Positive Mitzvah Twelve

Binding Tefillin (on the head)

Devarim 6:8 Bind them as a sign upon your arm and let them shall be ornaments between your eyes.

This Mitzvah is repeated four times in Scripture. (Shemot 13:9, 16; Devarim 6:8, 11:18)

"And all the people of the earth shall see that the name of Hashem is called upon you" (Devarim 28:10); We are taught: Rabbi Eliezer the Great says:

"This verse refers to the Tefillin of the Head' (Chul. 89a). The observance of this Mitzvah, according to the Sages, thus constitutes a proclamation before 'the people of the earth' that His Name is called upon Yisrael."

Donning tefillin shows the acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of Heaven, the remembrance of the miracles and wonders that the blessed G-d wrought for our forefathers when He took them out of Egypt, and [the fact that] He brought us near to His service and worship, Baruch Hu.

From the age of thirteen, Jewish boys are commanded to put on Tefillin every weekday, expressing their dedication and love for Hashem. Tefillin are square leather boxes containing parchments upon which portions of the Torah are hand-written by a scribe. They are worn on the head showing that our thoughts should be connected to Hashem, just as the tefillin are tied onto us.

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