Rabbi Roodyn

As the Bnei Yisrael are poised to leave Egypt on the day of their long awaited redemption, Moshe Rabbeinu addresses them with powerful words. Instead of extolling the virtues of liberty and the need to break free from tyranny, Moshe instructs the nation to remember this day and ensure that it is never forgotten. This remembrance is not meant to be a mere memorial with ceremonies and statements, rather it is a sense of awareness of and commitment to the reason and purpose of the redemption.

In order to ensure that this will be the case, the Jewish people are given a badge to wear to act as a constant reminder of the miracles of the exodus and the responsibilities that come with their new found liberty. Just as they paint an אות, a sign of blood on the doorposts on the very first seder night, so too they now place an אות on their bodies. Rav Hirsch explains that the sign on the doorpost was to commit ourselves and our homes to the mission and the sign on the hand is to show our readiness to put our hands at Hashem’s disposal.

Rav Hirsch explains almost poetically that the first consequence of the redemption is that our ‘hand’ belongs to Hashem. We had no hand in our redemption, Hashem’s hand alone was strong on our behalf. Thanks to His hand, we regained our own hand, which in Egypt was not ours to use. We regained our hand, restored by Hashem, to use it in His service.

The sign on the hand (or more accurately on the muscle that controls the whole arm) and the sign on the forehead from where the eye receives directions from the centre of thought has a clear purpose. The goal of the mitzvah of Tefillin is ‘So that Hashem’s teaching should be the content of your mouth.’ Hashem’s Torah is entrusted to the living word not to the lifeless written word. The words of Torah are meant to emanate from our mouths so that they can find their way to our soul. That is perhaps why Tefillin must be made from edible, kosher animal products. This is hinted to in Yechezkel’s prophecy where he is told ‘Eat this scroll’  (3:1).

The Torah, as represented by Tefillin, is intended to be absorbed completely and allowed to become part of our very selves. More than just an external reminder of an historical event, Tefillin are the ultimate sign, an outward expression of a reality that is to be internalised in a new, free world.