It’s common knowledge that the American Revolution began in 1775, with the official Declaration of Independence coming just over a year later, on July 4, 1776.

But the reality is that the war started long before that. In a famous letter dated 13 February, 1818, Revolutionary War patriot and second president of the United States, John Adams, wrote:

The Revolution was effected before the War commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in the religious sentiments of their duties and obligations…. This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.1

He was right, of course. But here’s an interesting question: Of the two—“hearts and minds” —which one is more important to win over?

Active vs. Passive Voice

Parshat Va’etchanan contains some blockbuster verses, including a repeat of the Ten Commandments and the famous verses of the Shema. Among the instructions included in the Shema is the mitzvah of tefillin:

And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes.2

Notice how the Torah phrases the two clauses of this commandment so differently. For the hand tefillin, the Torah uses the active voice, “You shall bind them…,” whereas when it comes to the head tefillin, the narrator switches to a passive voice, “and they shall be for ornaments…”

What is the significance of this difference? Why, indeed, does the Torah switch from active to passive?

Winning Over Hearts and Minds

The basic symbolism of the tefillin is well documented: it’s about submitting our minds and hearts to G‑d. You see, inside the tefillin are small scrolls containing verses from the Shema, which speak of the mitzvah to love G‑d, fear Him, and fulfill all the mitzvot of the Torah.

This is a tall order. To be wholly aligned with G‑d and His Torah requires one to truly submit his or her entire being, from top to bottom. And this is what the tefillin are about: taking the two major drivers of human experience and commandeering them in the direction of G‑d and His service.

What are the two primary drivers of the human experience?

Intellect and emotion. What we think about and what we feel, pretty much sums up the entirety of our existence. Everything else flows from there. That's why John Adams spoke of the war starting not when the first shot was fired, but long before that, when the “hearts and minds” of the people were changed.

So, when a Jewish man places the tefillin on his head, it symbolizes the fact that he is submitting his mind, his very reasoning, to G‑d. And when he further binds tefillin on the left arm just opposite the heart, it demonstrates submitting his heart, his emotions, to G‑d’s service.

Who’s in Control?

You can always control your thoughts. Your mind may wander about, but the moment you catch yourself, it’s entirely within your control to determine what you want to think about. You want to think about flying saucers? Go ahead, think about it right now. You don’t want to? You can do that, too—just stop thinking about them, and boom, no more flying saucers.3

That’s why when it comes to the head tefillin, the language is passive; the assumption is that the tefillin will be “as an ornament between your eyes.” It is as if it were a foregone conclusion, something that is just “there,” always. And the reason for that is because, as just explained, your thoughts are yours to control, and you can always keep them in line with G‑d's will.

Emotions are wildly different. By definition, they’re unpredictable. You have impulses whether you like it or not. If you really like flying saucers, or you passionately detest the entire notion of flying saucers, you cannot be expected to magically turn that feeling on or off.

A person can be expected to think a certain way, but a person cannot be expected to feel a certain way. The former has a “switch”; the latter does not.

The best one can do is control or channel their feelings when they come. For that there’s a “switch,” and it’s called self-control. It’s the brain telling the heart what to do.

That’s why the hand tefillin, which correspond to the heart, are spoken about in the active voice, “bind them on your arm.” For when it comes to dedicating our hearts to G‑d, it’s no longer a passive assumption, but an active exercise of “binding them to G‑d.” You cannot be expected to not feel or want otherwise; the best you can do is to control it and “bind yourself” to G‑d nonetheless.

Don’t Feel Like It

Recognizing that your feelings are not in your control is helpful for making good decisions.

The Torah is aware that your feelings may be elsewhere, that you may not be in the mood, you may not even like it, or you may have some past trauma that makes you queasy about certain religious things. No matter. What does matter is how you think. You can always control your thought process and discipline yourself into doing or abstaining from anything.

This is critical to a moral life, certainly a Jewish one. In today’s morally ambiguous world, far too many use the way they feel as the barometer for right or wrong. If it feels right, it must be good, just, and upright. If it doesn’t, stay away.

But feelings are fleeting, volatile, and most importantly, out of control. They are not a very good candidate to put behind the steering wheel of your life. Thoughts, on the other hand, are very much within your control. They are the tools of discipline that keep us in line with what we know is right.

Of course, no one is advocating for dry, listless, and emotionless commitment. Certainly, you should develop feelings, passion, and conviction for anything you do, not the least of which is your devotion to Judaism. But it’s important to remember that even before you get there, your mind must be in control.

So even if you don’t feel it yet, hand the steering wheel over to your mind.4