The Tefilin

231. "And it shall be for a token upon your hand, and for frontlets between your eyes" (Shemot 13:16). This commandment is considered in a different category, since it is not considered a commandment but rather a matter of holiness. And these are the Tefilin, the hand Tefilin and the head Tefilin, for they are a manifestation of glorification and beauty of supernal visions. Therefore they are called "frontlets," as it is written, "Yisrael, in whom I will be glorified" (Yeshayah 49:3).

232. It is written, "When Yisrael was a child, then I loved him" (Hoshea 11:1). It refers to young Yisrael, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN WITH MOCHIN OF SMALLNESS, and "Hear, O Yisrael (Heb. Sh'ma Yisrael)" refers to Yisrael Saba (old), WHICH IS BINAH WITH MOCHIN OF GREATNESS, which is beautiful in appearance above IN BINAH and below IN MALCHUT. HE EXPLAINS HOW ALL THE MOCHIN OF YISRAEL-SABA AND TEVUNAH COME DOWN, SAYING Joseph, WHO IS YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN, rises up TO BINAH and is adorned there WITH TWO COLORS, WHITE AND RED, WHICH ARE IN THE TWO COLUMNS OF BINAH, BY HIS RECONCILING THE TWO COLUMNS OF BINAH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MEANING OF 'THREE EMERGE FROM ONE; ONE EXISTS IN THREE.' Before HE ASCENDED TO BINAH, he is CALLED a 'lad,' and in the end, AFTER HE WAS CROWNED WITH THE MOCHIN OF BINAH, he is CALLED 'righteous.' How beautiful are the sights seen in him. This is the secret of, "And Joseph was good-looking and well favored" (Beresheet 39:6). HE was fair on both sides, WHICH ARE RIGHT AND LEFT; on two levels, WHICH ARE CHOCHMAH AND CHASSADIM; in two appearances, WHICH ARE WHITE AND RED; above IN BINAH and below IN MALE AND FEMALE. FOR AFTER HE MEDIATES IN BINAH, HE DESCENDS AND MEDIATES BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE.

233. It is written, "And you shall do that which is right and good" (Devarim 6:18). The "right" refers to the hand Tefilin, WHICH IS MALCHUT, TO IMPROVE HER, MEANING to bestow on her by the head Tefilin, WHICH IS ZEIR ANPIN, so that they shall become one. The hand Tefilin is DONNED before the head Tefilin, and there must be no separation at all between them.

234. One who is crowned with Tefilin is in the same category as the above, and apprehends the two meanings we mentioned in relation to Joseph, who is called a 'lad' and also called 'Righteous,' MEANING in the secret of faithful servant and the secret of only son. These are the hand Tefilin, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE LAD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, and the head Tefilin, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND ONLY SON. They are both actually one principle, AS MENTIONED.

235. The four passages that are in the Tefilin are in four compartments in the head Tefilin. As there are four compartments in the head Tefilin, so are they all in one compartment in the hand Tefilin. This is because the hand Tefilin, WHICH IS MALCHUT, has nothing of its own, but what it receives from above, FROM ZEIR ANPIN. SINCE IT RECEIVES THEM AT ONCE, IT HAS ONLY ONE COMPARTMENT. BUT ZEIR ANPIN RECEIVES THEM ONE AFTER THE OTHER; THEREFORE, THEY ARE IN FOUR COMPARTMENTS. This is the secret meaning of, "All the rivers run into the sea" (Kohelet 1:7), FOR "THE RIVERS" WHICH ARE FLOWING FROM ZEIR ANPIN FLOW TO MALCHUT, WHICH IS CALLED 'SEA.' Because it receives them from above, FROM BINAH, it is called Tefilin, and is sanctified with their holiness. It is called 'Holiness' BECAUSE THE MOCHIN OF BINAH ARE CALLED 'HOLINESS,' and it is called 'Tefilin,' and then Malchut is called 'the Complete Kingdom of Heaven.'

236. We have already explained the meaning of the four passages in many places. But the first passage, "Sanctify to Me all the firstborn" (Heb. kadosh) (Shemot 13:2), WHICH IS CHOCHMAH, is a supernal secret that incorporates all four compartments, WHICH ARE CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT in the secret of the supernal Light, WHICH IS CHOCHMAH that emerges from nothingness, WHICH IS KETER CALLED 'NOTHINGNESS.' EACH OF THE FOUR PASSAGES - CHOCHMAH, BINAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT - INCLUDES THEM ALL AND EACH HAS CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT.

237. All these four, CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT, are alluded to in here, IN THE FIRST PASSAGE, "SANCTIFY" BECAUSE "sanctify" is the supernal Holiness, which is the secret of supernal Chochmah THAT IS CALLED 'HOLINESS.' From there, everything was sanctified by means of the supernal concealment that is called "sanctify." "To me" is Binah, which is the secret of the upper world, the internal chamber. "All" is uniformly the secret of Chesed, either above or below, NAMELY TIFERET OF THE ASPECT OF CHESED. "Firstborn" is the firstborn son, as it is written, "Yisrael is my son, my firstborn" (Shemot 4:22), NAMELY TIFERET, and this firstborn son includes all aspects and all colors, THAT IS, IT INCLUDES MALCHUT IN IT AS WELL. Because of this, the verse includes all four - CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, TIFERET AND MALCHUT - within the secret of supernal Chochmah, WHICH IS THE FIRST PASSAGE. This is a general description to know that everything is included in it, but in details, each one in itself CORRESPONDS TO AN INDIVIDUAL SFIRAH. And the first passage includes the other passages.

238. The second passage, "And it shall be when Hashem shall bring you..." (Heb. vehayah ki yevia'cha) (Shemot 13:11) is Binah. The exodus from Egypt is contained in this passage, which came about from the side of Jubilee WHICH IS BINAH. Therefore it begins with: "And it shall be," because this term pertains to Jubilee. Therefore its name is "And it shall be," because THE FORM OF "And it shall be (Heb. vehayah)," IN THE FUTURE TENSE, pertains only here IN BINAH, and WHOSE MEANING IS that it will flow down to shine on the luminaries, WHICH ARE MALE AND FEMALE, and exist in the lower level, WHICH IS MALCHUT, all pertaining to the same secret. Since it illuminates in a secret way, it is not called openly by this name, VEHAYAH, but is rather given over to wise to know. Therefore, BINAH is marked with the holy name in the word, VEHAYAH (VAV-HEI-YUD-HEI).

239. The third passage WHICH IS 'hear' (Heb. Sh'ma) (Devarim 6:4) is the secret of the right that is called supernal Chesed, MEANING DA'AT. For DA'AT unites all the four sides, THE SECRET OF THREE COLUMNS AND MALCHUT THAT RECEIVES THEM. The Holy One, blessed be He, arranges the order of the whole world through it, FOR THE WHOLE WORLD EXISTS THROUGH IT. This is what spreads in every direction and even into the lower depths, NAMELY BY MEANS OF DA'AT THAT SPREADS TO THE LOWER BEINGS. The Holy One, blessed be He, created the world with it when He wrapped Himself in a cloak of Light, and this is what affects the unison. SINCE IT IS THE CENTRAL COLUMN THAT UNITES THE TWO COLUMNS, RIGHT AND LEFT, WHICH ARE CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, therefore, "Sh'ma" is adjacent to "vehayah" BECAUSE "VEHAYAH" IS BINAH, AND "SH'MA" IS DA'AT THAT MEDIATES BETWEEN CHOCHMAH AND BINAH.

240. The daily profession of unity is a meditation for the sake of knowledge and for paying attention. We have explained this meditation in many places. The daily meditation is the profession of unity in the verse, "Hear, O Yisrael (Sh'ma Yisrael), Hashem our Elohim; Hashem is One." And they are all one. Therefore He is called One. HE ASKS, There are three names here, so how are they one? We proclaim One, NAMELY "HEAR O YISRAEL, HASHEM OUR ELOHIM; HASHEM IS ONE," yet how can they be one?

241. This is made known through the vision of the Holy Spirit. They become part of the mystery of the mirror of the closed eye, to make known that the three COLUMNS ALLUDED TO IN "HASHEM OUR ELOHIM, HASHEM" are one, and this is the secret of the audible sound. Sound is one, and has three aspects - fire, air and water - which are all one in the secret of the sound. Also here, "Hashem, our Elohim; Hashem" are one. They are three aspects but are one.

242. And this is a sound that a person emits AS MEANS OF professing the unity, tending to uniting all THE LEVELS - from the Endless World to the end of everything - by means of the unification affected by this sound he produces through these three COLUMNS which are one. This is the daily profession of unity that has been revealed by means of the Holy Spirit.

243. Many manners of unification were spoken of, and they are all correct. Whoever creates this UNIFICATION does WELL and one who does another UNIFICATION does WELL. But this unification that we awaken from below, by means of sound which is one, clarifies the matter. It is in general, MEANING THAT THE PASSAGE "HEAR" (HEB. SH'MA) INCLUDES WITHIN IT ALL THE THREE COLUMNS IN THE SECRET: "HASHEM OUR ELOHIM; HASHEM." Besides that, it is a detail, AS THE PASSAGE SH'MA IS ONLY ONE DETAIL, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, as has already been stated.

244. The fourth passage is the secret of Severe Judgment, NAMELY MALCHUT, OF WHICH IT IS WRITTEN, "Take heed to yourselves" (Devarim 11:16), WHICH IS AN EXPRESSION OF JUDGMENT. These are THE FOUR PASSAGES of the head Tefilin, WHICH ARE IN FOUR COMPARTMENTS. The hand Tefilin ARE ALSO similar to these FOUR PASSAGES, BUT they are in one compartment. We have already commented that they all pertain to the same secret.

245. The knot of the head Tefilin is in the shape of a letter Dalet, and of this it is written, "And you shall see my back" (Shemot 33:23). Therefore, the knot is in the back where everything is tied into one knot.

246. When MALCHUT dons the hand Tefilin to connect WITH ZEIR ANPIN, there is another knot, NAMELY THE KNOT OF THE HAND TEFILIN, WHICH IS IN THE SHAPE OF A LETTER YUD. This is the secret of the Holy Covenant, MEANING YESOD, WITH WHICH MALCHUT CONNECTS. This secret is explained in many places, and it is all the same secret. Happy are Yisrael who know this secret. A person must don them every day to be in the celestial image. Of this it is written, "And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of Hashem; and they shall be afraid of You" (Devarim 28:10). End of Ra'aya Meheimna (the Faithful Shepherd).