Tefillin: Judaism's Crown - Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

Tefillin: Judaism's Crown (eBook)

Rabbi Heschel Greenberg (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2021 | 1. Auflage
168 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-6678-1941-9 (ISBN)

An insightful study for how Teffilin is the paradigm for all the Mitzvot. This book unveils the mystique of this ritual and why it so cherished.

An insightful study for how Teffilin is the paradigm for all the Mitzvot. This book unveils the mystique of this ritual and why it so cherished. The underlying thesis of this book is to demonstrate how Tefillin is the paradigm for all the Mitzvot. Tefillin is rich in symbolism, but, moreover, it possesses immense spiritual power because it encapsulates the dynamics of all the 613 commandments.

INTRODUCTION

The Anatomy of a Mitzvah

A GOOD DEED?

The Mitzvah of Tefillin is one of the 613 Biblical commandments.1 Before embarking on a discussion about the significance of the Mitzvah of Tefillin, it is important that we first define the word Mitzvah. The simple and most basic translation of the word is “commandment.”

Colloquially, the word Mitzvah has been translated as a good deed. No one can argue that a Mitzvah is a good deed. The question is: Is something a Mitzvah because it is a good deed, or is it a good deed because it is a Mitzvah? In fact, as we shall see, the ultimate determination of which actions are deemed good is the Mitzvah. If a certain course of action is a Mitzvah, then, by definition, it is a good deed. If it is not a Mitzvah, then it is not a good deed. One cannot conceptually imagine an act that is objectively good that has not been ordained by G-d. The reason a Mitzvah is a good deed is because it is G-d’s will. A G-dly act is a goodly act, and every good act we must assume has been ordained by G-d.

WHAT ABOUT THE VIRTUOUS ATHEIST?

At this point, one can almost hear the protest of the atheist who claims that religion has no monopoly on goodness. There have been so many atheists who have shown tremendous kindness and have done so much to help the world. The atheist will buttress his argument with the reality of the existence of so many believers who have done so much evil.

The atheist does not realize that by citing the evil perpetrated by believers he actually has provided a refutation of his first argument—the kindness and goodness of atheists.

How can a person who believes in G-d—and presumably in the Torah’s commandment not to steal, to love your neighbor, etc.—still commit those very acts? The answer is that people can, and often will behave contrary to their own beliefs. The Talmud2 tells of a thief who, on the threshold of the home he is about to break into, pauses to recite a heartfelt prayer to G-d that he will be successful in his endeavor...

Is the thief a hypocrite?

Absolutely not!

If he was dishonest about his belief in G-d, why would he utter a prayer when there is no one around to hear him recite it and be impressed with his feigned piety?

Then, why does he pray if the G-d to whom he is praying utterly detests his criminal behavior?

The answer is that humans are not mono-dimensional creatures. We are multi-layered creatures. In addition to our faith, which dwells on the periphery of our personality, we have objective reasoning and, more importantly, animal cravings and tendencies. Sometimes we act with disregard to logic when we want something badly, as does a little child. The animal in us overpowers logic and eclipses our faith. The power of the internal animal is so great that at times it can actually cause our minds to rationalize bad behavior if that is what our animal nature desires. Moreover, it can turn genuine faith into an instrument of crime.

The thief may have faith in G-d; the problem lies in being able to translate that faith into practice.3

In a similar—but opposite—vein, it can be said that if the atheist would use pure logic and allow his animal tendencies to totally dominate his behavior, there would be nothing that would stop him from getting what he wants. The “problem” is that the atheist also possesses a G-dly spark that demands of him to do only good. The atheist will call it his conscience, or a genetic predisposition to goodness, but no matter how it is phrased, there is another part of the atheist that goes against his or her purported atheism and compels him or her to do that which is good.

If the atheist were to be governed by pure atheistic principles, then there would be nothing in life that could be termed good or bad; just likes and dislikes.

Of course, the atheist might even use self-interest and self-preservation to do good. But atheism, in and of itself, does not dictate good behavior principally because in atheism there is no such thing as objective good, right or wrong.

Furthermore, atheists will be good frequently because they had a parent or grandparent or other dynamic figure in their life that did good and inculcated that good in them.

Historically speaking, all notions of good began with people who were believers. Atheism arrived on the scene after notions of good had become pervasive and internalized into the psyche of many societies. And just as they inherited the evil of their believing forebears with a vengeance (e.g., Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot who likely murdered more people than all of the people murdered throughout prior history, including Hitler’s victims), so too did they inherit the notions of goodness and kindness.

In short, a good atheist is not good because he is an atheist. He is good in spite of his atheism. In stark contrast, a person who believes in G-d, and in inherent and absolute goodness does good because of his or her belief. When he commits a crime, it is in spite of that belief.

A MITZVAH AMONG MITZVOS

Of all the 613 Mitzvos (the plural of Mitzvah – some pronounce it, Mitzvot) the Mitzvah of Tefillin is singled out as a unique Mitzvah. Tefillin serve as a paradigm for all the Mitzvos and is even characterized as the most significant of all the Mitzvos. The sources for the above will be cited in Chapter One. In subsequent chapters we will, with G-d’s help, attempt to explain why Jewish tradition accords this Mitzvah so much prominence. Many will wonder how Tefillin makes someone a better person. We will, with G-d’s help, attempt to shed some light on this subject.

MULTIPLE LAYERS

As we reflect on the significance of a Mitzvah and how it impacts our lives, we will see how each and every Mitzvah has many layers of meaning and impact.

First and foremost, as will be explained in depth in Chapter Two, a Mitzvah is a commandment that we perform primarily because it is just that—a commandment. However, in addition to the basic understanding of a Mitzvah as G-d’s command, each Mitzvah serves multiple purposes. Upon deeper reflection, each Mitzvah has multiple dimensions, many of which are most pronounced with the Mitzvah of Tefillin.

Before beginning our discussion about the specific dimensions of a Mitzvah, one important insight is in order here that will allay the confusion some have with the general concept of a Mitzvah.

To understand what a Mitzvah is, it is helpful to know what it is not.

The following humorous, but sad, story clearly illustrates this.

THE MITZVAH TRAIN…

A very wealthy Jew threw a huge party for all of his guests, serving lavish food. When the party was over he noticed his wife collecting the left-overs and getting ready to dump them in the garbage. He was horrified. “How can you throw out good food? It’s a terrible sin! One may never waste food. It is Bal Tashchis!”4

His wife replied, “But the food is no longer fresh. It is not healthy to eat such food.”

“The food is still good. Let us do a Mitzvah and feed it to the poor Jew, Yankel, who lives down the street.”

The rich man’s wife had no alternative, and with a heavy heart she delivered the food to Yankel.

The next day, the hapless wife reported to her “benevolent” husband that Yankel had taken ill from food poisoning.

“Wow, now I have the opportunity to visit Yankel and fulfill the Mitzvah of Bikur Cholim, visiting the sick,” he squealed with excitement.

On the next day, the wife reported the tragic news that Yankel had died. The husband’s response was again positive. “The poor widow and orphans are penniless. I will pay for all the funeral expenses. There is no greater Mitzvah than helping the poor to bury their loved ones. It is Chesed shel Emes, a true act of kindness.”5

To make a long story short, he paid for the funeral, personally attended the funeral and helped to bury the dead, fulfilled the Mitzvah of comforting the mourners, and, last but not least, left a hefty amount of money for the poor widow and orphans to fulfill the Mitzvah of supporting those unfortunate souls.

At the end of this saga, the rich man turned to his wife and said, “My dear wife, imagine if I would have allowed you to throw out the food, I would have violated the Mitzvah of Bal Tashchis, missed the mitzvah of feeding the poor, visiting the sick, burying the dead, comforting the mourners and supporting a widow and orphans with Tzedakah…”

This caricature of the terribly misguided “Mitzvah man” is reflected in the way some perform a Mitzvah as if it revolves around them.

A Mitzvah is first and foremost about G-d. While we greatly benefit from it, it should not revolve around us. A Mitzvah is our way of saying to G-d, “We are here for You.”

A Mitzvah is about a relationship with G-d. Indeed, the giving of the Torah and its commandments on Mount Sinai has been likened to a marriage.6

A good marriage is one in which everything we do revolves around the significant other. It’s not, “I give 50% and you give 50%,” but we each give 100% of ourselves to the other.

An Illustration of this point, although, it should...

Erscheint lt. Verlag	22.12.2021
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Judentum
ISBN-10	1-6678-1941-0 / 1667819410
ISBN-13	978-1-6678-1941-9 / 9781667819419

Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt?

EPUB (Ohne DRM)
Größe: 4,2 MB

Digital Rights Management: ohne DRM
Dieses eBook enthält kein DRM oder Kopierschutz. Eine Weitergabe an Dritte ist jedoch rechtlich nicht zulässig, weil Sie beim Kauf nur die Rechte an der persönlichen Nutzung erwerben.

Dateiformat: EPUB (Electronic Publication)
EPUB ist ein offener Standard für eBooks und eignet sich besonders zur Darstellung von Belletristik und Sachbüchern. Der Fließtext wird dynamisch an die Display- und Schriftgröße angepasst. Auch für mobile Lesegeräte ist EPUB daher gut geeignet.

Systemvoraussetzungen:
PC/Mac: Mit einem PC oder Mac können Sie dieses eBook lesen. Sie benötigen dafür die kostenlose Software Adobe Digital Editions.
eReader: Dieses eBook kann mit (fast) allen eBook-Readern gelesen werden. Mit dem amazon-Kindle ist es aber nicht kompatibel.
Smartphone/Tablet: Egal ob Apple oder Android, dieses eBook können Sie lesen. Sie benötigen dafür eine kostenlose App.
Geräteliste und zusätzliche Hinweise

Buying eBooks from abroad
For tax law reasons we can sell eBooks just within Germany and Switzerland. Regrettably we cannot fulfill eBook-orders from other countries.