule that one recites two blessings: le-haniach tefillin upon donning the tefillin shel yad, and al mitzvot tefillin when placing the tefillin shel rosh on one’s head.

          Some (see Rashba, Menachot 36a, s.v. sach) explain that Tosafot maintain that two blessings are recited because the tefillin shel yad and tefillin shel rosh are two separate mitzvot. Although one might therefore infer that the Rambam (and Rashi) must believe that the tefillin shel yad and tefillin shel rosh are two parts of one mitzva, as mentioned above, the Rambam counts these two parts as two separate mitzvot! To understand the Rambam’s view, we must explain how one blessing can be recited before the performance of two independent mitzvot.

          The Rambam relates to this question explicitly in his teshuvot (Pe’er Ha-Dor 8:1):

Even though they count as two mitzvot, and not performing one does not invalidate the other (einan me’akvot zu et zu), since these two mitzvot are “inyan echad” (one idea), he recites only one blessing on them, as both of them serve as a remembrance, as the verse says, “in order that the teaching of the Lord may be in your mouth.”

          Interestingly, elsewhere (Sefer Ha-Mitzvot, Positive Commandment 161), the Rambam explains why one should not think that the two elements of sefirat ha-omer, i.e., counting the days and counting the weeks, constitute two separate mitzvot.

Do not be misled to consider [the counting of days and weeks as] two commandments because of the statement of our Sages, "It is a mitzva to count the days, and it is a mitzva to count the weeks” … If [counting] the weeks would be a separate commandment, [the Sages] would have two blessings: "[Blessed are You God, King of the universe,] Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to count the days of the omer," and "to count the weeks of the omer." This is not the case; rather, the mitzva is to count the days and weeks of the omer as was commanded.

The Rambam clearly states that if counting the days and the weeks of the omer had constituted two separate mitzvot, the Rabbis would have instituted two separate blessings. Apparently, the two counts reflect two distinct themes, which, had they been counted as separated mitzvot, would warrant two different blessings – while the tefillin shel yad and tefillin shel rosh, despite being counted as separate mitzvot, reflect one singular theme. This fascinating distinction deserves further research.

The Obligation to Wear Tefillin

How often, and for how long, is one obligated to don tefillin? Theoretically, one might suggest that there is no specific time during which one must fulfill the mitzva of tefillin. Alternatively, the mitzva of tefillin may be constant, i.e., one must wear one’s tefillin all day, except when engaged in activities which preclude one from wearing tefillin. Then again, there may simply be an obligation to don tefillin once each day.

The Talmud does imply that the Amora’im wore tefillin all day long. For example, the Gemara (Menachot 36a) teaches:

And until when does one wear them? Until the sun sets. Rabbi Yaakov says: Until traffic in the marketplace ceases. And the Rabbis say: Until the time of sleep. And the Rabbis concede to Rabbi Yaakov that if one removed them to go out to the bathroom or to enter the bathhouse, and the sun set, one does not don them again.

The Gemara appears to assume that one wears tefillin the entire day.

          Similarly, Tosafot (Sukka 45b, s.v. echad) explain that, in contrast to the lulav, on which one recites the blessing only once a day, one who takes off one’s tefillin and then puts them on again repeats the blessing – because “their mitzva is for the entire day, that they should be placed on his head and on his arm.” This appears to be the view of the Rambam (Hilkhot Tefillin 4:25):

A man should therefore endeavor to wear phylacteries the whole day, this being the right way of fulfilling the precept. It is said of Rav, the disciple of our Sainted Teacher [Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi], that throughout his life no one saw him without Torah, tzitzit, or phylacteries.

Similarly, the Shulchan Arukh (OH 37:2) writes:

It is a mitzva to have them [tefillin] on all day, but because they [tefillin] need a clean body [meaning that] he does not pass gas, and [further require] that one not distract his mind from them, and not every person is able to be careful with them, the practice is not to wear them all day. Nevertheless, every man needs to be careful with them that they should be on him while reciting Shema and Tefilla.

The Shulchan Arukh acknowledges the difficulty in wearing tefillin for the entire day, as one must be extremely careful regarding one’s physical and mental state while wearing them; however, he still indicates, alongside the Tosafot and Rambam, that the mitzva should ideally be performed for the entire day. The Vilna Gaon (cited in Keter Rosh, 15) expressed regret that in our generation the mitzva of wearing tefillin for the entire day is not fulfilled.

          The Tosefta (Berakhot 6:17), however, implies that the primary mitzva is to don tefillin once a day.

When does he put them (i.e., tefillin) on? In the morning. [If] he did not put them on in the morning, he [can] put them on the whole day.

This source assumes that a person wears tefillin once, during the day; it questions only at what precise time the mitzva should be performed. (See Peri Megadim, Eshel Avraham, 37:2.) Apparently, even those sources that speak of wearing tefillin all day refer to an addition, a higher spiritual level, rather than to a halakhic requirement.

          Next week we will continue our discussion of tefillin.