Tefillin-Hard Drive for the Soul

 

הפסוק מייסר את ישראל ואומר: ״ותשכח א-ל מחוללך״ דברים לב, יח. זהו עיקר הסיבה שמרחקת את האדם מן אלוקיו

“The verse rebukes [the nation of] Israel and states: ‘You have forgotten God who formed you.’ This is the principal factor that distances a person from his Empowerer”[1]

 

והנה קודם שהאדם נולד, מלמדים אותו כל התורה כולה, וזה לתת כח לנשמתו קודם שתכנס בגוף…אבל בצאתה לעולם, בא מלאך ומשכחו, וזה כדי לתת מקום ליצר להתאחז בו, שאם לא כן, היה נגרש מכח הקדושה, והיה שב להיות כמו מלאך

“And behold, before a man is born, all of Torah is taught to him. This is to give his soul strength before entering into the body….However on his way out to the world, an angel comes and causes him to forget [the Torah he learned]. And this is in order to give a place for the yetzer to hold onto him. Otherwise he would [only] experience from the power of holiness and he will remain to become like an angel”[2]

 

It seems to me that tefillin are the tools for overcoming forgetfulness

וְהָיָה֩ לְךָ֨ לְא֜וֹת עַל־יָדְךָ֗ וּלְזִכָּרוֹן֙ בֵּ֣ין עֵינֶ֔יךָ לְמַ֗עַן תִּהְיֶ֛ה תּוֹרַ֥ת יְהֹוָ֖ה בְּפִ֑יךָ

“And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a remembrance between your eyes in order that the Torah of יהוה may be in your mouth…” (Exodus 13:9).

 

I picture the tefillin as portable containers for God’s Torah. These are containers I can place on my mind and heart so that Hashem’s Torah can be attached to me as a form of protection from forgetfulness and from the influence of my yetzer hara. That way I can shine כמו מלאך “like an angel.” I pray that the mitzvah of tefillin connect us to our Empowerer immersed in His Torah!

 

[1] Bnei Machshava Tova by Rav Kalonymus Kalman Shapira ztl

 

[2] Ramchal Derech Etz HaChaim