Two of the four sections included in Tefillin make up the last two paragraphs of Parshat Bo. Each of the paragraphs discusses the consecration of the first born, the exodus from Egypt, and the mitzvah of Tefillin. What thematically relates these three items, consecration of the first born, the exodus, and the performance of putting on Tefillin?

שמות יג

(ט) וְהָיָה֩ לְךָ֨ לְא֜וֹת עַל־יָדְךָ֗ וּלְזִכָּרוֹן֙ בֵּ֣ין עֵינֶ֔יךָ לְמַ֗עַן תִּהְיֶ֛ה תּוֹרַ֥ת יְהֹוָ֖ה בְּפִ֑יךָ כִּ֚י בְּיָ֣ד חֲזָקָ֔ה הוֹצִֽאֲךָ֥ יְהֹוָ֖ה מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ (טז) וְהָיָ֤ה לְאוֹת֙ עַל־יָ֣דְכָ֔ה וּלְטוֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֣ין עֵינֶ֑יךָ כִּ֚י בְּחֹ֣זֶק יָ֔ד הוֹצִיאָ֥נוּ יְהֹוָ֖ה מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃

Shemot 13

(9) And it shall be to you as a sign upon your hand and as a remembrance between your eyes, in order that the law of the Lord shall be in your mouth, for with a mighty hand the Lord took you out of Egypt. (16) And it shall be for a sign upon your hand and for ornaments between your eyes, for with a mighty hand did the Lord take us out of Egypt.

The firstborn are consecrated to God. We recognize that everything in the world is only given to us by virtue of Divine allocation. We express this recognition in designating our firstborn children, the firstborn of our flock, and our first fruit to God (we symbolically redeem some of these items).

There is a special relationship between God and the Jewish people. We are not merely another nation, whose political identity naturally waxes and wanes with the passage of time. Had history taken its natural course, we would have been assimilated and lost in the land of Egypt. God took us out of Egypt and set us on a different course.

We recognize our unique status and responsibility through the consecrating our bodies, our minds, and our actions. We place Tefillin on our arms and between our eyes as a sign of this dedication. Tefillin functions as a reminder of these ideas, which can so easily get lost as we are drawn into our day to day affairs.

תלמוד בבלי – ברכות ל:

אַבַּיֵי הֲוָה יָתֵיב קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבָּה, חַזְיֵיהּ דַּהֲוָה קָא בָּדַח טוּבָא, אֲמַר: "וְגִילוּ בִּרְעָדָה" כְּתִיב! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אֲנָא, תְּפִילִּין מַנַּחְנָא. רִבִּי יִרְמְיָה הֲוָה יָתֵיב קַמֵּיהּ דְּרִבִּי זֵירָא, חַזְיֵיהּ דַּהֲוָה קָא בָּדַח טוּבָא, אֲמַר לֵיהּ: {משלי י"ד:כ"ג} "בְּכָל עֶצֶב יִהְיֶה מוֹתָר" כְּתִיב, אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אֲנָא, תְּפִילִּין מַנַּחְנָא.

Talmud Bavli - Brachot 30b

On that note, the Gemara relates: Abaye was sitting before his teacher Rabba, and Rabba saw that he was excessively joyful. He said to Abaye: It is written: Rejoice with trembling, one’s joy should not be unrestrained. Abaye said to him: It is permissible for me because I am donning phylacteries now and as long as they are upon me they ensure that the fear of God is upon me. Similarly, the Gemara relates that Rabbi Yirmeya was sitting before Rabbi Zeira. He saw that Rabbi Yirmeya was excessively joyful. He said to him: It is written: “In all sorrow there is profit” (Proverbs 14:23); sorrow is appropriate, not excessive joy. Rabbi Yirmeya said to him: It is permissible for me because I am donning phylacteries.

An interesting Gemara in Brachot discusses the balance between joy and awe. We are encouraged to enjoy the world, but not to the extent that we lose sight of the Ultimate Reality of God. When Rabba expresses concern that Abayei is exhibiting excessive joy, Abayei assures him that he is wearing Tefillin, and therefore his energy and excitement are oriented properly. This is consistent with the Rambam’s description of the holiness associate with Tefillin.

רמב"ם תפילין ומזוזה וספר תורה ד

(כה) קדושת תפילין קדושה גדולה היא, שכל זמן שתפילין על ראשו של אדם ועל זרועו, הוא עניו וירא, ואינו נמשך בשחוק ובשיחה בטילה, ואינו מהרהר במחשבות רעות, אלא מפנה ליבו לדברי האמת והצדק. לפיכך צריך אדם להשתדל להיותן עליו כל היום, שמצותן כך היא. אמרו עליו על רב תלמיד רבינו הקדוש, שכל ימיו לא ראוהו שהלך ארבע אמות בלא תורה, או בלא ציצית, או בלא תפילין:

Rambam - Mishna Torah - Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah, and 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. Accordingly, a person should try to wear [tefillin] throughout the entire day, for this is the mitzvah associated with them. Among the praises conveyed upon Rav, the student of Rabbenu Hakadosh, was that he was never seen walking four cubits without [reciting words of] Torah, without tzitzit, and without tefillin.

The experience of wearing Tefillin is designed to impact our mindset and our actions. Wearing Tefillin is corollary performance to accepting the yoke of Heaven, accompanying the reading of the Shema in the morning, directing our energies toward Divine ideals. Tefillin is more than an adornment. It is a transformative, a crowning glory of the human being who is aware of themselves and their place in the world orchestrated by the Almighty.

References

Maimonides, M., Touger, E., Kaplan, B., Abramson, Z., & Silverstein, S. (2007). Mishneh Torah. New York: Moznaim Pub. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682956/jewish/Mishneh-Torah.htm

Rosenberg, A. (1980). A new English translation of the Hebrew Bible text and Rashi, with a commentary digest. New York: Judaica Press. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/

Steinsaltz, A., In Weinreb, T. H., In Schreier, J., & Hotsaat Koren (Jerusalem),. (2017). Koren Talmud Bavli, the Noe edition: Talmud Bavli. Retrieved from: https://shas.alhatorah.org/

ALSO ON PARSHAT BO:

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