“…Now the fundamental reason of this commandment is that we lay the
script of the exodus from Egypt upon the hand and upon the head opposite the
heart and the brain, which are the pivots of thought. Thus we are to inscribe
[on parchment] the Scriptural sections of Kadesh (Sanctify unto Me) [Verses
1-10], and V'haya ki y'viacha (And it shall be when the Eternal shall bring
thee) [Verses 11-16], and enclose them in the phylacteries because of this
commandment wherein we were charged to make the exodus from Egypt for frontlets
between your eyes. [We are also to inscribe and enclose in the phylacteries the
sections of] Sh'ma (Hear 0 Israel) [Deuteronomy 6:4-9] and V'haya im shamo'a
(And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken) (ibid., 11: 13-21) because we
are charged to have the commandments [of the Torah] also for frontlets between
our eyes, as it is written: And these words, which I command thee this day,
shall be upon thy heart; and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes.
This is why we also inscribe [on parchment] these two sections - [Sh'ma and
V'haya im shamo'a] - for frontlets [even though the exodus is not mentioned in
them], for they contain the commandments of the Unity of G-d, the memorial of
all commandments, the doctrine of retribution, which states that the
consequence of disobeying the commandments is punishment and that blessings
come in the wake of obedience - and the whole foundation of the faith. Now of
the phylactery of the arm, Scripture says, And it shall be for a sign unto thee
upon thy hand, which the Rabbis explained as 'referring to the left arm, which
is opposite the heart.
By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala] the verse, It is
because of 'zeh' (this) which the
Eternal did for me, is similar to 'zeh' (this) is my G-d, and I will glorify
Him. The verse here thus states that it
was because of His name and His glory that He did for us and brought us forth
out of Egypt. And "this" shall be for a sign unto thee on the arm of
your strength, just as it is written,
For Thou art the glory of their strength. Thus the sign of the phylactery] is
similar to the sign of circumcision and the Sabbath. And since all [emanations] are one perfect unity, which is
alluded to in "the sign" on the arm, our ancestors have received the
tradition from Moses, who received it from the mouth of the Almighty, that [all
four sections of Scripture inscribed in the phylacteries, as described above],
are encased in one compartment. This is something like Scripture says, achothi
kalah, because it is united and comprised of the thirty-two paths of wisdom
with which the world was created) and it is further written, His left hand is
under my head.
Then Scripture says, And it shall be for a memorial between thine eyes,
meaning that we are to lay them at the place of remembrance, which is between
the eyes, at the beginning of the brain. It is there that remembrance begins by
recalling the appearances [of persons and events] after they have passed away
from us. These frontlets circle around the whole head with their straps, while
the loop rests directly over the base of the brain, which guards the memory.
And the expression, between your eyes, means that they are to be placed upon
the middle of the head, not towards one side. It may be that in the middle of
the head, there are the roots of the eyes and from these stems the power of
sight. Similarly, the verse, Nor make ye any baldness between your eyes for the
dead, I means baldness adjoining the forehead. Thus the expression between your
eyes mentioned here in the case of the frontlets also refers to the identical
place. It is to explain this point, i.e., that the phylactery of the head is
not to be placed between the eyes, as the literal meaning of the words might indicate,
but that it is to be placed upon the middle of the head adjoining the
forehead], that He reverts here [in Verse 16 and instead of using the
expression, and for 'a memorial' between your eyes, as stated in Verse 9], and
says 'ultotaphoth' between your eyes. This is in order to explain that the
commandment is not fulfilled by placing the phylactery between the eyes
bottomward, but rather it is to be placed high on the head where it is to be
there like totaphoth, [and we have seen above that the word totephoth was used
by the Rabbis for an object which lies upon the head]. He uses the plural form
[totaphoth, and not the singular totephoth, because the compartments in the
phylactery of the head are many, as we have received the form by Tradition.
And now I shall declare to you a general principle in the reason of
many commandments. Beginning with the days of Enosh when idol-worship came into existence, opinions in the matter of
faith fell into error. Some people denied the root of faith by saying that the
world is eternal; they denied the Eternal, and said; It is not He [Who called fort h the world into existence]. Others
denied His knowledge of individual matters, and they say, How doth G-d know?
and is there knowledge in the Most High?
Some admit His knowledge but deny the principle of providence and make
men as the fishes of the sea, [believing] that G-d does not watch over them and
that there is no punishment or reward for their deeds, for they say the Eternal
hath forsaken the land. Now when G-d is
pleased to bring about a change in the customary and natural order of the world
for the sake of a people or an individual, then the voidance of all these
[false beliefs] becomes clear to all people, since a wondrous miracle shows
that the world has a G-d Who created it, and Who knows and supervises it, and
Who has the power to change it. And when that wonder is previously prophesied
by a prophet, another principle is further established, namely, that of the
truth of prophecy, that G-d doth speak with man, and that He revealeth His
counsel unto His servants the prophets, and thereby the whole Torah is
confirmed. This is why Scripture says in connection with the wonders [in
Egypt]: That thou [Pharaoh] mayest know that I am the Eternal in the midst of
the earth, [Exod. 8:18] which teaches us the principle of providence, i.e.,
that G-d has not abandoned the world to chance, as they [the heretics] would
have it; That thou mayest know that the earth is the Eternal's, [Exod. 9:29]
which informs us of the principle of creation, for everything is His since He
created all out of nothing; That thou mayest know that there is none like Me in
all the earth, [Exod. 9:14] which indicates His might, i.e., that He rules over
everything and that there is nothing to withhold Him. The Egyptians either
denied or doubted all of these {three] principles, [and the miracles confirmed
their truth]. Accordingly, it follows that the great signs and wonders
constitute faithful witnesses to the truth of the belief in the existence of
the Creator and the truth of the whole Torah. And because the Holy One, blessed
be He, will not make signs and wonders in every generation for the eyes of some
wicked man or heretic, He therefore commanded us that we should always make a
memorial or sign of that which we have seen with our eyes, and that we should
transmit the matter to our children, and their children to their children, to
the generations to come, and He placed great emphasis on it, as is indicated by
the fact that one is liable to extinction for eating leavened bread on the
Passover, and for abandoning the Passover offering, [i.e., for not taking part
in the slaughtering thereof]. He has further required of us that we inscribe
upon our arms and between our eyes all that we have seen in the way of signs
and wonders, and to inscribe it yet upon the doorposts of the houses, and that
we remember it by recital in the morning and evening - just as the Rabbis have
said: "The recital of the benediction True and firm, [Which follows the
Sh'ma in the morning and which terminates with a blessing to G-d for the
redemption from Egypt], is obligatory as a matter of scriptural law because it
is written, that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the
land of Egypt all the days of thy life”.
[He further required] that we make a booth every year, and many other
commandments like them, which are a memorial to the exodus from Egypt. All
these commandments are designed for the purpose that in all generations we
should have testimonies to the wonders so that they should not be forgotten and
so that the heretic should not be able to open his lips to deny the belief in
[the existence of] G-d. He who buys a Mezuzah for one zuz [a silver coin] and
affixes it to his doorpost and has the proper intent of heart on its content,
has already admitted the creation of the world, the Creator’s knowledge and His
providence, and also his belief in prophecy as well as in all fundamental
principles of the Torah, besides admitting that the mercy of the creator is very
great upon them that do His Will, Since He brought us forth from that bondage
to freedom and to great honor on account of the merit of our fathers who
delighted in the rear of His Name. It is for this reason that the Rabbis have
said: "Be as heedful of a light commandment, as of a weighty one…for they
are all exceedingly precious and beloved, for through them a person always
expresses thankfulness to his G-d.
And the purpose of an the commandments is that we believe in our G-d
and be thankful to Him of having created us, for we know of no other reason for
the first creation, and G-d the Most High has no demand on the lower
creatures," excepting that man should know and be thankful to G-d for
having created him. The purposes of raising our voices in prayer and of the
service in synagogues, as well as the merit of public prayer, is precisely
this: that people should have a place wherein they assemble and express their
thankfulness to G-d for having created them and supported them, and thus
proclaim and say before Him, We arc your Creatures. "
This is the intent of what the Rabbis of blessed memory have said: And
they cried mightily unto G-d. From here
you learn that prayer must be accompanied by sound. The undaunted one wins over
the abashed one."
Through the great open miracles, one comes to admit the hidden miracles
which constitute the foundation of the whole Torah, for no one can have a part
in the Torah of Moses our teacher unless he believes that all our words and our
events, [as dictated in the Torah], arc miraculous in scope, there being no
natural or customary way of the world in them, whether affecting the public or
the individual. Instead, if a person observes the commandments, His reward Will
bring him success, and if he violates them, His punishment it will cause his
extinction. It is all by decree of the Most High, as I have already
mentioned. The hidden miracles done to
the public come to be known as is mentioned in the assurances of the Torah on
the subject of the blessings and imprecations, as the verse says: And all the
nations Shall say: Wherefore hath the Eternal done thus unto this land? ...
Then men shall say: Because they forsook the covenant of the Eternal, the C-d
of their fathers. Thus it will become
known to all nations that their punishment came from G-d. And of the
fulfillment of the commandments it says, And all the peoples of the earth shall
see that the name of the Eternal is called upon thee. I will yet explain this, with the help of G-d.”