Jewish Pride
. The immature always underestimate their potential. Maturity is appreciating your regal nature. A Bar Mitzvah begins wearing Tefillin, the symbol of Maturity and royalty.
Bar Mitzvah and Tefillin
A Bar Mitzvah is when a Jew becomes and adult and becomes obligated, for the first time, to observe all of the Mitzvos. A boy becomes Bar Mitzvah at the age of 13 while a girl attains adulthood and becomes a become Bas Mitzvah at the age of twelve.
There is, however, a special connection between a Bar Mitzvah and one mitzvah in particular: The mitzvah of Tefillin, mentioned in this week’s Torah portion, Ekev.
(The reason women are exempted from this observance is discussed in the last chapter of my book “Tefillin: The Ultimate Mitzvah.”)
Unlike other Mitzvos, such as Tzitzis (fringes) and reciting the prayers, a child does not observe the mitzvah of Tefillin until he reaches the age of Bar Mitzvah. The obligation to educate one’s child applies to virtually every other Mitzvah but not to Tefillin.
Why?
The simple reason for this is that since the Tefillin boxes contain Biblical scrolls with numerous citations of G-d’s name, they are considered holy objects, much like a Torah Scroll, in contradistinction to the Tzitzis which are “merely” Mitzvah objects, but not holy objects.
Wearing Tefillin requires maintaining a clean body and a pure mind. One must be aware of the fact that he is wearing Tefillin and not engage in any idle chatter and frivolous behavior.
One must, therefore, be fully mature before they can be entrusted with the responsibility of wearing the Tefillin Why the Repetition?
To better appreciate the significance of Tefillin, we should refer to the fact that the obligation to put on the Tefillin has already been mentioned in last week’s Torah portion of Vo’eschanan. What is the reason for the repetition?
Likewise, every day we read the Shema which contains both the selection from last week’s Torah reading as well as this week’s. Why do we have to mention the Mitzvah of Tefillin twice every day?
Tefillin for Days of Exile
The answer lies in the words the Torah uses before commanding us to put on the Tefillin:
“And you shall place these words on your hearts and souls.”
Rashi tells us that this instruction was intended for the days of exile. Even then, the Torah wants us to continue wearing the Tefillin so that we should be familiar with this mitzvah when we return from exile.
In other words, the Mitzvah of Tefillin that we observe now is to prepare us for our observance of Mitzvos when the Redemption takes place.
When we wear the Tefillin, we are demonstrating openly our love for Hashem and our pride in being Jewish. The Tefillin particularly, the head Tefillin - are compared to a crown. Tefillin are a source of dignity and royalty. Tefillin, therefore, prepare us for the time of Redemption when our lives will be entirely free, dignified and regal.
Wearing Tefillin is like saying, “I am truly free.”
Dual Nature of Tefillin
The Torah, therefore, repeats the commandment of Tefillin to underscore the dual nature of Tefillin:
Tefillin are, on one hand, an independent mitzvah. We wear Tefillin as our way of affirming our belief in G-d’s unity and expressing our love for him. This is what the first reference to Tefillin in the Shema, is all about. In the first paragraph of the Shema Tefillin are mentioned after the commandment to know that G-d is one and the obligation to love Him with all our heart, life and might.
The reference to Tefillin in this week’s Torah portion (and in the second paragraph of the Shema) is independent of the need to affirm G-d’s unity and our love for Him. It is mentioned after the predictions of what could happen to us in exile. As Rashi stated it was intended for us under these exile conditions, as mentioned above.
In this section it is an expression of our inner freedom, even as we are in exile. It is this taste of freedom which prepares us for the future Redemption, when we will be fully liberated.
The Mitzvah of Maturity for the Mature Preparing for the Age of Maturity We can now understand why maturity is needed for Tefillin in particular. Since Tefillin is the mark of royalty, we must be at the level of understanding where we can appreciate its significance and wear it with dignity and reverence.
Exile is a period of immaturity. We still have a lack of understanding of G-d’s role in our lives. In order to prepare for the age of Maturity, the age of collective Bar Mitzvah, we must have at least, one Mitzvah, which anticipates the mature state of the period of Redemption. This is the Mitzvah of Tefillin.
It would not make sense to perform the Mitzvah of maturity with a child who lacks that characteristic. It would hardly serve as a preparation for the age of maturity.
We now have a more mature understanding of the importance of this Mitzvah. Among all the other incredible things our Sages have said about Tefillin, including the statement of the Jerusalem Talmud that “it is the greatest Mitzvah,” it is the Mitzvah of the future par excellence.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Ekev by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
