| From our Sages on the Parshah |
You shall bind them for a sign upon your arm, and
they shall be as tefillin between your eyes (Deuteronomy 6:8)
Torah law prescribes that we first tie the hand-tefillin on
our arms, and then set the head-tefillin upon our heads -- as derived from
the order in which they are commanded in the above verse.
Our sages tell us that G-d, too, wears tefillin, and that His tefillin
are inscribed with the verse "Who is like Your people Israel, the one nation
on earth" (as our tefillin are inscribed with verses proclaiming His oneness).
There are "head-Jews" -- the scholars and
thinkers, and "hand-Jews" -- the doers. Both are precious to G-d; both are
integral to our role as His "one nation on earth." But when G-d ties His "tefillin"
to affirm His bond with His people, He ties his hand-tefillin first, cherishing the
simple deed above all else.
(Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov)
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