פירוש על דברים 6:8
Rashi on Deuteronomy
וקשרתם AND THOU SHALT BIND THEM [ … UPON THY HAND] — These are the Tephillin that are placed on the arm,
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Saadia Gaon on Deuteronomy
לטטפות, a highly visible symbol.
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Rabbeinu Bahya
וקשרתם לאות על ידך , “you shall tie them as a sign on your hand.” This refers to the phylactery worn on the arm and we have a tradition that in this instance the word “your hand” refers to the left hand as that word depicts the left hand as we know from Isaiah 48,13: אף ידי יסדה ארץ וימיני טפחה שמים, “also My hand founded the earth and My right hand spread out the skies.” Another verse in which the word יד clearly refers to the left hand is found in Judges 5,26: ידה ליתד תשלחנה וימינה להלמות עמלים, “her hand reached for the tent pin (Yael’s), her right hand for the workman's hammer.” Also in Exodus 13,16 the Torah speaks of ידכה “your hand,” with the weak ending, i.e. the letter ה at the end indicating that it refers to the weaker hand, i.e. the left hand.
Our sages in Menachot 37 cite a tradition according to which the place on the arm where the phylactery is to be fastened is above the elbow opposite the heart. Just as the phylactery of the head is to be placed on the highest part of the head, so the phylactery of the hand is to be fastened at the highest part of the arm, where the muscle bulges. If the Torah had intended the phylactery (the housing with the parchment) to be worn on the hand itself, i.e. on the back of the hand, this would not have been opposite the heart. Besides, that part of the body is not known as “hand,” but as קנה. Seeing that our tradition stipulates that the phylactery be fastened opposite the heart, the only logical spot is the upper arm. Job 31,22 speaks about אזרועי מקנה תשבר, “may my forearm break off at the elbow.” Our sages in Menachot 43 view the Jewish people as especially beloved of G’d seeing He made them wrap the phylacteries around their heads and arms respectively. They also point to the words: “you shall tie them as a sign” as the source for making a knot when tying the phylacteries. The very knot is a “sign”, i.e. this is the hint that all the detailed laws about the phylacteries have been given to Moses at Mount Sinai, i.e. they cannot be arrived at by the use of the exegetical tools at our disposal (Menachot 35).
Our sages in Menachot 37 cite a tradition according to which the place on the arm where the phylactery is to be fastened is above the elbow opposite the heart. Just as the phylactery of the head is to be placed on the highest part of the head, so the phylactery of the hand is to be fastened at the highest part of the arm, where the muscle bulges. If the Torah had intended the phylactery (the housing with the parchment) to be worn on the hand itself, i.e. on the back of the hand, this would not have been opposite the heart. Besides, that part of the body is not known as “hand,” but as קנה. Seeing that our tradition stipulates that the phylactery be fastened opposite the heart, the only logical spot is the upper arm. Job 31,22 speaks about אזרועי מקנה תשבר, “may my forearm break off at the elbow.” Our sages in Menachot 43 view the Jewish people as especially beloved of G’d seeing He made them wrap the phylacteries around their heads and arms respectively. They also point to the words: “you shall tie them as a sign” as the source for making a knot when tying the phylacteries. The very knot is a “sign”, i.e. this is the hint that all the detailed laws about the phylacteries have been given to Moses at Mount Sinai, i.e. they cannot be arrived at by the use of the exegetical tools at our disposal (Menachot 35).
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