פרשת בא תשכ"א - מצות תפילין

And for frontlets (totafot) between your eyes: This word does not have a known family (meaning etymologically it has no relation to any other word), but the masters of language (linguists) have thought to relate it to the expression, "and speak (hatef) to the South" (Ezekiel 21:2), "and my word would drip (titof) upon them" (Job 29:22) - which is a borrowed [usage] from "and from the mountains will drip (vehitifu) sweet wine" (Amos 9:13). [The verse is] saying that you should make the leaving of Egypt on your arm a sign and between your eyes a speech, that it should drip like dew upon its listeners. But our rabbis call something that is placed on one's head totafot, like they said (Shabbat 57a), "not with totafot and not with sanbutin." And Rabbi Abahu said (Shabbat 57a), "Which is totafot? [That which] surrounds from ear to ear." And they are the real masters of language, as they speak it and know it, and from them it is fitting to accept [their explanation]. And the verse says totafot (in the plural), and not totefet (in the singular) because they are [made up of] many compartments, as we have received [this tradition] about their form from our holy forefathers, who saw the prophets and the early ones making [them] like this all the way until Moshe, our teacher. And behold, the principle of this commandment is that we should place the written word of leaving Egypt on our arm and head, which correspond to the heart and the head that are the dwelling places of thought. And behold, we write the 'Kadesh' section (Exodus 13:1-10) and 'Vehaya ki yeviekha' (Exodus 13:11-17) in the totafot, because of this commandment that we have been commanded about them, to make the leaving of Egypt totafot between your eyes. And in the 'Shema' section (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and 'Vehaya eem shemoa', (Deuteronomy 11:13-22), we are commanded that we also make the commandments totafot, as it is written (Deuteronomy 6:6), "And these words which I command you today shall be on your hearts and they will be totafot between your eyes." And therefore we write these two sections in the totafot, which are the commandment of unifying [God] and the memory of all of the commandments and their punishments and rewards and all of the basis for faith. And it stated about the one of the arm, "and it shall be a sign upon your arm, and they expounded upon it (Menachot 36b), "It is [on] the left [arm] towards which the heart veers." And according to the true path, that which the verse stated, "Because of this, did God do for me," is just like, "this is my God and I will adorn Him" (Exodus 15:2), to say that because of His name and His honor, did He do this for us and took us out of Egypt. "And this will be a sign" upon the forearm of your strength is like the explanation of "You are the glory of their strength" (Psalms 89:18). And behold, the sign is like the sign of circumcision and Shabbat. And because all is included in its general rule, our forefathers copied the sign on the hand from Moshe - from the mouth of the All powerful - that it be one compartment, as is the matter that the verse stated (Song of Songs 5:1), "my sister (achoti), my bride (kallah)," because it unifies (mitachedet) and is composed (kelullah) of thirty-two paths; and it is written (Song of Songs 2:6), "And his left is under my head." And it states, "and for a memory between your eyes," that he should place them on the place of memory between the eyes which is the beginning of the brain. And that is the beginning point of memory and where forms are stored after they separate from being in front of him. And the expression, "between your eyes," is that it be in the middle of the head and not to one side; or since there are [found] the roots of the eyes, and from there is seeing. And so [too] (Deuteronomy 14:1), "do not place a baldness between your eyes for the dead." And to explain this, it went back and stated, "and for totafot," to elucidate that the commandment is not between the eyes below, but [rather] at the top of the head are they placed, like totafot. And it states a plural expression, as there are many compartments, as we have received [in our tradition]. And now I will tell you a general rule about the explanation of many commandments. Behold, from the time of there being idolatry in the world - from the days of Enosh - the opinions about faith started to blur. Some of them deny the fundamental principle and say that the world is prior [to God's creation] and 'they rejected God and say, "It is not Him.'" And some reject His knowledge of particulars - 'And they say, "How can He know, and is there knowledge to the most High?"' And some of them concede His knowledge but reject His oversight, and 'they make man to be like the fish of the sea,' that God not supervise them and there not be punishments and reward with them at all - they say, '"The Lord has abandoned the Earth."' And when God favors a certain community or individual and does a wonder for them by changing the custom of the world and its nature, the nullification of these opinions becomes clear to everyone. As the amazing wonder teaches that there is a God in the world who innovated it, and knows and supervises and is able [to do whatever He wants]. And when this wonder is first proclaimed by the mouth of a prophet, the truth of prophecy also becomes clear from it - that God speaks with man and reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets. And with this, all of the Torah is established. And therefore the verse states about the wonders (Exodus 8:18), "so that you will know that I am the Lord in the midst of the Earth," to teach about [His] supervision, that He did not leave it to happenstance, as per their opinion. And it stated (Exodus 9:29), "so that you will know that to the Lord is the Earth," to teach about [His] innovation [of the Earth] - since they are His, as He created them from nothing. And it stated (Exodus 9:14), "in order that you will know that there is none like Me in the whole Earth," to teach about His ability, that He is the Decider about everything - there is no one that stops Him. As the Egyptians rejected or were in doubt about all of this. If so, the great signs and wonders were trustworthy witnesses about faith in the Creator and about the entire Torah. And since the Holy One, blessed be He, will not do a sign and wonder in each generation in front of the eyes of each evildoer or heretic, He commanded us that we should always make a memorial and a sign to that which our eyes saw. And we should copy this thing for our children, and their children for their children, and their children for the last generation. And [the Torah] was very strict about this, such that it made one liable for cutting off, for eating of chamets (Exodus 12:15), and for leaving the Pesach sacrifice (Numbers 9:13). And it required that we write all that was shown to us of signs and wonders upon our arms and upon our eyes, and also to write them at the entrances to houses in mezuzot. And [it required] that we mention it with our mouths, in the morning and in the evening, as the sages said (Berakhot 21a), "[The blessing that mentions the leaving of Egypt and begins,] 'true and solid' is [an obligation from] the Torah," from that which is written (Deuteronomy 16:3), "in order that you remember the day of your leaving the land of Egypt all the days of your life." And [it required] that we make a Sukkah booth every year. And so [too], many commandments in memory of the leaving of Egypt, are similar to these. And all of it is to be a testimony for us for all of the generations about the wonders, that they not be forgotten; and that there not be an opening for the heretic to speak and reject faith in God. As one who buys a mezuzah for one zuz and affixes it to his entrance and has intent for its matter, has already conceded to [God's] innovation [of the Earth] and to the knowledge of the Creator and His supervision, and also to prophecy. And [such a person] believes in all of the outlines of the Torah, besides conceding that the kindness of the Creator to those who do His will is very great - as He took us out of Egypt, from that slavery to freedom and great honor in the merit of their forefathers that desired to fear His name. And therefore they said (Avot 2:1), "Be careful with a light commandment as with a weighty one," since they are all very desirable and beloved - as through them a person concedes to his God all the time. And the intention of all the commandments is that we believe in our God and concede to Him that He is our Creator. And that is the intention of provenance, as we have no other explanation for the first provenance - and the highest God only desires the lower beings, so that man should know and concede to his God that He created him. And the intention of raising of the voice in prayer and the intention of synagogues and the merit of communal prayer is that there be a place for people to gather and concede to God that He created them and makes them exist, and to publicize this and to say in front of Him, "We are Your creatures." And this is the intention of what they said, may their memory be blessed (Yerushalmi Taanit 2:5), "'And they called to God with strength' (Jonah 3:8) - from here you learn that prayer requires [an audible] voice; the brazen is victorious over the timid (See Arukh's entry on chatzaf). And from the great public miracles, a person can [also] concede to hidden miracles, which constitute the foundation of the entire Torah. As a person does not have a share in the Torah of Moshe, our teacher, until we believe that all of the things and events we [encounter] are all miracles [and] there is no nature or custom of the world with them, whether with regard to the many or to the individual. But rather, if one does the commandments, his reward will bring him success and if the transgresses them, his punishment will cut him off - everything is the decree of the Most High, as I have already mentioned (Ramban on Genesis 17:1, and Exodus 6:2). And hidden miracles regarding the many become publicized when they come from the objectives of the Torah in [the form] of the blessings and the curses, as the verse stated (Deuteronomy 29:23-24), "All the nations will say, 'Why did the Lord do thus to this land?'[...] They will say, 'Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, God of their fathers," such that it will be publicized to all of the nations that it is from the Lord, as their punishment. And regarding the fulfillment [of the commandments], it states (Deuteronomy 28:10), "And all of the peoples of the land will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you and they will fear from you.'" And I will explain this more with God's help (Ramban on Leviticus 26:11).

And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in thy mouth; for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

לאות על ידך, according to the true meaning: an exhortation that this memory should be with you permanently, as if the subject matter had literally been inscribed on your hand. We find a similar syntax in Song of Songs 8,6 שימי כחותם על לבך, “place it on your heart as if it had been engraved there like a seal,”

“And this shall serve you”—There are those who dispute our holy ancestors, and say that “being a sign and a reminder” has the same meaning as: “For they are a graceful wreath upon your head, a necklace about your throat” (Proverbs 1:9). [They] also [suggest] that “tie them as a sign upon your arm” has the same meaning as: “Bind them upon the tablet of your heart always” (Proverbs 6:9). [They] similarly [understand] “write them on the doorposts of your house” as the same in meaning to “Write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:3). In that case, what would “a sign” and “a reminder” mean? That it will be flowing in your mouth, “For with a strong arm God brought you out of Egypt.” However, this is an incorrect approach. For at the beginning of the book [of Proverbs] it states “The Proverbs of Solomon.” Therefore, [the readers should expect] that everything mentioned in the book is a proverb [not literal]. However, the Torah is not a book of proverbs—God forbid!—so that this verse must retain its literal meaning, and we will not remove it from its peshat. For its literal meaning doesn’t contradict any logical principle, as is the case for “and you shall circumcise your hearts” (Deuteronomy 10:16), the understanding of which needs to be adjusted…