Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

With thanks to our brotherhood, Beth Emeth continued its participation in a three decade long initiative called the World Wide Wrap. A project of the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs (FJMC), the morning of Super Bowl Sunday has become a time to deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Mitzvah of Tefillin.

Rabbi David Grundland and I spoke about the "body and soul of Tefillin." I explored the body aspects of Tefillin. Here are some snapshots from my presentation:

The Tefillin boxes are called "Batim - Houses." We should feel at home with Tefillin, our Judaism, and our relationship with God. The boxes house the four Biblical citations of Tefillin, handwritten by a scribe.

Since both, Tefillin and Shabbat, are called in Hebrew "Oht - Sign," we don Tefillin on weekdays but not on Shabbat/Yom Tov.

The hand one writes with is the hand one binds with. This is based on the Biblical juxtaposition of "You shall bind . . . (Tefillin)" followed by "You shall write . . . (Mezuzot.)"

This explains why those who write with the right hand don Tefillin on the left arm, and why those who write with the left hand don tefillin on the right arm. Since the Yud knot adjacent to the box must be the first thing angled to the heart, righty tefilin have that knot to the right of the box. Lefty tefilin have that knot to the left of the box.

When the tefilin are worn, one displays the letters - Shin, Dalet, Yud. These letters spell Shadai, a Biblical name for God. There are some different practices concerning where these letters are formed on the Tefilin.

In the box worn on the arm, all four Biblical citations are found in one single chamber. In the box worn on the head, four small compartments are formed. Each citation is located in its specific chamber. We act as one, but we think, comprehend, and believe in a multiplicity of ways.

On the box for the head, a three pronged and four pronged Shin sit on opposite sides. The numerical equivalent of each shin, plus the prongs, plus the word "Shesh (both shins side by side)" result in a numerology of 613, the symbolic number for all the Mitzvot in Judaism.

One may think of Tefilin as Jewish jumper cables which warm us up spiritually when we begin every ordinary weekday.

I thank FJMC, our brotherhood, and our daily daveners who made World Wide Wrap available and meaningful.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison