12 – Tefillin of the head
Mitzvah 12 The Tefillin of the head
And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as totafot between your eyes: Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6.8
וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל יָדֶךָ וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ
Ltotafot
the totafot in Shemot (Exodus) 13.16, Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6.8 and 11.18
And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as totafot between your eyes. Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6.6
Therefore shall you place these my words in your heart and in your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as totafot between your eyes. 11:19 And you shall teach them to your children, talking of them, when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. Devarim (Deuteronomy) 11.18
And Rabbi Levi bar Ĥama said that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: G-d Said to Moses, Ascend to me on the mountain and be there, and I will give you the stone tablets and the Torah and the mitzvah that I have Written that you may teach them Shemot (Exodus) 24:12, meaning that G-d Revealed to Moses not only the Written Torah, but all of Torah, as it would be transmitted through the generations. The tablets are the Ten Commandments that were written on the tablets of the Covenant, the Torah is the five books of Moses. The mitzvah is the Mishna, which includes explanations for the mitzvot and how they are to be performed. That I have written refers to the Prophets and Writings, written with Divine Inspiration. That you may teach them refers to the Talmud, which explains the Mishna.
These explanations are the foundation for the rulings of practical halakha. This verse teaches that all aspects of Torah were given to Moses from Sinai. Talmud Berakhot 5a Koren Talmud Bavli THE NOÉ EDITION page 25
The Talmud Berachot 5a says, The Holy One, Blessed be He, Gave Israel three precious gifts and all of them are only given through suffering. These are: The Torah, the Land of Israel and the World to Come. How do we know this is stated in the Torah? Because it is said: Happy is the man whom you discipline and whom You Teach the Torah. What of the Land of Israel? Because it is written that as a man disciplines his son, so HaShem Disciplines him. What of the World to Come? Because it is written: For a Commandment is a candle and the Torah’s Teaching is Light, and rebukes are the way of life.
Shemot 13.1-10, 11-16
Devarim 6. 4-9, 11.13-21
May we try each day to learn about G-d, to follow His Ways and His Truth
Blessings and Peace
Rebbetzin Revi
