Further on, the Kol Aryeh addresses Chazal’s statement (Berachos 14b): כל הקורא קריאת שמע בלא תפילין כאילו מעיד עדות שקר בעצמו—anyone who recites Krias Shema without tefillin, it is as if he has borne false testimony against himself. What is the relationship between the mitzvah of Krias Shema and the mitzvah of tefillin? We can suggest an answer based on the commentaries’ interpretation of the declaration of unity: שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד in keeping with the intriguing insight from Rabbi Ephraim of Brad that le’asid la’vo, everyone will recognize and understand how everything HKB”H did for us was benevolent and good.
We express this wonderful reality in the passuk declaring Hashem’s unity. For, we believe wholeheartedly that both midas harachamim associated with the name Havaya and midas hadin associated with the name Elokim are both actually manifestations of total rachamim without any component of din. Presently, however, this is not apparent to us. This is the meaning of the passuk: שמע ישראל—believe, O Yisrael, that ה' אלקינו—whether it is the supervision of rachamim from the name Havaya or the supervision of din from the name Elokim, in reality הוי"ה אחד—they are one and the same; they are both manifestations of complete rachamim emanating from the name Havaya. Unfortunately, currently, in galus, we are blinded and unable to perceive and appreciate how everything is total rachamim.
Based on this, the Kol Aryeh presents a wonderful rationale for the minhag prescribed by the Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 61, 5) to place one’s hand over the eyes when saying “Shema Yisrael.” Since this passuk is a declaration that we believe that even what appears outwardly to be absolute din, in truth, it is total rachamim. Hence, we cover our eyes when reciting this passuk to demonstrate that we will not be led astray by external perceptions and appearances. Even if something appears to be negative and bad, we will dismiss this superficial perception and believe wholeheartedly that ה' אלקינו ה' אחד—that everything is really complete rachamim associated with the blessed name Havaya without any trace of din.
This explains very nicely the marvelous relationship between the mitzvah of Krias Shema and the mitzvah of tefillin. We have already explained that the knot of the tefillin represents our sincere belief that ultimately, at the end of days, the two perceptions represented by the right and left straps will be united. We will then become aware that what appears to us to be din is actually complete rachamim. We express this belief with the utterance of Krias Shema: שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד—that there is actually no difference between the name Havaya and the name Elokim; they are both total rachamim. Therefore, Chazal’s statement makes perfect sense: “Anyone who recites Krias Shema without tefillin, it is as if he has borne false testimony against himself.”
Thus, we learn from the Kol Aryeh that the reason we cover our eyes when reciting Krias Shema is to emphasize the importance of not being led astray by what our eyes perceive to be midas hadin. Instead, we must believe wholeheartedly that ה' אלקינו ה' אחד—that even midas hadin associated with the name Elokim is midas harachamim emanating from the name Havaya.
