A Jewish Workout
Barriers and obstacles were made to be transcended.
The Three Level of Love
This week’s parsha, Vo’eschanan, is always read on the Shabbos after the national day of mourning, Tisha B’Av, known as Shabbos Nachamu, the Shabbos of consolation. Since there are no coincidences, especially not in the Torah, we must conclude that there is a close relationship between the idea of consolation and the Torah portion of Vo’eschanan.
One of the highlights of this parsha is the Shema. After declaring: “Hear o Israel, G-d is our G-d, G-d is one.” the Torah continues: “And you shall love G-d your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.”
With All Your Heart
According to the Talmud, the meaning of “with all your heart” is that all your passions, spiritual and material must ultimately be directed towards G-d. One must inspire one’s own “animal nature” to feel that the greatest achievement and pleasure is to follow the path of service to G-d.
With All Your Soul
But, this does not suffice. You must also love G-d “with all your soul.”
Here too, the Talmud adds clarification. To love G-d with all your soul is to be prepared to give your life for Him. If one were given the option of either converting to another religion or dying, one should be prepared to die rather than betray one’s devotion to the one G-d of Israel.
With All Your Might
But, it seems that this too does not suffice. The Torah continues that you must also love G-d “with all your might.” What more can be asked of a person who already ignited the flames of passion of his G-dly soul as well as his animal soul? What more can be demanded of a person who is prepared to give the most precious possession — life itself — for G-d?
The Talmudic explanation is that this command of “with all your might” is directed to a person for whom money is more precious than life. This individual too must be prepared to part with his money rather than betray his allegiance to the one G-d.
A Chassidic Perspective
Chassidic literature, however, provides us with a more profound understanding of what is intended by “with all your might,” that will demonstrate the connection to the Shabbos of Consolation.
To “love G-d with all your might” is to go beyond one’s natural limit. Whatever one imagines is the outer limit to his/her capacity to do something positive and holy, one must learn to transcend that limit. Even if it appears — and that might be the reality — that there is no way that one can scale the wall that separates between a person and a spiritual goal, one must push oneself to surmount that obstacle. By making every effort to do that, we will discover that we possess the G-d given ability to transcend all the parameters that are either self-imposed, imposed by society or even by G-d’s own system with which He guides the world. Barriers and obstacles were made to be transcended.
Just as in the world of exercise and aerobics, one must constantly break new barriers and push oneself a bit farther in order to grow stronger and continue to have the maximum workout, so too is it in the spiritual realm. The command to “Love G-d with all your might” exhorts and enables us to overcome every and any obstacle.
The Ultimate Obstacle
Of all the obstacles that we experience, there is one that is the most daunting. It is the phenomenon known as Galus, or exile that commenced with the destruction of the Holy temple in Jerusalem. For close to 2,000 years we are making every attempt to overcome this barrier to a world in which G-d‘s presence is clearly manifest.
To be sure, every positive action, every minor gesture in the right direction, has the capacity to push us over the top, particularly in this day and age, which has been characterized by the Rebbe as the “Time for your Redemption.”
But, the most powerful way through which we can jump over the walls of exile, is to jump over all of our own inner obstacles and limitations that inhibit our growth. By transcending ourselves, we will bring about the coming of Moshiach who has been described as Ben Partzi, “one who breaks through barriers.” He will lead us all to the rebuilding of the third Beit Hamikdash-Holy Temple at which time we will experience the true and ultimate consolation.
There is a perennial conflict between mind and heart.
The solution to this challenge is by developing a deeper understanding of the mind-heart construct.
This is the Mitzvah of Tefillin.
TWO PLUS TWO = TEFILLIN
Four Sections; Four Compartments
The Mitzvah of wearing Tefillin is mentioned in the Torah four times; twice in the book of Exodus and twice in Deuteronomy. These four sections are written out and contained in the Tefillin. In the Hand Tefillin they are all written on one scroll, whereas in the Head Tefillin they are written on four separate scrolls and inserted into four separate compartments.
What is the Biblical source for the requirement that the Head Tefillin contain its scrolls in four separate compartments?
Rashi, citing a Talmudic tradition, explains that the word used by the Torah for the Head Tefillin is totafos, a composite of the two words, tat and pas. Tat in the language of Kaspi is two and pas in the Afriki language also means two. The Torah here thus hints that we should create four compartments (2+2) for the Head Tefillin.
Four Compartments; Four Questions
This comment raises some obvious questions:
First, why the need for four compartments in the Head Tefillin? While we need four sections of the Torah, since they each contain a reference to the Mitzvah of wearing Tefillin, why do they have to be placed into four separate compartments in the Head Tefillin?
Second, why doesn’t the Torah mention the requirement of four compartments explicitly?
Third, why would the Torah, which was written in the Holy Tongue, teach us something about Tefillin using two different foreign languages?
To be sure, the Shaloh (Rabbi Yeshayah Halevi Hurvits, a sixteenth century sage) explains, these “foreign” words are actually Hebrew words that were forgotten and somehow tuned up in other languages. However, the question still remains, why couldn’t the Torah have used Hebrew words that had not been forgotten to indicate the need for four compartments?
Fourth, what is the symbolism and hidden message in these two languages, Kaspi and Afriki, and what is their connection to Tefillin?
Action Versus Intellect
One partial answer to these questions (based on the work Mateh Nafatli) is that the two elements of the Tefillin represent two aspects of our devotion to G-d. The Hand Tefillin represents action and the Head Tefillin intellect and thought. Of these two, Judaism considers action more important. We therefore put on the Hand Tefillin before the Head Tefillin to indicate that even before we understand why we perform a certain Mitzvah we must do it. Even if we never fathom G-d’s rationale for His commandments we still must perform them.
However, throughout our long exile, there have been many instances where tyrannical authorities forbade the practice of Judaism. Concerning Tefillin in particular, the Talmud relates how the Romans expressly banned donning Tefillin and threatened to execute anyone who was found doing it.
During the Holocaust and in the Soviet Gulag there were isolated stories of heroism by Jews who risked their lives to put on Tefillin, but the overwhelming majority of Jews simply could not procure Tefillin even if they had been willing to risk their lives to do so.
What does a Jew do when he can’t physically perform a Mitzvah due to circumstances beyond his control?
The answer is to perform the Mitzvah mentally. The Talmud states that when a Jew sincerely wants to do a Mitzvah and is precluded from doing it due to circumstances beyond his control, G-d reckons it as if he had done the Mitzvah. However, the person must make every attempt to do the Mitzvah in whichever manner possible. If one cannot do the Mitzvah physically he should at least do it in his mind and heart.
The Torah alludes to this thought when it says that the four sections and compartments of the Head Tefillin correspond to the number four in foreign languages, symbolizing our challenge to observe the Mitzvah in foreign lands in times of persecution. At least, the Torah hints to us, do the Mitzvah cerebrally; put on the virtual Head Tefillin, and that way you will be able to fulfill the Mitzvah in exile as much as possible.
Tefillin is Symbol of Geulah-Redemption
The fact that the Torah teaches this lesson with regard to Tefillin in particular, although it applies to every Mitzvah we cannot perform because of exile conditions, is because the Mitzvah of Tefillin is particularly suited to get us out of exile. The Torah tells us that Tefillin are reminders of the Exodus, which portends the future Redemption. This is particularly true with regard to the Head Tefillin, which the Zohar states, is a symbol of freedom and royalty much like the crown it resembles.
Wearing Tefillin empowers us to defy the exile conditions symbolized by the two foreign nations of Kafti and Afriki that are combined into the word totafos..
The above still does not explain the significance of the number four with respect to the Head Tefillin, nor does it explain the significance of these two foreign languages (Kaspi and Afriki) in particular.
Mind Over Heart
The Head Tefillin, as stated, symbolizes the intellectual approach to serving G-d, while the Hand Tefillin, placed opposite the heart, symbolize the emotional approach. There is an advantage to each.
Emotions are fickle. This is best seen in children. One minute they can throw a tantrum and the next minute be docile and subdued followed by joyous laughter. There is no telling what will be the catalyst to cause an explosive reaction, and no one can say when it will abruptly pivot into a totally opposite emotion.
Intellect, on the other hand, is stable. While the heart, the symbol of emotion, is constantly pumping blood, the brain keeps its activities under wraps. We cannot feel our brain waves the way we feel the pulsation of the heart. Intellect is cool, calm and collected, while emotion is heated, explosive and all over the place.
One of the messages of Tefillin therefore is placement of mind over heart. We must instill understanding into our emotions to temper and guide them.
However, intellect is subject to its own set of problems that can undermine its ability to influence our emotions properly.
Intellect is impersonal. Emotion is the glue that connects to other events, things or people. Intellect causes us to withdraw into its own sphere. Emotions show up in our facial expressions. We can tell if someone is depressed, happy, kind or cruel, etc., by looking into their face. But, it is virtually impossible to detect a person’s intellectual capacity by looking at the face.
However, the above applies only to the external or “backside” or “shoulder” aspect of the intellect. Chassidic philosophy reveals that the internal, or “facial” dimension of the intellect, is closely aligned with the inner sanctum of our heart. The key to a healthy mind-heart relationship thus is to elevate our intellect from its external-“shoulder” mode to its internal-“facial” mode.
This is how Chassidic thought explains why the Ark had to be carried on the shoulders of the priests and not transported in a wagon. When they carried it on their shoulders, their backside, they actually faced one another, This symbolizes the role of the Ark to take the backside of the spiritual intellectual dimension of the Ark (which contained the Tablet the innermost dimension of Divine wisdom) and have it match the internal, facial aspect of the Ark.
In simpler language, the face of wisdom refers to G-d’s wisdom as it is understood by Him and has been transmitted to us in the Torah. When we study Torah we come face to face (pun intended) with G-d’s inner wisdom. By contrast, when we study nature or any aspect of G-d’s creation, we are only accessing the backside of Divine wisdom.
When we deal with intellect in its “shoulder” or “backside” state it is devoid of connectivity to others. It is cold and detached. Perhaps that is the origin of the expression “he’s giving him the cold shoulder.”
Kaspi: Connecting the Shoulders to the Face
Here then is the connection between the Kaspi language and the Head Tefillin. The word “Kaspi” is related to another Hebrew word which means “shoulders.”
When the shoulder however is connected to the Head Tefillin it imbues the shoulder with the face of wisdom, with inner purpose and connectivity.
Thus the Head Tefillin contains an allusion to the shoulder to indicate that the intellect that Head Tefillin represents is not cold and detached. Rather, it relates to the inner intellect which is in touch with the inner emotions of the person. It is only when our intellect is in its external mode that it does not relate to emotion and cannot positively influence our emotions.
Hence, the first two sections of the Head Tefillin relate to the two shoulders, which also allude to the two directions all emotions take, to the right (chesed-kindness) or left, (gevurah-harshness). One’s kindness and love can be uncouth and stifled when our intellect is just on “shoulder” level. Likewise our judgment and discipline can be uncouth and rough. In short we are in exile.
When we make the “shoulders” a component of the Head Tefillin (which contain the theme of the Exodus), it elevates, edifies and liberates them because the Head Tefillin are a crown worn on the head signifying wisdom in its most exalted and liberated state.
Afriki: Connecting the Head to the Crown
As stated, the second two parts of the Head Tefilin are related to Afriki, which shares a root with the Hebrew word perek, chapter, or disconnected. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 99b) criticizes one who only studies Torah intermittently. It uses the word lifrakim, which has the same root as Afriki. The Chassidic Sage Rabbi Hillel of Paritch offered a deeper understanding of this lower effort of Torah study. It refers to one who disconnects his knowledge of Torah from its G-dly source.
Hence the second two sections and compartments of Head Tefillin, which discuss G-d’s unity, demand of us that we not be content with uniting our external understanding (“shoulders-Kapti”) with our internal mind. The Head Tefillin also want us to connect our observance of the two entities, Torah and Mitzvos, to their Divine Source; i.e., to the Divine that resides in Torah that transcends even the inner precincts of wisdom. This is symbolized by the crown which connotes that which is above the mind.
As mentioned, Tefillin are associated with liberation and Divine unity. Putting on Tefillin is one way to prepare for the final Redemption when we will be fully liberated. This will bring about the full alignment between the external and internal wisdom, as well as the complete connection of our Judaism with its Crown.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Voeschanan by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
