Tefillin
A mystery first spoken under the
blazing sun of ancient Egypt, 
An enigma among human rituals:
Black leather boxes containing parchment scrolls inscribed in meticulous
accordance to the criterion of an ageless scribal art. Not to be read, but to
be worn.
From Sinai to Jerusalem, Babylon to
Masada, Auschwitz to Manhattan, through fire, sword, forced labor and affluence
-- we carried it to this day, guarding the chain of transmission with our very
lives.
Yet its mystery remains un-raveled.
The mystery we call tefillin.
Hi-Tech Connectivity
This was back in the early sixties,
when the first mainframe computers were being introduced into business.
Professor Abraham Polichenco, a pioneer of computer technology, visited the
Lubavitcher Rebbe and posed to him a question:
"I know that everything that
exists in the world, even something that we discover later in history, has its
source somewhere in the Torah. So, where are computers in the Torah?"
Without hesitation, the Rebbe
answered, "Tefillin." The professor was perplexed.
"What's new about a
computer?" the Rebbe continued.
"You walk into a room and you
see many familiar machines: a typewriter, a large tape recorder, a television
set, a hole puncher, a calculator. What is new?"
"But under the floor, cables
connect all these machines so they work as one."
The professor nodded
enthusiastically. He hadn't realized it before, but yes, this is all that a
computer is: a synthesis of media and processing devices.
"Now look at your own self.
You have a brain. It is in one world. Your heart is in another. And your hands
often end up involved in something completely foreign to both of them. Three
diverse machines.
"So you put on tefillin. First
thing in the day, you connect your head, your heart and your hand with these
leather cables -- all to work as one with one intent. And then when you go out
to meet the world, all your actions find harmony in a single coordinated
purpose."
What's in the Tefillin?
There are many laws and
requirements regarding the making of tefillin, and it takes many years of
training to qualify the scribes and craftsmen who make them. What follows is a
basic description.
A
set includes two tefillin -- one for the head and one for the arm. Each consists
of three main components: the scrolls, the box, and the strap.
The scrolls are strips of parchment
upon which are inscribed four passages from the Torah: Kadesh (Exodus
13:1-10), VeHayah Ki Yeviacha (Exodus 13:11-16), the Shema
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and VeHayah Im Shamoa (Deuteronomy 11:13-21). In the
arm tefillin, the four passages are written on a single scroll; in the head
tefillin, they're on four separate scrolls.
The scrolls are inserted into boxes
made of leather that has been painstakingly pressed into the tefillin's
perfectly smooth planes and precise geometrical shape, and painted black. The
upper part of the tefillin box is a perfect cube; the lower part is a flatter
box that is wider than the upper part. On one side, the lower part extends further
than the other sides and has a slit through which the tefillin strap is
threaded. The head tefillin has four compartments, for the four scrolls, and
has a raised Hebrew letter shin on each side
The straps are made of leather
painted black on one side. They are threaded through the lower part of the
boxes and knotted. The head strap's knot is in the shape of the Hebrew letter daled;
the hand tefillin is knotted in the shape of the Hebrew letter yud.
(Together, shin, daled, yud spell Sha-da-i -- one
of the names of G-d.)
The Kabbalah of Tefillin
Kabbalah is an esoteric wisdom that
explains the secrets of the cosmos and the things Jewish people do. Like
tefillin.
According to Kabbalah, the world is
projected into being by an infinite light focused through ten harmonious sefirot.
But at the time of creation, only seven of the sefirot descended within
seven days and generated our world. The first three, those of Mind, stayed up
there, sort of out of the picture.
That's why, to this day, people's
bodies are generally not in sync with their minds. Neither are their hearts, or
their actions. Actually, nothing's much in synch with anything. It all goes
back to that first Big Bang of light.
Tefillin is all about healing that
rift. You do your part, connecting your mind and heart with these leather
straps and black boxes with scrolls inside -- and the effect reverberates
throughout the cosmos. Heaven connects to earth, spiritual to physical, Creator
to creation. Everything starts getting into harmony with its essence and inner
purpose.
Tefillin Reborn
In June of 1967, the Jewish nation
was once again in dire danger. The neighboring Arab states, led by Egypt and
with Soviet support, were tightening the noose, threatening to utterly
annihilate the fledgling state of Israel. Pundits predicted they would have an
easy victory. The Israeli government feared another holocaust on the horizon.
One Jewish leader stood up with
confidence and strength. Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
spoke publicly and ensured his message would be transmitted to Israel: G-d
would make great miracles for His people and protect them. In the merit of
tefillin, the enemy would turn in fear and flee.
Tefillin observance at the time was at an
all-time low. Rituals had fallen out of fashion with the climate of conformity
that pervaded the Cold War era. But now began an urgent campaign for Jews
everywhere to wrap tefillin. Business men rolled up their sleeves on the
street, students on campus, and of course, soldiers in the Israeli army.
The rest is history: The enemy
quickly scattered in retreat and surrendered to a ceasefire after only six days
of battle. Jewish pride took off like a rocket and a renaissance of Torah
Judaism ensued in Israel, in the West and even in Russia.
Today, Jews of all walks of life
can be found wrapping tefillin every morning -- some for an entire hour of
prayers, some for only the five minutes it takes to put them on, say the Shma
and take them off again. After all, that five minutes may be just what it takes
to make a whole new world.
So How Do I Do This?
How to Tefillin, in seven easy
steps:
1) You have two black leather boxes
with straps in your tefillin bag. One is for the arm, the other for the head.
Get out the arm one (that's the one that's one smooth box, rather than four
compartments). The arm tefillin goes on the weaker arm -- right-handed people
do the left arm, lefties do the right arm.
2) Roll up your sleeve so that the
tefillin is in direct contact with your arm. Put your arm through the loop
formed by the knotted strap. Place the black box up on your biceps, right
across from your heart, with the strap part closest to your shoulder.
3) Recite the blessing. If you can
read and understand the original Hebrew, say it in Hebrew. Otherwise, you can
say it in any language you understand.
Here's the Hebrew text:
Here's how it sounds:
Baruch Atta Ado-nay, Elo-hainu
Melech Ha'olam, Ashair Kidishanu, B'mitzvotav, V'tzivanu L'haniach Tefillin.
Here's what it means:
Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King
of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us
to put on Tefillin.
Focus on what you're doing. From
the time you make the blessing until both tefillin are in place, do not talk.
Don't even wink. Just concentrate on hooking up your mind, heart and deeds and
binding them to G-d.
4) Tighten the strap around your
arm, mindful that the knot stays in direct contact with the box. Continue to
wrap: two more times over the strap-socket of the black box and around the
biceps, then seven times around your arm and once around your palm. Leave the
remainder of the strap loose.
5) Next, get out the head tefillin. The box
goes on your head, just above your forehead. Center it in the middle of your
head directly above the point that's right between your eyes. The daled-shaped
knot should rest on the base of your skull.
6) Now back to your hand. Wrap the
remainder of the strap three times around your middle finger, like this: once
around the base, then once just above the first joint, then one more time
around the base. You've got some strap left over, so wrap it around your palm
and tuck in the tail end.
7) Recite the Shma Yisrael.
Hebrew text:
This what it means (say this if you
don't read Hebrew):
Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our
G-d, the L-rd is One.
Blessed be the name of the glory of
His kingdom forever and ever.
You shall love the L-rd your G-d
with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. And these
words which I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them
thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your
house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise up.
You shall bind them as a sign upon your arm, and they shall be for a reminder
between you eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and
upon your gates.
More info
Who does this?
Every Jewish male, from the age of
Bar Mitzvah (13) and up.
When am I supposed to do it?
Every day except Shabbat and Yom
Tov. (Preferably in the morning; but you can do it all day, until nightfall.)
Where do I get tefillin?
Your local Chabad rabbi will be glad to help you
get the real thing at a reasonable cost.
