In Parshat Bo, the Torah states, “והיה לאות על־ידכה ולטוטפת בין עיניך - And they shall be a sign upon your arm and frontlets between your eyes.”
Here there is a reference to the “תפילין של יד” the Tefillin which we wear on the arm and the “תפילין של ראש” and the Tefillin which we wear on our heads. But notice, with regard to the Tefillin of the arm, that what the Torah says is in the singular: והיה לאות – it shall be a sign, whereas with regard to the Tefillin of the head, it is טוטפת, in the plural. An explanation of this can be derived from the Aramaic translation of Onkelos, who translates טוטפת as Tefillin, in the plural as well.
So from here we learn that while we only have on the ‘של יד’ (the Tefillin of the arm) which we start with, that is only in the singular – it’s not the whole thing. It’s only once we have the ‘של ראש’ on (the Tefillin of the head) together with the ‘של יד’ of the arm that it is Tefillin – we have the entire set.
‘של יד’ and ‘של ראש’ are actually separate mitzvot. However the impact of them comes when both are there together.
There are two very powerful messages here for us. First of all, the ‘של יד’ (Tefillin of the arm) represents action, because the arm is the busiest, most active part of the body, whereas the Tefillin ‘של ראש’ (of the head) represents thought and intention. The message is that it’s not good enough just to think, to have intentions. We need to implement our intentions so that they can be realized through our actions.
Secondly, the Tefillin של יד faces the heart which is the seat of emotion whereas the Tefillin של ראש is upon our heads which is the seat of logic. The message here is that we shouldn’t only be cerebral beings; we need to also be feeling beings. We need to connect emotionally with others with love and affection, and also we need to recognize that we can’t allow our emotions to run away with themselves. We need to apply logic and reason and sometimes our minds need to put the brakes on our hearts.
So on a daily basis, therefore, Tefillin are so relevant for us. They remind us to always translate our good intentions into meaningful action, and also to guarantee that we have the highest quality of mind power and also emotional capacity in everything that we do. So let’s join together to pray with all our hearts for the healing of all those injured, for the safe return of those taken as hostages, as well as Divine Protection for our brave IDF soldiers, Police officers, medical professionals, Firefighters, ZAKA members, security personnel and all those citizens protecting us in Israel as well as around the world, and for those who need healing, shidduchim, children or parnassah and may we be blessed to have the most awesome, gorgeous, beautiful, peaceful, healthy, amazing, relaxed, spiritual, safe, quiet and sweet Shabbat.
NUMBER OF MITZVOT: 20
MITZVOT ASEH: 9
MITZVOT LO TAASEH: 11
NUMBER OF PESUKIM: 105
NUMBER OF WORDS: 1655
NUMBER OF LETTERS: 6149
HAFTORA: Yirmiyahu 46:13-28
