Midrasch zu Schemot 13:16
וְהָיָ֤ה לְאוֹת֙ עַל־יָ֣דְכָ֔ה וּלְטוֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֣ין עֵינֶ֑יךָ כִּ֚י בְּחֹ֣זֶק יָ֔ד הוֹצִיאָ֥נוּ יְהוָ֖ה מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ (ס)
So sei es zum Merkzeichen an deiner Hand und zum Denkbande zwischen deinen Augen, dass mit starker Hand der Herr uns aus Ägypten geführt hat.
Midrash Tanchuma
And it shall be for a sign upon thy hand (Exod. 13:16). Upon thy hand refers to the biceps. Between thine eyes refers to the top of the forehead. Where is that located? The school of R. Yannai said: It is the place on the child’s head where the child’s brain is seen to pulsate. The four passages included in the phylacteries are mentioned in Scripture. They are: Sanctify unto me (Exod. 13:2), And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee (ibid. 13:11), Hear, O Israel (Deut. 6:4), And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken (ibid. 11:13). It is forbidden to have sexual relations in a home containing tefillin or a scroll of the Torah until they are put away in their container.23Berakhot 25b. Rava said: When a cloak is over a chest, it is like a receptacle in a receptacle.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy