Our Main Weapon

“And it shall be to you as a sign upon your hand and as a remembrance between your eyes, in order that the law of the Lord shall be in your mouth, for with a mighty hand the Lord took you out of Egypt.” (Shemot 13:9) 
 

Throughout the generations, we find that the great tzaddikim and pious leaders would go to great lengths to encourage yidden to perform the mitzvah of Tefillin. Jews would be moser nefesh, would sacrifice everything to find a pair of Tefillin to fulfill this precious mitzvah. And this is one of the first mitzvot that we encourage a baal teshuvah to start observing on their journey back to Yiddishkeit. 
 

Tefillin contain parchment upon which is written four sections of the Torah that outline the foundations of a Jew’s emunah, that describe Hashgachah Pratit and that prescribes the obligation to accept Hashem’s sovereignty, kabbalat ol malchut shemyaim. This mitzvah helps instill and arouse a Jew’s emunah, faith, which is the cornerstone of Yiddishkeit, as it says in Sefer HaChinuch (422). 

During Trying Times 

A man told me about his experiences during the war in one of the labor camps. He was there with the great tzaddik, the Klausenberger Rebbe, z”tl. The Rebbe had managed to secure a single pair of tefillin. He was afraid that if he lent them out, they might become damaged, and therefore, no longer kosher. 
 

However, the Rebbe did not want to deprive anyone of that mitzvah. So, each day, the Rebbe would walk through the barracks, going from bunk to bunk, where there were multiple Jews laying together weak and tired. The Rebbe would place the tefillin on one person, say the bracha with them, and then immediately remove the tefillin and move onto the next person. The Rebbe would continue until everyone had the opportunity to do this mitzvah. This required a tremendous amount of devotion and mesires nefesh. 
 

R’ Tzvi Hirsh Meislish, zt”l, the head of the Beis Din of Veitzen, wrote in his book Makedshei Hashem, that there were countless stories of yidden during the Holocaust who – through great miracles and wonders – were successful in smuggling tefillin into the labor and concentration camps. Every day, these yidden would go to great measure to fulfill this mitzvah even though if they were caught it meant certain death. R’ Tzvi Hersh explained, that these were days that truly tested the emunah of the yidden, and therefore, there was Heavenly assistance to ensure that yidden could perform this mitzvah thereby strengthening their emunah through the power of the tefillin. 

Emunah: The Greatest Weapon 

Emunah has the power to protect a yid physically as well. As the Zohar explains (Behar 110b) that a person who has completely reinforced his emunah cannot be harmed by another person. 
 

By the war with the Amalek, the Torah tells us (Shemot 17:11), It came to pass that when Moses would raise his hand, Israel would prevail, and when he would lay down his hand, Amalek would prevail. Chazal explained (Rosh Hashanah Chapter III, Mishnah 8) that whenever the Jews looked towards the Heavens, towards Hashem, they succeeded in the battle. When they didn’t, they fell. 
 

The Gemara teaches (Sotah 44b) that you do not accept a Jewish soldier who is not meticulous in the laws of tefillin. The Rishonim explain (Hilchos Katanos L’Rash, Hilchos Tefillin, Siman 15) that the reason is because only through the power of the mitzvah of Tefillin can a person survive a war as it says (Devarim 33:20), tearing the arm [of his prey, together] with the head. The power of the emunah that the Tefillin instills in a person protects them from harm. 
 

Similarly, the Torah teaches us (Devarim 28:10), Then all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they will fear you. Chazal expounded (Munachos 35), that this means that the enemies of the Jewish people will see them wearing Tefillin. Meaning that the emunah which is strengthened through this mitzvah merits that Hashem places a fear in the hearts of these enemies, and they flee from the Jews. 
 

Dovid HaMelech wrote in Tehillim (20:8-9), These trust in chariots and these in horses, but we-we mention the name of the Lord our God. They kneel and fall, but we rise and gain strength. The nations of the world depended on the strength of their horses and cavalry, which were the most advanced weapons of that era. The yidden however, leaned onto their emunah, they trusted in the name of Hashem, and therefore, their enemies fell before them. Their victories depended on their emunah. 

The Mighty Hand 

Hashem taught us this concept during the redemption from Egypt. 
 

During the slavery in Egypt, beyond the physical suffering, the Seforim explain that daat, knowledge, was in exile. The power of daat was trapped in bondage as well. They perverted the Jewish mind as well as the body. The Egyptian philosophy was that they could outsmart Hashem, that they could challenge Him without consequence. They felt like they were wiser. As it says, “Let us deal shrewdly with him” (Shemot 1:10). And, on the surface, it appeared that they were successful. They continued to burden the Jews. They kept them from becoming too strong or mighty. They prevented them from rising and rebelling against their masters. 
 

Therefore, Hashem did not allow the Egyptians to free the Jews willingly and through a natural course of events like we see during the times of Purim. For, even if they were freed and emancipated, their minds and their daat would still be imprisoned in galut. They would think that everything depends on the power and abilities of man. 
 

Rather, Hashem took the Jews out with a mighty Hand, against the Egyptians’ will. They were forced to free the Jews, thereby strengthening the Jews’ emunah. And the Jews merited to see at the splitting of the sea, the might of the Egyptian army and their horses drowned in the waters of the sea. And then the Jews began their praises of the Shira by saying (Shemot 15:1), I will sing to the Lord, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea. 
 

This explains the pasuk in our parsha. “And it shall be to you as a sign upon your hand and as a remembrance between your eyes” refers to the mitzvah of Tefillin, which strengthens one’s emunah and enables them to place “the law of the Lord shall be in your mouth”. They are able to become fluent in the concepts of emunah. They were able to articulate their emunah. All of this was accomplished “because with a mighty hand the Lord took you out of Egypt”. 
 

Therefore, when a person speaks about news or is discussing private matters, he should accustom himself to say things like “G-d Willing” or with “G-d’s help” etc. When a person articulates that, the listener also becomes more aware of their emunah and Hashem’s Hashgachah Pratit. And, through this, we should merit the downfall of our enemies, and only blessings and good things should flow to the Jewish people. 

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The Kalever Rebbe is the seventh Rebbe of the Kaalov Chasidic dynasty, begun by his ancestor who was born to his previously childless parents after receiving a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov zy”a, and later learned under the Maggid of Mezeritch zt”l. The Rebbe has been involved in outreach for more than 30 years and writes weekly emails on understanding current issues through the Torah. Sign up at www.kaalov.org.