TEFILLIN / PHYLACTERIES
Anyone who does not know the meaning of these ritual items and has seen an observant Jew wearing tefillin when he prays – a small black box strapped to his forehead and shiny black leather straps wound around his arm – might well be perplexed as to what on earth they are.
In an article published on the Shorashim Shop website – site of the well known and happily frequented shop off the Hurvah Square in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem, run by brothers Dov and Moshe Kempinski – Rabbi Chanan Morrison [Gold from the Land of Israel ]* offers a meaningful description of tefillin and makes an interesting connection with the Exodus from Egypt.
THE EXODUS AND TEFILLIN
The Torah commands us to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt by wearing tefillin (phylacteries) on the arm and head. “These words will be for a sign on your arm and a reminder between your eyes, so that God’s Torah will be in your mouth; for God brought you out of Egypt with a strong arm.” (Ex. 13:9)
What is the connection between tefillin and the Exodus? How does wearing tefillin ensure that the Torah will be ‘in our mouths’? 
An Outstretched Arm
Superficially, the redemption from Egypt was a one-time historical event, forging a potent memory in the collective consciousness of the Jewish people and all of humanity. But if we listen carefully to our inner soul [our spirit], we will recognize that the Exodus is truly a continuous, ongoing act. The Divine miracles and signs that took place in Egypt launched the continual revelation of the hand of God, openly and publicly, on the stage of world history.
Before wrapping tefillin on the arm, we reflect that this mitzvah commemorates God’s “zero’a netuya,” His “outstretched arm” with which the Israelites were extracted from Egypt. What does this metaphor mean? The word ‘arm’ (zero’a) comes from the root zera, meaning ‘seed.’ The Divine redemption of Israel in Egypt was a holy seed, planted at that point in time. That wondrous event initiated the dissemination of its message, unhindered and uninterrupted, over the generations. As we bind the tefillin to our arms, we are reminded of God’s “outstretched arm,” …that continually develops and perfects the world, until it elevates its treasures of life to the pinnacle of Divine fulfillment.
A Strong Arm
The Torah uses a second metaphor to describe the Exodus – the “yad chazakah,” God’s “strong arm.” This phrase indicates a second, deeper connection between the mitzvah of tefillin and the Exodus. The liberation from Egyptian bondage served to combat the debasement of life, which threatened to drown humanity in the depths of its crassness and vulgarity. Since the materialistic side of life is so compelling, it was necessary for God to reveal a “strong arm” to overcome man’s base nature, and allow the light of our inner holiness to shine from within. The holy act of fastening the tefillin to the arm and head helps us transform the coarse and profane aspects of life into godly strength and vitality,revealing an inner life beautiful in its holiness. To triumph over humanity’s coarseness, then at its peak in the contaminated culture of Egypt, required God’s “strong arm.”
A Strong Mind
We similarly need to make a strong effort so that the Torah will remain in our minds and hearts. Tefillin are called a ‘sign’ and a ‘reminder,’ for they evoke the wondrous signs and powerful miracles of our release from Egyptian slavery. We must engrave the legacy of those miracles on all aspects of life: deed, emotion, and thought.
Thus we bind these memories to our hand, heart, and mind, and transform our coarse nature to a holy one. Then the Torah will naturally be “in your mouth,” in the thoughts and reflections of the heart. Through this powerful mitzvah, engaging both the arm (our actions) and the eye (our outlook and thoughts), we continue the Divine process that God initiated in Egypt with a “strong arm.”
~Keren Hannah
* Gold from the Land of Israel, pp. 118-120. Compiled and inspired by Olat Re’iyah, the writings of Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, well loved first Chief Rabbi of pre-state Eretz Yisrael.
