Sfas Emes - 13:16
“והיה לאות על ידכה ולטוטפות בין עיניך, כי בחוזק יד הוציאנו ד' ממצרים” – “And it shall be a sign upon your arm, and an ornament between your eyes, for with a strong hand Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim.” Just as there are Halachos regarding the Tefillin that it needs to be written on Klaf, parchment, and written with דיו, black ink, and all the other Halachos regarding the Tefillin, so too there are Halachos regarding the wearer of the Tefillin, that he needs to have a clean body, for that is a part of the Mitzvah. For through the person, it completed the Kedusha of the Tefillin, and through the Kedusha of the Tefillin, it completes the Kedusha of the Guf. This makes the persons Guf truly Kodosh, as the Gemara in Rosh Hashana 17a says that “פושעי ישראל בגופן” – refer to those who do not wear Tefillin – for not wearing Tefillin has a negative effect on the body. Conversely, wearing Tefillin has a profound effect on the body, to make it truly Kodosh. A Yid wearing Tefillin is the Tzurah, the image, of what a Yid is. When one dons Tefillin, it makes him into a different person, he is a Yid, a holy person. Only one who has a clean body, is Mekayeim the Mitzvah of Tefillin as prescribed, and only then can he be elevated in Kedusha through it. There is a Machlokes Rishonim as to the Din of העוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה – one who is busy with a Mitzvah, is exempt from performing other Mitzvos. Most Rishonim say that this is only when it is not possible to do both Mitzvos at the same time, then, if one is in the middle of performing a Mitzvah, he is exempt from other Mitzvos. However, there are Rishonim who say that even if it is possible to do both Mitzvos at the same time, if one is doing one Mitzvah, he is exempt from the other one. According to these Rishonim, it would seem that one would be exempt from all Mitzvos all day, for a Yid is technically supposed to wear Tefillin all day. Thus, if one is wearing Tefillin all day, he would be exempt from all other Mitzvos the entire day. According to what we are saying we can explain that for a Yid to be complete – the Tzurah of a Yid, is one wearing Tefillin. So while it may be a Mitzvah to wear Tefillin, Hakodosh Boruch Hu commanded the “complete” Yid to perform Mitzvos – thus, he certainly needs to perform other Mitzvos while wearing Tefillin – for it was the Tefillin that first made him into a complete Yid. Then, when he is performing one Mitzvah, he is exempt from other Mitzvos.
Now we can understand the connection between our placing Tefillin on our arm and forehead, and Hakodosh Boruch Hu taking us out of Mitzrayim with a strong hand. Klal Yisroel were servants to Mitzrayim, and Hakodosh Boruch Hu took us out to be servants to Him. When we left Mitzrayim, it wasn’t that we were to be free for ourselves, but we were supposed to do things for Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Rather, our very beings were to metamorphosize to be complete servants of Hakodosh Boruch Hu – at all times. When one is wearing Tefillin, he is supposed to remember Yetzias Mitzrayim, and that we are now servants of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Our leaving Mitzrayim, when Hakodosh Boruch Hu took us out with a strong hand, was a turning point in the lives of Klal Yisroel. We are now, and forever, servants of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. The Tzurah of a Yid – the form of a Yid, is a Yid wearing Tefillin. There are no breaks, and no vacations, and no Bein Hazmanim – it is full time service of Hashem. (This doesn’t mean that we can’t take a break, vacation, or Bain Hazmanim – but it must be done while under the guise of being an Eved Hashem). Chazal tell us when we wear Tefillin, we are not to have a היסח הדעת from them – we are to be cognizant at all times that we are wearing them – similarly we are to be cognizant at all times that we are servants of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. May we don our Tefillin with purity and holiness, and be Zoche to be true servants of Hashem.
