Making Sense of the Sedra: Vaetchanan
Inside out
Parshat Vaetchanan mentions the mitzvah of tefillin. The Torah calls the head tefillin, which are divided into four compartments, Totafot (Devarim 6:8). The sages (Sanhedrin 4b) explain that this word is composed of two foreign words: Tot in Catfi and Fot in Afriki, each of which means ‘two’.
Why did the Torah utilise foreign languages to describe the tefillin?
Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovitz explained that there is an essential difference in purpose between the arm and head tefillin. The head tefillin are specifically revealed outward, to show the nations of the world that the name of Hashem is upon us (Berachot 6a). The Torah deliberately uses foreign languages to describe the head tefillin to emphasise the elements of Judaism that need to be shared with the outside world.
The arm tefillin, on the other hand, are specifically covered up; they are inner focussed – “a sign for you, but not a sign for others” (Menachot 37b). This highlights the aspects of Judaism that are private, particularistic and limited to Jews.
Says Chief Rabbi Jakobovitz, there are groups within Judaism that focus on both extremes. There are those who only wear the metaphoric head tefillin – solely focussed on relating to the world and nations around us. There are others who only wear the metaphoric arm tefillin – with no care or concern to what happens beyond their immediate orbit. The sages (Sotah 44b), however, emphasise that there should be no interruption between the two!
The Shulchan Aruch rules (25:6) that if one inadvertently picks up their head tefillin before their arm tefillin they should ‘pass over’ the head tefillin and first don the arm tefillin. Chief Rabbi Jakobovitz extrapolates from the chronological sequence a fundamental didactic message: we first need to build up ourselves – strengthening our core Jewish identity and knowledge – and only then take this to the rest of the world!
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