Musar for Deuteronomy 6:8

I have come, further, to awaken ourselves to what is written in the Gemara (Berachoth 14b): "Ulla said: 'If one recites the Shema without tefillin, it is as if he testifies falsely against himself.'" (For he says (Devarim 6;8): "And you shall tie them [the tefillin]," and he has not tied them.) And even though he intends to do so afterwards, this does not avail, since he does not tie them immediately. And, ostensibly, this is the din, too, with (Ibid. 5): "And you shall love the L-rd your G-d." He should see to it [at that time] to plant the love of the L-rd in his heart. And this is as the Chovoth Halevavoth writes in the Gate of the Love of the L-rd, Chapter III, that one should reflect upon the greatness of the Creator and His exaltedness, [His sustaining all the world], and, conversely, upon his own smallness and insignificance and the like. And then he should recognize the great good of the Blessed One to him in the continuation of His benefactions to him from the day of his birth, not according to his deeds, and hiding his sins from men and extending [his life]. And if it is difficult for him to do all this while reading the Shema, he should see to it in any event to reflect upon it at least once a day. Should it be that just because it is a constant mitzvah that is not dependent upon time that it should not be fulfilled even once a day? And it is good that he think about it after praying, before going home to eat, for it is similar to the other mitzvoth incumbent upon a man, like tefillin, or 'taking' the lulav and its species on Succoth, where one does not eat before he fulfills them.

Although the phylacteries are placed on the left arm, this does not denigrate the right arm; it is required in order that the phylacteries may be placed on the left arm. The right hand is the hand with which both the writing of the portions of Torah within the phylacteries and the tying of the knots is performed. The right hand thus has in no way been denigrated when it comes to the performance of the מצוה of תפילין.

In this connection I find the words of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama, the author of עקדת יצחק, most astonishing. The author of this book [chapter 90, see my translation. Ed.] questions how the Torah can command us to remember something at all; after all, man is subject to lapses of memory, and therefore such a commandment is beyond his control to observe! How can the Torah command us to perform acts beyond our control? Torah precepts involving vision do not apply to the blind because they cannot see, neither do Torah precepts involving hearing apply to the deaf since they cannot hear! The same rule should apply to precepts involving memory. Rabbi Arama answers this question saying that every remembrance has been preceded by an actual happening. It is the happening which triggers one's memory, and therefore the Torah is entitled to command us to use our memory. He quotes as an example the remembrance of the Sabbath legislation in the Kiddush. The mere fact that one observes the commandment of שמירת שבת, abstains from work, etc., acts as a memory jogger. It is therefore not true to say that the Torah commands only our memory. When we put on the phylacteries, that very act helps us to remember what the phylacteries stand for, as demanded by the Torah (Deut. 6,8); the same is true when we wear the ציצית, another commandment which the Torah has linked to memory (Numbers 15,39-40). The sages of the Great Assembly acted in consonance with this principle when they wanted to insure that the miracle which occurred in the days of Mordechai and Esther should be commemorated for all times. Since the Torah had not fixed a specific day for remembering Amalek, they decided to anchor this remembrance by some easily recognisable act and they instituted the reading of פרשת זכור in conjunction with the holiday of Purim. As long as the commandment was not connected with the anniversary of an anti-Jewish act committed by a descendant of Amalek, the commandment itself was in danger of being forgotten. According to the explanation by the Baal Akeydah the question is why the sages of the Great Assembly did not arrange to have the reading of פרשת זכור after Purim, after we had all remembered what the evil Haman had planned?