jewscout
Religious Zionist
World of the Sages: God's tefillin
From where is it derived that the Holy One, blessed be He, dons tefillin?" a startling question asked without context, that captivates the imagination (B. Berachot 6a-b).
The Talmud continues by quoting biblical verses that support the notion that indeed God wears tefillin. The talmudic discussion goes further in querying the contents of God's tefillin: "Those tefillin of the Master of the Universe what is written in them?"
Our tefillin contain biblical passages that carry the tefillin command, namely the instruction to place symbols "on your hand" and "between your eyes" that are to serve as a sign of our relationship with God and as a reminder to adhere to his precepts (Exodus 13:1-10; 11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21). Clearly such passages would not be suitable for Divine tefillin; what, therefore, is written in God's tefillin? Since our tefillin contain verses extolling the Almighty, God's tefillin must contain verses relating to the Jewish people. The passage continues giving voice to God as He explains to Israel His choice of verse: "You have singled Me out for distinct praise in the world, by declaring the Shema 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One' (Deuteronomy 6:4). I, therefore, will make you the subject of unique praise in the world by proclaiming 'And who is like Your people Israel, one nation in the land' (I Chronicles 17:21)." As the Shema is found in our tefillin, so are expressions of the inimitability of the Jewish people found in God's tefillin.
complete article here:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1120098357028&apage=1
From where is it derived that the Holy One, blessed be He, dons tefillin?" a startling question asked without context, that captivates the imagination (B. Berachot 6a-b).
The Talmud continues by quoting biblical verses that support the notion that indeed God wears tefillin. The talmudic discussion goes further in querying the contents of God's tefillin: "Those tefillin of the Master of the Universe what is written in them?"
Our tefillin contain biblical passages that carry the tefillin command, namely the instruction to place symbols "on your hand" and "between your eyes" that are to serve as a sign of our relationship with God and as a reminder to adhere to his precepts (Exodus 13:1-10; 11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21). Clearly such passages would not be suitable for Divine tefillin; what, therefore, is written in God's tefillin? Since our tefillin contain verses extolling the Almighty, God's tefillin must contain verses relating to the Jewish people. The passage continues giving voice to God as He explains to Israel His choice of verse: "You have singled Me out for distinct praise in the world, by declaring the Shema 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One' (Deuteronomy 6:4). I, therefore, will make you the subject of unique praise in the world by proclaiming 'And who is like Your people Israel, one nation in the land' (I Chronicles 17:21)." As the Shema is found in our tefillin, so are expressions of the inimitability of the Jewish people found in God's tefillin.
complete article here:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1120098357028&apage=1