A Sign Upon Your Arm

“And you shall bind them as a sign on your arm, and let them be frontlets between your eyes” Deuteronomy 6:8. This is the verse from which we derive the commandment of Tefillin.

In Hebrew both “between the eyes” and “on the arm” are very broad descriptions. Between the eyes can be anywhere from directly between the eyes to the top of the forehead, centered between the eyes, and on the arm can be anywhere from the hand to the bicep. So, according to Rambam, we know where to bind them based on an oral tradition. The head tefillin go on the head, just above the hair line, and the arm tefillin are bound on the bicep (Mishneh Torah). The sages also tell us to touch the tefillin and kiss our fingers when we mention the tefillin during the Shema (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandments 9).

I’m not going to go into detail about how they are made or why they are made that way, since I doubt any of us have the ability to make them ourselves. The portions contained in the tefillin are the four portions that contain the commandment to wear tefillin (Exodus 13:1-10, 11-16. Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21). Because of the sanctity of this commandment, we should treat them with the utmost respect. Our minds should stay focused on God and prayer, rather than ordinary things (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandment 8-9). Even though the Scriptural commandment does not set a specific time for binding tefillin, because of the sanctity of thought and action that it requires, the sages ruled that a person has fulfilled the command if he wears them during morning prayers. It is, however, permitted to wear them throughout the day (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandment 9)

Nearly every halachic source emphasizes the importance of wearing tefilling during the Shema, that we treat them with respect (we don’t wear them while dressed immodestly, or while in the presence of immodesty, or in a restroom, etc). cf BT Berachot 14; Hilchot Tefillin; The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandments 8-9; Orach Chaim, Siman 32.

R. Yeshua also mentions an important point regarding tefillin in Matthew 23:5. Indirectly, he tells us not to make our tefillin (also known as phylacteries) broad. Their purpose is not to be shown off. In Deuteronomy 6:8 we are told that their purpose is to be a “sign,” a marker of the covenant between God and Israel. We should not mistake this for a sign to people, it is a sign between God and Israel, and it is only important that God knows about our practice of tefillin.

Moths, Rust, and Thieves

“Do not covet” Exodus 20:14, what this means has been disputed for a long time. Many authorities, such as R. Israel Meir Kagan (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Negative Commandment 40) argue that this commandment only applies when a person begins to actually take steps toward getting the thing they want.

This view seems extreme. After all, Rambam even states that for certain kinds of items the moment a person thinks to himself, “How is it possible to acquire this from him?” he has coveted (Mishneh Torah, Gezelah va’Avedah 1:10). However, it is important to point out that according to Babylonian Talmud, Baba Meisa 5b, this only applies to something that we cannot get legally. If it is for sale, then it is allowed to think “How can I get this item?” If the item is not for sale, though, it is not allowed.

The Master and Rambam give very different warnings against coveting. Rambam very simply states that coveting leads to theft. R. Yeshua, though, tells a story.

The land of a rich man brough forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, “What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?” And he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Luke 12:16-20 (NRSV)

This is a much more elegant way of dealing with coveting because it talks about an entire lifestyle. To the Master the reason coveting is wrong is not because it leads to stealing, though that is true. The problem with coveting is that it is the wrong way to approach life. As he says, “A man’s life is not from the abundance of his posessions.” (Luke 12:15)

Life comes from much more important things. Life comes from family. From justice. From doing right. Above all, life comes from God, not from things. This is why desiring things is prohibited.

The Kingdom of Heaven

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.” Matthew 18:23 (RSV)

R. Yeshua goes on to tell that one of the king’s servants couldn’t pay his debt of ten thousand talents, and because of his begging, the king released him from his debt. Afterwards, the servant comes to another servant who owed him one hundred denarii, and the first servant had the second thrown in jail because he was unable to pay. When the king hears about this he reacts strongly:

“Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18: 32-35 (RSV)

The lesson is pretty clear by itself, but it is also based in a specific commandment, from Exodus 22:24a, “If you lend to My people, the poor who are with you, you shall not be a creditor to him.” R. Israel Meir Kagan explains from this that a lender should not demand money from a borrower who can’t pay (The Concise Book of Commandments, Negative Commandments 52).

This applies in other ways, aswell. Not only should we not act like creditors when it comes to money, we shouldn’t act as creditors in anything. If I do you a favor, I cannot expect you to do me a favor in return. The Mishna makes this explicit in Mishna, Baba Meisa 5:10-11, where it is clearly stated that this commandment applies to any kind of favor or help that we can offer to eachother.

We do not expect any kind of repayment, especially when we know that the person can’t repay. R. Yeshua tells us, “Lend without expecting anything in return and you will have a great reward” (Luke 6:35).

R. Yeshua tells us what the reward is in one sense, if you forgive debts, your debts will be forgiven, but this also makes daily life work better. If we all give without expecting anything then the society runs better. No one can hold anything over your head. If someone gives you a gift, you aren’t expected to give something of equal value in return.

Better to Lose One Member

I want to talk about a very simple commandment today. “When you build a new house, make a wall for your roof, and you will not bring blood upon your house if anyone falls from it.” Deuteronomy 22:8

This only applies to flat roofs in personal dwellings, so for most of us, it won’t apply strictly as it appears here. A few Spanish style houses still have flat roofs, and they require a wall at least ten handbreadths high and strong enough for a person to lean against it without it falling over. (Mishneh Torah, Sefer Nezikim, Rotseakh ushmirath nefesh 11:3)

If we take this as a general principle, though, it applies to a lot more of us in a lot more ways. Rambam does take this as a general principle, and gives the example of building a wall around a well, or any other place that a person might fall from or into (Mishneh Torah, Sefer Nezikim, Rotseakh ushmirath nefesh 11:4). R. Israel Meir Kagan z”tzl expands this to anything dangerous in your house. This could be a vicious dog, a place where a person is likely to trip, or anything else that might endanger someone (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, positive commandment 75).

All of this is an extension of the commandment to preserve life. It is important for us to provide for the life and safety of others. There may be a tendency sometimes to think of that as “their responsibility,” but the Torah teaches us to take responsibility for each other, making us stronger as a group than we were as individuals.

We can also expand this principle in another direction. R. Yeshua says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29) The idea here is that if something consistently causes us to sin, we should take it out of our lives. If every time I talk to certain people I end up slandering someone else, I should avoid talking to those people until I can control myself.