We now enter the parshiyot of יציאת מצרים, the exodus from Egypt. For generations, the exodus from Egypt has been the foundation our faith in Hashem - our emunah. Why and how is this so?
Parshat Bo concludes with the mitzvah of tefillin. והיה לאות על ידכה ולטוטפת בין עינך כי בחזק יד הוציאנו ה׳ ממצרים - “And it shall be a sign upon your arm, and an ornament between your eyes, for with a strong hand Hashem removed us from Egypt.” (Shemot 13:16).
The Ramban explains that Hashem created the world in a way that we all have free will: the choice to believe or not to believe. It is a confusing world, with many things that draw us away from Hashem and Torah. To counteract this force, Hashem performed the miracles of יציאת מצרים to demonstrate His existence, His creations, His knowledge of everything that goes on in the world, and his rulership over all creation. To that end, Hashem gave us mitzvot זכר ליציאת מצרים, to remember the exodus from Egypt. He gave us the mitzvah of Shabbat, Pesach, Tefillin and many others that the Torah specifically states are a remembrance of that exodus. The goal is that our performance of this miztvot will help strengthen our faith in Hashem.
My Rebbi, Rabbi Moshe Weinberger would often explain that when a person wants to grow in his Judaism, there is an evil inclination that tries to convince us that we are not worthy of serving Hashem. Afterall, we are mere mortals - how can we connect to the master of the universe? After the sins we might have committed, how could we ever change to become beloved in the eyes of our creator? The answer to this is
זכר ליציאת מצרים, remembering how Hashem took us out of Egypt. We must remember Jews had been on the 49th level of impurity, and they had a matter of weeks to raise themselves up to be worthy of receiving the Torah...AND THEY DID! The miracles of the exodus strengthened their faith in Hashem; it allowed them to re-prioritize their lives, to focus on religious growth. They understood this: No matter what they had done, they could always return to Hashem.
And so it appears to me that he mitzvah of Tefillin is teaching us two things:
1. As with all mitzvot, it is a physical act that draws us closer to Hashem. It is physical, but it is our way to connect to the spiritual. We should never underestimate how our physical exteriors impact our actions. When we put on tefillin, wear a kipa, dress in a modest way, etc., there is impact on how we connect to the Torah in the way Hashem intended.
2. We must remember that we can always grow; can always return to the ways of Hashem. Regardless of how we have acted in the past, we have the free will to change. The tefillin is placed on the weak hand to remind us that even when we feel incapable of growing, we must remember that every Jew has within him, the power to create his own exodus from Egypt. We can all become great!
1. As with all mitzvot, it is a physical act that draws us closer to Hashem. It is physical, but it is our way to connect to the spiritual. We should never underestimate how our physical exteriors impact our actions. When we put on tefillin, wear a kipa, dress in a modest way, etc., there is impact on how we connect to the Torah in the way Hashem intended.
2. We must remember that we can always grow; can always return to the ways of Hashem. Regardless of how we have acted in the past, we have the free will to change. The tefillin is placed on the weak hand to remind us that even when we feel incapable of growing, we must remember that every Jew has within him, the power to create his own exodus from Egypt. We can all become great!
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