A Basic Understanding You shall love Hashem, 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 upon 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. You shall bind them as an os — a sign — upon your hand, and they shall be for totefos — a reminder — between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 6:8) Although there are many dimensions to the words of the Torah, they are meant to be taken literally as well; thus — just as it commands — we take inscriptions of chapters of Torah and then place them, one on the head as a reminder between the eyes, and the other as a sign on the arm situated against the heart. These are the powerful spiritual tools we call tefillin. Tefillin consist of two cube-shaped leather boxes with straps hanging down, which attach the boxes — one, tefillin shel rosh (tefillin of the head), snugly to the head and the other, tefillin shel yad (tefillin of the hand) wrapped around the arm. Each of these boxes contains the four paragraphs of the Torah that mention the idea of wrapping the tefillin: Deuteronomy 6: 49 and 11:13-21 and Exodus 13:1-10 and 13:11-16. These are carefully handwritten on small parchments by a professional sofer (scribe) and inserted in the boxes. Here, however, there is a basic difference between the two boxes: When the Torah describes the hand tefillin, it uses a singular term, os; but for the head tefillin, it uses a plural, totefos. Thus, each of the four Torah paragraphs in the head Tefilin is written on its own scroll and inserted in one of four small compartments. These four compartments are carefully pressed together to maintain the cube-like shape of the tefillin. By contrast, in the hand tefillin all four chapters are inscribed on a single scroll and placed in one compartment. We place the hand tefilin upon the left arm so that it rests near the heart, and the head tefillin is placed above the forehead, between the eyes so it rests against the skull, near the brain. Thus mind, heart, and actions are all aligned and unifed toward Heaven. A Deeper Look You shall love G-D, 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 upon your heart… You shall bind them as an os (a sign) upon your hand, and they shall be for totefos (a reminder) between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 6:8) These signs worn on the hand and head are called tefillin. One important derivation of the term "tefillin" is the Hebrew word pelili, meaning an "indication," for the tefillin are worn as a sign that the divine presence rests upon us when we wear them. The word tefillin is often translated as "phylacterie." This is misleading, however, for it suggests some form of amulet. In truth, the tefillin serve to remind, connect, bind and dedicate our mind, heart and deeds to G-d. Tefillin is related to the Hebrew root, tofel (to connect and attach): Through tefillin, we connect and bind with the Infinite. You may notice that the word tefillin resembles the word tefilah (prayer), for the two share this root, which defines their common purpose in connecting us with the Beyond. In fact, although tefillin may be donned the entire day, it has been the custom for many hundreds of years to wear tefillin primarily during the time of morning prayer. A Love Supreme Of all ways in which Torah describes our relationship with the Creator, the image of bride and groom — deeply in love — is one of the most exalted. G-d is absolute Oneness — the ultimate in perfection in a state of being. And yet, a desire arouses on high for a relationship: a desire to create "another," something "outside" the oneness to appreciate it; the creation of a world of multiplicity, of finite perceptions, of time and space, of bodies and things, of objects and subjects. All for the sake of love. This love is the foundation of creation: A love, a desire to "give," to offer to another who could receive the love G-d, the source of the ein sof (the endless light) is seamlessly one: He does not lack, has no imperfection and is absolutely perfect; and yet a desire to give and create emerged in the process of bringing creation into being, He performed the greatest act of love: a great contraction and concealment of His infinite light. For without contracting and concealing the light within Himself, finite "vessels" — the "stuff" of creation — could never have come to be. In the context of pure infinity, the very existence of a finitude would be superfluous, overwhelmed in the presence of the infinite. Indeed, the greatest act of love is to "stand back," allowing an "other" to have space. G-d did and does exactly this, contracting His infinite light to allow for the creation and being — a finite world. In time, when we as created beings recognize the light and the oneness within all of creation, it is achieved through our own initiative. This new reality is, in a manner of speaking, our own creation. And so, it is not "shameful bread," merely offered as a gift from above, but a "bread" that we have earned through our own work. G-d's love is unconditional and unbridled. In the infinite way of being, there is no time, and nothing grows old, including His love, but we need constantly to be reminded of this love. In our world of time and space, if we do not work on relationships, constantly renewing them in the present, they become stale, boring and something of the past. Slowly, relationships that begin in great passion fade away if not rekindled. And so we put on tefillin, taking the words, "You shall love your G-d…" to "bind them as a sign on your hand." In this way we take our love each day anew, and bind ourselves to our Beloved, so that even from our time-bound perspective our relationship is renewed and reinvigorated — a living truth in the moment. And we tie this sign on our "weaker hand" — righties on their left arm and lefties on their right, expressing a commitment that permeates our entire being and our action — even those parts of self that seem lacking in spiritual strength and resolve. When we tie the hand tefillin, we wrap the strap around the arm seven times, a reminder of the seven times the bride encircles her groom, and the seven blessings that are offered the bride and groom as they stand under the chupah, the marriage canopy. Finally, the hand tefillin strap is wrapped three times around the middle finger, resembling a ring in a tripled bond of permanence. Having bound ourselves in love and commitment, we gently place a crown upon our heads — the head tefillin. Situated on top of the skull, "above mind," the head tefillin represents a "space" beyond mind, before creation — the deepest cosmic desire, the underlying purpose of all creation. This is the divine desire to create a "world" and that in this apparently separate world G-dliness should become revealed. The Name of Sha-D-Y is Called upon You And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of G-d is called upon you.' (Talmud, Berachos 6a) This refers to the tefillin of the head. The name of G-d is upon us as we wear the tefillin. One of the names of G-d is Sha-D-Y, comprised of the three Hebrew letters: shin, dalet and yud. The name means "enough": Says the Midrash, as it was being created, the world was expanding into perfection until G-d said, "Enough, stop!" The goal was not created perfection, to create a perfection as before creation; rather, that we as "imperfect" vessels should create perfection, a perfection in a state of becoming. This is all part of the love, for in creating us "imperfect," G-d allows finite beings — us — to mimic the ultimate Source of perfection, and create perfection in our own modest way. When we do so, we appreciate what we earn; and the reward, the spiritual enjoyment and the pleasure we receive, is that of a "creator," not merely a "receiver." Expressions of our love, the tefillin we wrap, spell out this sacred name, shin, dalet and yud: Shin on the bayis (box) of the Head tefillin, dalet the knot of the head tefillin, and yud the knot of the Hand tefillin. The Kabbalah of Tefillin Two Levels of Makif: Each of the tefillin is comprised of a bayis (pl. batim) (a box); a parchment within the box, and the inscription of four chapters from the Torah upon the parchment . The head tefillin are comprised of four separate compartments containing four separate scrolls, each with one chapter; whereas the hand tefillin is a single compartment with all four chapters on one scroll. From the boxes hang straps, which encircle the head and tie on the arm. The physical tefillin describe a deeper spiritual reality. The box encircles the parchment, surrounding it; the parchment, in turn, surrounds the black ink of the holy letters. Thus there are three levels — two makifim (surrounding forces): the bayis (literally, house) is a makif ha'rachok — a distant surrounding, as a home surrounds the person dwelling within; the parchment encompassing the letters is also a makif, albeit a makif ha'karov — intimate sourundings in close proximity to the letters, as "clothes" that garb the wearer. The actual writing is Torah: divine intellect. It is an internal truth, a penimi — an inward reality. The Ten Sefiros: The ten sefiros, the emanations through which divine energy flows into the world, emerge in order: the three levels of intellect and the seven emotional attributes. Chochmah (wisdom or intuition), binah (understanding or cognition), and da'as (knowledge or awareness) are collectively called mochin (mind) or seichel (intellect). These generate the seven emotions: chesed (kindness), gevurah (restraint), tiferes (harmony), netzach (ambition), hod (devotion), yesod (connection), and malchus (receptiveness). Beyond the intellect is kesser — the "crown" — deep desire. The order of the ten sefiros is replicated through the chain of creation: Malchus of a higher reality becomes the kesser — crown of the lower one. Kesser links above with below; so too, within kesser itself is a level which is drawn downward, called arich anpin (the "long face) and a higher part of kesser connected upward, the final level of the higher world, called atik, indicating something that is detached or removed. Head tefillin: The bayis of the head tefillin is the most distant makif — the highest, deepest desire: It a crown above and surrounding the head. In cosmic terms, it represents the desire and purpose of creation, and from it a flow comes downward into the parchment and then into the written word, the divine intelligence of Torah. The head bayis contains chapters of Torah which represent intellect — chochmah, binah and da'as — teaching, instructing and guiding us in how to live our personal lives and pursue our collective purpose. On each side of the head tefillin is the letter shin, one with three strands and one with four strands. The shin also alludes to the idea of seichel — intelligence, with the three strands representing chochmah, binah and da'as: First, a thought comes to mind — chochmah; then with the faculty of binah we comprehend and decipher the thought; and finally we use our da'as to take the understanding we now have and implement it. Da'as affords us the ability to distinguish and make choices; it ensures that what we understand intellectually does not remain in the mind alone, but effects our emotions and informs our behavior. And since choices emerge in da'as, da'as itself can be subdivided into a right-side quality (chesed) and a left column (gevurah). Thus the three levels within mochin are actually four levels, and so we have the second four-pronged form of the shin, and the four divisions within the bayis. In cosmic terms, kesser is the ultimate desire and purpose, and mochin brings the purpose to be lived out in real time; yet it is through the lower seven emotional sefiros that creation actually occurs. Indeed, the seven-day cycle of creation that the Torah describes directly reflects the seven sefiros, with each day of the weekly cycle representing another sefirah. And so it is in our own lives. Our reality is primarily "emotionally" based, and the way most people live life is reactive, reflecting their emotional responses. It is often rare to find clarity of thought, expansive thinking and openness of mind. In Kabbalistic terms, this is because kesser — resolute purpose — and the mature deliberation of mochin are "above" the world; thus our purpose — and the means to attain it — does not seem so apparent and needs to be "revealed" to us. Therefore, as we reach the age of thirteen, when our minds have developed sufficiently, we put on tefillin with the intention to draw down our purpose and the revelation of the mochin into our reality, through our emotions, until the truth of this higher revealed reality infuses our way of being and acting. From the bayis — and the Torah contained within — flow the straps, first surrounding our heads, then tied in a knot the shape of a dalet for the word da'as, and from the reality of da'as (albeit sometimes only in a state poverty, dalus in Hebrew) flow the two straps: one to the right and one to the left, representing the general flow of the emotional attributes of chesed (kindness) to the right side, and gevurah (restraint) on the left. Thus the right strap hangs lower then the left, for we wish to draw down more chesed then gevurah. In truth, chesed and gevurah emanate from the same "space," the transcendental knot interweaving both these elements, rooted in the deepest place of kesser, the "black," the level beyond comprehension which is called the space for "the light of darkness." Nevertheless, we seek to draw chesed (kindness) into dominant revelation. In da'as is the key to our emotions, so that they open and flow in the general direction of either right or left, giving or restraining, openness or confinement. The straps represent a flow "downward," and though their "source" (made of leather) is the same as the parchment — the makif beyond letters and comprehension — they must be colored with the "darkness" of black dye, reflecting a descent below. They represent the highest level of kesser (the "black") projected into the lowest and densest of vessels. Hand tefillin: But before we can draw down this new, deeper level of kesser-mochin we must make sure that our own vessels are fully equipped to absorb the new flow. For if we draw down mochin and the vessels are unfitting, we will cause a shattering of the vessels. And so, before we put on the Head tefillin, we don the hand tefillin. Where the bayis of the Head tefillin is kesser, the bayis of the Hand tefillin represents malchus. The "receiver" of the other nine sefiros, malchus contains them all. Thus all levels — placed in separate compartments in the Head tefillin — are written out in one scroll and included within one container. From malchus, we wrap the strap around our hands seven times (reflecting the seven emotional sefiros), literally tying, linking, and fastening our emotions and our hands in complete dedication, ready to receive the deeper levels of mochin. Certainly there is mochin as well at the level of the hand, the physical world; however, it is the mochin connected with our emotional state — our emotional intelligence, as it were — for every reality contains the entire partzuf — the complete internal structure of the ten sefiros, including mochin (intellect), middos (emotions) and actions. And so, in the Hand tefillin we indicate the entire partzuf: First we place the bayis, then wrap around the upper arm twice, coresponding to the three levels of intellect, then we wrap the seven times which are allianged with the seven emotions, concluding with wrapping the straps around the palm of our hand reflecting the world of action. Once this is in order, having bound our reality as is in total dedication, we can put on the tefillin of the head and draw down a much deeper, more profound measure of mochin — a mochin from a world of perfect oneness and unity, ensuring a perfect alignment between our deepest levels of soul, mind, emotions and actions. The above is taken from a forthcoming booklet by Rabbi DovBer Pinson on the Mitzvah of tefillin to be published by the Shluchim Office. All rights reserved.