In our mouths and in our hearts: Day 8
(Introduction.)
Today: The “ritual commandments” arguably start here.
76. “Speak of them … when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7) = say the Shema every morning and evening
77. “You shall serve Adonai your God.” (Exodus 23:25) = pray to God
78. “Thus shall you bless the people of Israel.” (Numbers 6:23) = directed at the kohanim (priests); it’s the priestly blessing
79. “They shall be a symbol between your eyes.” (Deuteronomy 6:8) = tefillin on the head
80. “Bind them as a sign on your hand.” (Deuteronomy 6:8) = tefillin on the arm
81. “Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:9) = mezuzah
82. “Write down this poem.” (Deuteronomy 31:19) = write a sefer torah
83. “When [the king] is seated on his royal throne, he shall write a copy of this Torah on a scroll.” (Deuteronomy 17:18) = a second copy for the king
84. “They shall make fringes on the corners of their garments.” (Numbers 15:37)
85. “When you have eaten your fill, bless Adonai your God for the good land which God has given you.” (Deuteronomy 8:10) = birkat hamazon
86. “On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” (Leviticus 12:3)
87. “On the seventh day you shall rest.” (Exodus 23:12) = Shabbat!
88. “Don’t do any work [on Shabbat].” (Exodus 20:10)
89. “You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on the sabbath day.” (Exodus 35:3) = but fire is already included in #88! So this refers to fire for capital punishment. The court shouldn’t carry out punishments on Shabbat.
90. “Let no one leave his/her place on the seventh day.” (Exodus 16:29) = stay inside the Shabbat boundaries.
84 – i read before something like – when jews wore cornered garments as normal practice and now we wear the tallit katan/tallit gadol as a reminder (depending upon your jew brand). so…what were these cornered garments like? like big ponchos? hmmm…..
Really I have nothing against tefillin (except perhaps some of the economics involved), but let’s not lose sight of the contextual meaning of mitzvot #79 and #80: the words of Torah (specifically, “You shall love Adonai your God”) should be a symbol before our eyes, and a sign on our hands: they should be the lens through which we look at the world, and should guide our actions.
If tefillin help you accomplish this, yay. If you can get there without tefillin, yay. If tefillin are a substitute for this, boo.
#77:
Are we serving God by praying? Or are we serving ourselves, enabling us to do other things that will serve God?
#89:
Can someone post the Heschel quote about how we shouldn’t be kindling the fire of anger on Shabbat? That’s one to work on.