Treasures of Emunah
The Warsaw Baker’s Son and the Imrei Emes
Learned from Rabbi Elimelech Biderman
In Warsaw there was a baker who began baking at 3:00 a.m. every morning, so people could buy fresh bread for breakfast. By the time he finished working, it was late in the morning, and that’s when he would put on tefillin and daven Shacharis.
His son was becoming bar-mitzvah, and he asked his father, "When will you put tefillin on me?"
The father said, "Wait for me at 7:10 in the beis medresh. I'll meet you there and I’ll teach you how to put on tefillin."
7:10 passed, and also 7:30, and the father didn’t show up. The Imrei Emes zt'l, found the boy crying. "What's the matter?"
"Today is the first day I’m wearing tefillin and my father isn't here to help me."
"I will help you put them on," the Rebbe said. The Rebbe brought him to his room and explained the concept of tefillin: "In the tefillin, Hashem's holy name is written several times. When one puts on tefillin, he draws all that holiness onto oneself."
Pointing to the light fixture hanging from the ceiling, the Rebbe said, "How does the bulb give light? There are wires connecting the bulb to the electricity. The straps on the tefillin, serve a similar purpose. They bring the holiness of the tefillin inside the person."
The holy sefarim teach that the tefillin worn on the arm and head accomplish two different matters. The tefillin worn on the arm, near the heart, is for overcoming temptations. The tefillin worn on the head indicates accepting the yoke of Heaven.
Reprinted from the November 14, 2024 email of Torah Times Media.
