Tefillin — Phylacteries
Hebrew: תְּפִלִּין
Tefillin are leather boxes containing Torah scrolls, bound to the arm and head daily. In Chabad thought, tefillin are the mitzvah that most directly and physically expresses the binding of the human being to God.
The Inner Dimension
Head Tefillin: Binding the Mind
The head tefillin (shel rosh) is placed on the skull, above the brain — the seat of the intellectual faculties. In Kabbalah, the head tefillin correspond to the three highest sefirot (Chabad — Chochmah, Binah, Daat) and to the level of Neshamah. Placing tefillin on the head dedicates the intellect to Divine service.
The four compartments of the head tefillin contain the four Torah passages — together encompassing the entire message of Divine unity and the Jewish obligation.
Arm Tefillin: Binding the Heart
The arm tefillin (shel yad) is placed on the upper arm, opposite the heart — the seat of emotion. It is wound around the arm and hand. In Kabbalah, this corresponds to Zeir Anpin (the emotional attributes) and to the level of Ruach. The arm tefillin binds the emotional life to Divine service.
The single compartment of the arm tefillin (vs. four in the head) represents the unity of the inner life directed entirely toward God.
Kesher — The Knot
The knot (kesher) of the tefillin is formed in the shape of the letter dalet (ד) — completing the Divine name Shaddai (שַׁדַּי) that is formed by the shin on the head tefillin, the dalet of the knot, and the yud of the hand tefillin.
The Rebbe’s Tefillin Campaign
The Lubavitcher Rebbe launched a massive tefillin campaign in 1967, insisting that every Jewish man wear tefillin daily. The Rebbe taught that tefillin is the single mitzvah that simultaneously binds intellect, emotion, and action — the complete human being.
Sources
- Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh
- Alter Rebbe, Shulchan Aruch HaRav — Laws of Tefillin
- The Rebbe, tefillin campaign sichos