The Torah portion of Vaes'chanan contains the commandments to recite Shema and study Torah.
[1] Although both commands are found in the same verse, they are very different.
The duty to recite the Shema involves reciting it twice daily, "when you lie down and when you rise." Each recitation is an entity unto itself, the proof being that the blessing for its recitation is itself recited twice daily, in the morning and in the evening.
The obligation to study Torah, however, is not divided into the two separate times, but is a single, ongoing obligation that continues throughout the day and night. This is why the blessing for Torah study is recited only once a day.
Seemingly, the very opposite should be the case: Torah study is bound up with comprehension and comprehension varies according to time - when a person is rested he will think more clearly, etc. Since comprehension is affected by time, it would be logical to link the command of Torah study - an act that requires comprehension - to time, and to its division of day and night.
The mitzvah of reciting the Shema, however, requires a constant and unalterable acceptance of the yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom and G-d's Unity. Thus, it stands to reason that this command should not be subject to the changes that result from the division of night and day.
Nonetheless, we find that the commandment of Shema is linked to time, while the command to study Torah defies the divisions of time.
Why is this so?
Man's life is subject to the division of days, for "Days separate one from the other"[2] - days divide time into distinct entities. To have a complete "day," night and day must be combined, as the verse states,[3] "...there was evening and there was morning, one day."
This also hints at the ultimate purpose of man's service - to transform this nethermost world into a dwelling place for G-d. The implication is that man should not negate physicality, but rather that this lowly world, seemingly separate from the spiritual realms, should become a dwelling place for G-d.
This is accomplished when the physical organism itself comes to realize that its whole essence derives from G-d. When this connection is felt by a corporeal being, G-d's absolute unity is revealed.
An allusion to this concept can be found in the Torah when it states: "...there was evening and there was morning, one day." The implication is that the Divine intent is to combine and unite the darkness and corporeality of "evening" with the luminosity and ethereality of "morning," so that together they form one day.
This idea of unity within diversity lies at the heart of the Shema, wherein the Jew declares: "Shemah Yisrael... the L-rd is One," thus "crowning G-d and making Him reign 'above, below and on all four sides'"[4] by revealing His light and oneness within this physical and spiritually dark world.
Thus, connecting the mitzvah of Shema with the time periods of day and night emphasizes the unification of light and darkness, physical and spiritual, so that together they form "one day" - the revelation of G-d's unity within this world.
Torah, however, is likened to fire, as the verse states:[5] "My words are like fire, says the L-rd." Our Sages explain:[6] "Just as fire is impervious to [ritual] impurity, so too is Torah impervious to [spiritual] impurity." In other words, while Torah clothes itself in material reality and deals with physical matters, it remains detached from physicality.
Since Torah views the world from its own perspective rather than becoming one with creation, it follows that the obligation to study Torah is not subject to the limitations of night and day.
Based on Likkutei Sichos Vol. XIV, pp. 21-23.
Notes:
- (Back to text) Devarim 6:7.
- (Back to text) Nazir 7a. Cf. Zohar III, 94b: "Each and every day does its own [particular] work."
- (Back to text) Bereishis 1:5.
- (Back to text) Berachos 13b.
- (Back to text) Yermiyahu 23:29.
- (Back to text) Berachos 22a.
In the Torah portion Vaes'chanan the commandment of tefillin is conveyed in the following manner: "You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes."
[1]
Because the verse begins by saying, "You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand," and only then goes on to say, "and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes," the Gemara[2] gleans that the hand tefillin are to be donned before the head tefillin.
The Gemara goes on to say that with regard to removing the tefillin the order is reversed: first the head tefillin are removed and only then are the hand tefillin removed. For "and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes" indicates that "whenever the head tefillin are worn there must be two" - both hand and head tefillin; inevitably, then, the head tefillin are removed first.
Since "The entire Torah is likened to tefillin,"[3] it follows that just as the term tefillin refers to both the hand and head tefillin, so, too, within the service of Torah and mitzvos there are aspects of both the hand and head tefillin.
The hand tefillin, placed upon the biceps opposite the heart, is indicative of service of the heart, fear of G-d and acceptance of the Divine yoke, while the head tefillin, which is placed adjacent to the brain, symbolizes the service of the mind.
This concept is also stressed in the Shulchan Aruch, which emphasizes that the commandment of tefillin entails "placing them upon the biceps opposite the heart and upon the head adjacent to the brain, so that we remember the miracles and wonders that He has done for us, these miracles indicating G-d's unity, and that it is He who possesses the might and power...."[4]
Moreover, an integral part[5] of the mitzvah of tefillin is that we "submit to G-d's service our soul, which is in the brain, as well as the desires and thoughts of the heart. By donning tefillin a person will be mindful of the blessed Creator and restrict his pleasures."[6]
In a more general sense there are two overall aspects: The hand tefillin relate to feelings and emotions - fear and awe of G-d, and practical mitzvos; the head tefillin relate to intellect and Torah.
Herein lie two important lessons: The fact that the hand tefillin are to be donned first indicates that fear and awe of G-d must precede Torah knowledge. This is in keeping with the dictum of the Mishna:[7] "Anyone whose fear of sin comes before his wisdom, his wisdom will endure; but anyone whose wisdom precedes his fear of sin, his wisdom will not endure." Or as the Zohar states:[8] "Fear of G-d is the doorway to wisdom."
This thought is elaborated on in Tanya,[9] where it states: "One must constantly bear in mind that the beginning of divine service, as well as its core and root... requires first arousing the innate fear which lies hidden in the heart of every Jew not to rebel against the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He."
Then comes the second lesson: "Whenever the head tefillin - the service of intellect and Torah study - are 'worn' there must be two; the hand tefillin, fear of G-d, must be present as well."
For fear and awe of G-d is not only a prerequisite to the study of Torah, but must also be found alongside and together with the intellectual pursuit of Torah and G-dliness. Only then can a person be assured that "his wisdom will endure."
Acting in such a manner enables an individual to reach that level of Supernal fear and awe that is the hallmark of the sanctity achieved through Torah study.[10]
It is with regard to this loftier level of fear that our Sages state:[11] "If there is no wisdom, there is no fear of G-d," and concerning which the verse states:[12] "He has commanded us to observe all the statutes so that we may fear Him."
Based on Likkutei Sichos Vol. XIX, pp. 47-54.
Notes:
- (Back to text) Devarim 6:8.
- (Back to text) Menachos 36a.
- (Back to text) Kiddushin 35a.
- (Back to text) Shulchan Aruch Admur HaZakein, Orach Chayim 25:11.
- (Back to text) See Bach on Tur, Orach Chayim 268, titled VeYechavein.
- (Back to text) Shulchan Aruch Admur HaZakein, ibid.
- (Back to text) Avos 3:9.
- (Back to text) Zohar I 7b.
- (Back to text) Ch. 41.
- (Back to text) Tanya, conclusion of ch. 23; ch. 43; Likkutei Torah, Vaes'chanan 9c and onward.
- (Back to text) Avos 3:17.
- (Back to text) Devarim 6:24.
Devarim