Rabbi Julie’s sermon for Parshat Bo, February 1, 2025

Exodus 13:9, 16

“And it shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead – in order that the Teaching of the Lord may be in your mouth – that with a mighty hand the Lord freed you from Egypt…And so it shall be a sign upon your hand and as a symbol on your forehead that with a mighty hand the Lord freed us from Egypt.”

‘Why Tefillin’, Aryeh Kaplan, p.11-12

God gathered an entire people, three million strong, to the foot of Mount Sinai, and proclaimed His message.  Every man, woman, and child heard God’s voice decreeing the Ten Commandments.  Thus was the bond forged between God and Israel.

This took place just seven weeks after the Jews left Egypt.  It was the climax of the drama of the Exodus.  

This was an event unique in the history of humankind…

The parchment in the Tefillin speaks of the Exodus.

Tefillin thus serve to bind us to our past, especially to this unique event in our history.

We can understand this on a deeper level.  But first we must understand the true significance of the Exodus and Sinai.  We must know what it means to say an entire people heard God’s voice. To hear God’s voice is no simple matter.  Only prophets hear God’s voice.  What happened at Sinai was that an entire people – men, women, and children – achieved the level of prophecy.

There are many ways to approach God.

You can approach him on an intellectual level.  You can ask questions and seek answers until you achieve some understanding of the Infinite.  This is in the realm of the philosopher.

You can seek God on a more intimate level, in prayer and in meditation.  There may come a time then when your self ceases to exist and all your senses are numbed.  Suddenly, a door seems to open, if only by the slightest crack.  You catch a glimpse of the Divine, and discover something more wonderful than anything on earth.  Somehow you feel a unique closeness to God. To describe it would be as impossible as to describe the beauty of the sunset to a blind man.  But you know it is there.  The door has been opened to you, and you have peered through the crack.  This is the level of the mystic.

But sometimes the door is opened all the way.  A person experiences more than a glimpse.  He hears a clear voice and receives a lucid message.  This is the highest possible human bond with God.  It is the level of the prophet.

At Sinai, every Jew attained this level.

Tefillin brings us back to this unique moment. 

Deuteronomy 6:4, 9 & 11:18

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might…And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand and for frontlets between your eyes…  Therefore, take these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead…”

‘Why Tefillin’, Aryeh Kaplan (p. 9-10)

Have you ever truly loved?  Have you ever felt so close to another human being that every moment was precious? Where every moment apart was one of longing?

Where every letter and memento from this person was something to be treasured?

What if this person gave you a ring or a pin and asked you to wear it?

Every time you looked at it or felt it on your finger, would it not remind you of this great love?

The greatest possible love is the love between God and [humans].

God told us through his prophet (Jer. 31:3), “I have loved you with an infinite world of love.” To truly believe in God is to share this love.

To the best of our understanding, God’s very act of creation was an act of love.  It was a love so immense that the human mind cannot begin to fathom it.  The Bible alludes to it saying, (Psalms 136:7), “To Him Who made the great stars, for His love is infinite.”

This bond of love exists always, even when we do not deserve it.  God is a Father Who loves His children even when they go astray.  It is our duty, however, to strengthen this bond.

Tefillin are a sign of this bond of love…

If you would open a pair of Tefillin, you would find that they contain four parchments.  One of these parchments consists of the Sh’ma.  It contains the commandment to love God: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.”  

This commandment speaks of three kinds of love.  You must love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.

The Tefillin mirror these three types of love.

“With all your heart” – The hand tefillin are worn on the left hand opposite the heart.  We thus dedicate our heart, the seat of life, to the love of God.

“With all your soul” – The head tefillin are worn next to the brain, the seat of [human] soul and intellect.  We thus dedicate our mind to the love of God.

“With all your might” – The hand tefillin are bound to the arm, the symbol of [human] strength.  We thus dedicate all our powers to the love of God.

Love is the basis of the entire Torah.

World Wide Wrap  The students asked Rabbi Ada ben Ahavah, “Why were you worthy of such a long life?”  He replied, “One reason is because I always wore tefillin.”   – Talmud, Ta’anit 20

Tefillin, Aryeh Kaplan (p. 17)

If you have a pair of Tefillin, put them on today.  If not, buy, borrow, or beg a pair, and put them on as soon as possible. 

Make it a daily habit.

There are few things in life that are more important.

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