Question: What is the origin of the Tefillin design and contents?
Dear Rabbi,
What is the origin of the Tefillin boxes, leather material, tie knots, Torah quotations and more? Who decided all this?
Thanks, Mike
Answer: Good question!
Many of the mitzvahs which form the foundation of Jewish life are scarcely mentioned in the Written Torah - and with no explanation of their details. What's more, violating one of the precepts may even carry a penalty of death! Were it not for the Oral Torah, we would be left clueless as to how to observe these mitzvahs. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan writes:
"There is no description of Tefillin (in the Torah), nor any hints as to how they must be made. The Torah merely outlines their contents and tells us nothing more. It is most important to realize that God gave us the Torah in two parts. There is the Written Torah, which we keep in the ark. However, there is also the Unwritten or Oral Torah, consisting of the oral tradition handed down from Sinai. The Torah was not meant to be a mere book, lying on the shelf. It was meant to be part of the everyday life of the entire people. As such, it could only be transmitted by word of mouth. The Oral Torah was handed down from teacher to disciple for almost 1500 years, until the harsh Roman persecutions finally threatened to extinguish it completely. Finally, some 1700 years ago, it was written down to form the Talmud. The Talmud itself cites Tefillin as a prime example of a case where the full description of the commandment is found only in the Oral Torah. If you think about it, you will realize that it was not necessary to write a description of Tefillin in the Torah. One need simply look at an older pair. Tefillin were worn by virtually every adult male throughout Jewish history, and they themselves provided as permanent a record as any book."
So you see, the Oral Torah is as important as the written. Every mitzvah given to Moses on Mount Sinai was given together with an explanation. God thus told Moses (Exodus 24:12), "[Come up to Me to the mountain...] and I will give you the tablets of stone, the Torah and instruction." "Torah" refers to the Written Torah, while "instruction" is its interpretation. We are thus commanded to keep the Torah according to its interpretation. This interpretation is what we call the Oral Torah.
With blessings from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Aish.com
Many of the mitzvahs which form the foundation of Jewish life are scarcely mentioned in the Written Torah - and with no explanation of their details. What's more, violating one of the precepts may even carry a penalty of death! Were it not for the Oral Torah, we would be left clueless as to how to observe these mitzvahs. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan writes:
"There is no description of Tefillin (in the Torah), nor any hints as to how they must be made. The Torah merely outlines their contents and tells us nothing more. It is most important to realize that God gave us the Torah in two parts. There is the Written Torah, which we keep in the ark. However, there is also the Unwritten or Oral Torah, consisting of the oral tradition handed down from Sinai. The Torah was not meant to be a mere book, lying on the shelf. It was meant to be part of the everyday life of the entire people. As such, it could only be transmitted by word of mouth. The Oral Torah was handed down from teacher to disciple for almost 1500 years, until the harsh Roman persecutions finally threatened to extinguish it completely. Finally, some 1700 years ago, it was written down to form the Talmud. The Talmud itself cites Tefillin as a prime example of a case where the full description of the commandment is found only in the Oral Torah. If you think about it, you will realize that it was not necessary to write a description of Tefillin in the Torah. One need simply look at an older pair. Tefillin were worn by virtually every adult male throughout Jewish history, and they themselves provided as permanent a record as any book."
So you see, the Oral Torah is as important as the written. Every mitzvah given to Moses on Mount Sinai was given together with an explanation. God thus told Moses (Exodus 24:12), "[Come up to Me to the mountain...] and I will give you the tablets of stone, the Torah and instruction." "Torah" refers to the Written Torah, while "instruction" is its interpretation. We are thus commanded to keep the Torah according to its interpretation. This interpretation is what we call the Oral Torah.
With blessings from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Aish.com
