The Gemara asks: And does everyone actually hold that the vocalization of the Torah is authoritative? But isn’t it taught in a baraita: With regard to the number of compartments in the phylacteries of the head, the verse states: “It shall be for a sign upon your hand, and for totafot between your eyes” (Exodus 13:16), with the word totafot spelled deficient, without a second vav, in a way that can be read as singular; and again: “They shall be for totafot between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:8), spelled as a singular word; and again: “They shall be for totafot between your eyes” (11:18), this time spelled plene, with a second vav, in a manner that must be plural? There are four mentions of totafot here, as the third one is written in the plural and therefore counts as two. Consequently, it is derived that the phylacteries of the head must have four compartments. This is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Akiva says: There is no need for this proof, as the requirement of four compartments can be derived from the word totafot itself: The word tat in the language of the Katfei means two, and the word pat in the language of Afriki also means two, and therefore totafot can be understood as a compound word meaning: Four. The baraita therefore indicates that Rabbi Yishmael holds that not the vocalization but rather the tradition of the manner in which the verses in the Torah are written is authoritative.
Tosafot on the above (which I'm unable to add).
ושואלים: ודכולי עלמא [והאם באמת לדעת הכל] יש אם למקרא? והתניא [והרי שנינו בברייתא]: נאמר בענין תפילין "והיו לטוטפות בין עיניך" (שמות יג, טז), ונזכר בתורה שלוש פעמים: "ולטוטפות" (שמות יג, טז), "לטוטפת" (דברים ו, ח), "לטוטפת" (דברים יא, יח), "טוטפת" הוא לשון יחיד, "טוטפות" לשון רבים — הרי כאן ארבע טוטפות, ומכאן למדנו שמספר הבתים (הטוטפות) בתפילין של ראש יהיה ארבעה, אלו דברי ר' ישמעאל.
Tosafot on the above.
The Gemara asks: But if what you say is so, phylacteries, with regard to which the term sign is also written: “And it shall be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets between your eyes” (Exodus 13:16), should also override Shabbat, and they should be donned on that day.
ושואלים: אלא מעתה תפילין דכתיב [שנאמר] אף בהן "אות" ("והיו לאות על ידך ולטוטפות בין עיניך". שמות יג, טז), אף הן לידחי [שידחו] את השבת ויניחום אף בה!
(א) וְהָיָה לְךָ לְאוֹת עַל יָדְךָ, זוֹ קִבֹּרֶת. בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ, זֶה קָדְקֹד. הֵיכָא, אָמְרֵי דְּבֵי רַבִּי יַנַּאי: מָקוֹם שֶׁמֹּחַ הַתִּינוֹק רוֹפֵס. וְאַרְבַּע פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת שֶׁל תְּפִלִּין אֵלּוּ הֵן: קַדֶּשׁ לִי כָל בְּכוֹר, וְהָיָה כִּי יְבִאֲךָ ה', שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ. וּבַיִת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ תְּפִלִּין וְסֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, אָסוּר לְשַׁמֵּשׁ בּוֹ אֶת הַמִּטָּה, עַד שֶׁיַּנִּיחֵם כְּלִי בְּתוֹךְ כֶּלִי. אָמַר רָבָא: גְּלִימָא אַקַּמְטְרָא, כִּכְלִי בְּתוֹךְ כְּלִי דָּמֵי.
(1) 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.
(טו) והיה לאות על ידכה מיכאן אמרו תפלין של יד ושל ראש אין מעכבות זו את זו ואם אין לו אלא אחת יתן ומנין כשנותן את התפלין לא יהא נותן אלא של יד תחלה של והיה לאות על ידך: ומנין כשחולץ אין חולץ אלא של ראש תחלה ת"ל ולטוטפות בין עיניך. כל זמן שהן בין עיניך יהו שתים( נ24): כי בחזק יד הוציאנו ה' ממצרים. מלמד שנאמרו תפלין זכר ליציאת מצרים :
(16) And it shall be inscribed and set forth upon thy left land, and on the tephilla between thine eyebrows; because by mighty strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Mizraim.
(א) ולטוטפות בין עיניך אין למלה הזאת משפחה ידועה, אבל בעלי הלשון יחשבו ליחס אותה אל לשון והטף אל דרום (יחזקאל כא ב), ועלימו תטוף מלתי (איוב כט כב), ענין מושאל מן והטיפו ההרים עסיס (עמוס ט יג), יאמר שתעשה מיציאת מצרים על ידך אות ובין עיניך דבור, יזל כטל על שומעיו. אבל רבותינו יקראו הדבר המונח בראש ''טוטפות'' כמו שאמרו (שבת נז:) לא בטוטפת ולא בסנבוטין, ואמר רבי אבהו (שם) אי זהו טוטפת המקפת מאזן לאזן, והם בעלי הלשון שמדברים בו ויודעים אותו ומהם ראוי לקבלו. ואמר טוטפות ולא אמר ''טוטפת'' בעבור שהם בתים רבים כאשר קבלנו צורתם מן האבות הקדושים שראו הנביאים והקדמונים עושים כן עד משה רבינו:
והנה שורש המצוה הזאת שנניח כתב יציאת מצרים על היד ועל הראש כנגד הלב והמוח שהם משכנות המחשבה והנה נכתוב פרשת קדש והיה כי יביאך בטוטפות מפני המצוה הזאת שנצטוינו בהם לעשות יציאת מצרים טוטפות בין עינינו, ובפרשת שמע והיה אם שמוע נצטוינו שנעשה המצות גם כן טוטפות, דכתיב (דברים ו ו) והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך היום על לבבך, והיו לטוטפות בין עיניך, ולכך אנו כותבים גם שתי הפרשיות ההן לטוטפות שהם מצות הייחוד וזכרון כל המצות ועונשן ושכרן וכל השרש באמונה. ואמר בשל יד והיה לך לאות על ידכה, ודרשו בו (מנחות לו:) שהוא שמאל שהלב נוטה לו:
ועל דרך האמת מה שאמר הכתוב בעבור זה עשה ה' לי, כי כמו זה אלי ואנוהו (להלן טו ב), יאמר כי בעבור שמו וכבודו עשה עמנו והוציאנו ממצרים, והיה זה לך לאות על זרוע עזך, כטעם כי תפארת עזמו אתה (תהלים פט יח) והנה האות כאות המילה והשבת. ובעבור שהכל בכלל הוא האות על היד העתיקו אבותינו ממשה מפי הגבורה שיהיה בית אחד כענין שאמר הכתוב אחותי כלה (שה''ש ה א), בעבור שהיא מתאחדת וכלולה מל''ב נתיבות, וכתיב שמאלו תחת לראשי (שם ב ו):
ואמר ולזכרון בין עיניך, שיונחו במקום הזכרון בין העינים שהוא ראשית המוח, והוא תחלת הזכרון ומעמד הצורות אחרי הפרדן מלפניו, והם מקיפים את כל הראש ברצועותיהם, והקשר שהוא על אחרית המוח המשמר הזכירה ולשון ''בין עיניך'', שיהיו באמצעות הראש לא מצד אחד, או ששם שרשי העינים ומשם יהיה הראות. וכן ולא תשימו קרחה בין עיניכם למת, ולפרש זה חזר ואמר ולטוטפות לבאר שאין המצוה בין העינים למטה, אבל בגובה הראש מונחים שם כטוטפות ואמר לשון רבים שהם בתים רבים כאשר קבלנו:
ועתה אומר לך כלל בטעם מצות רבות הנה מעת היות ע''ג בעולם מימי אנוש החלו הדעות להשתבש באמונה, מהם כופרים בעיקר ואומרים כי העולם קדמון, כחשו בה' ויאמרו לא הוא (ירמ' ה יב), ומהם מכחישים בידיעתו הפרטית ואמרו איכה ידע אל ויש דעה בעליון (תהלים עג יא), ומהם שיודו בידיעה ומכחישים בהשגחה ויעשו אדם כדגי הים שלא ישגיח האל בהם ואין עמהם עונש או שכר, יאמרו עזב ה' את הארץ. וכאשר ירצה האלקים בעדה או ביחיד ויעשה עמהם מופת בשנוי מנהגו של עולם וטבעו, יתברר לכל בטול הדעות האלה כלם, כי המופת הנפלא מורה שיש לעולם אלוק מחדשו, ויודע ומשגיח ויכול. וכאשר יהיה המופת ההוא נגזר תחלה מפי נביא יתברר ממנו עוד אמתת הנבואה, כי ידבר האלקים את האדם ויגלה סודו אל עבדיו הנביאים, ותתקיים עם זה התורה כלה:
ולכן יאמר הכתוב במופתים למען תדע כי אני ה' בקרב הארץ (לעיל ח יח), להורות על ההשגחה, כי לא עזב אותה למקרים כדעתם ואמר (שם ט כט) למען תדע כי לה' הארץ, להורות על החידוש, כי הם שלו שבראם מאין ואמר (שם ט יד) בעבור תדע כי אין כמוני בכל הארץ. להורות על היכולת, שהוא שליט בכל, אין מעכב בידו, כי בכל זה היו המצריים מכחישים או מסתפקים. אם כן האותות והמופתים הגדולים עדים נאמנים באמונת הבורא ובתורה כלה:
ובעבור כי הקב''ה לא יעשה אות ומופת בכל דור לעיני כל רשע או כופר, יצוה אותנו שנעשה תמיד זכרון ואות לאשר ראו עינינו, ונעתיק הדבר אל בנינו, ובניהם לבניהם, ובניהם לדור אחרון והחמיר מאד בענין הזה כמו שחייב כרת באכילת חמץ (לעיל יב טו) ובעזיבת הפסח (במדבר ט יג), והצריך שנכתוב כל מה שנראה אלינו באותות ובמופתים על ידינו ועל בין עינינו, ולכתוב אותו עוד על פתחי הבתים במזוזות, ושנזכיר זה בפינו בבקר ובערב, כמו שאמרו (ברכות כא.) אמת ויציב דאורייתא, ממה שכתוב (דברים טז ג) למען תזכור את יום צאתך מארץ מצרים כל ימי חייך, ושנעשה סכה בכל שנה:
וכן כל כיוצא בהן מצות רבות זכר ליציאת מצרים והכל להיות לנו בכל הדורות עדות במופתים שלא ישתכחו, ולא יהיה פתחון פה לכופר להכחיש אמונת האלקים. כי הקונה מזוזה בזוז אחד וקבעה בפתחו ונתכוון בענינה כבר הודה בחדוש העולם ובידיעת הבורא והשגחתו, וגם בנבואה, והאמין בכל פנות התורה, מלבד שהודה שחסד הבורא גדול מאד על עושי רצונו, שהוציאנו מאותו עבדות לחירות וכבוד גדול לזכות אבותיהם החפצים ביראת שמו:
ולפיכך אמרו (אבות פ''ב מ''א) הוי זהיר במצוה קלה כבחמורה שכולן חמודות וחביבות מאד, שבכל שעה אדם מודה בהן לאלקיו וכוונת כל המצות שנאמין באלקינו ונודה אליו שהוא בראנו, והיא כוונת היצירה, שאין לנו טעם אחר ביצירה הראשונה, ואין אל עליון חפץ בתחתונים מלבד שידע האדם ויודה לאלקיו שבראו, וכוונת רוממות הקול בתפלות וכוונת בתי הכנסיות וזכות תפלת הרבים, זהו שיהיה לבני אדם מקום יתקבצו ויודו לאל שבראם והמציאם ויפרסמו זה ויאמרו לפניו בריותיך אנחנו, וזו כוונתם במה שאמרו ז''ל (ירושלמי תענית פ''ב ה''א) ויקראו אל אלקים בחזקה (יונה ג ח), מכאן אתה למד שתפלה צריכה קול, חציפא נצח לבישה (עי' ערוך ערך חצף):
ומן הנסים הגדולים המפורסמים אדם מודה בנסים הנסתרים שהם יסוד התורה כלה, שאין לאדם חלק בתורת משה רבינו עד שנאמין בכל דברינו ומקרינו שכלם נסים אין בהם טבע ומנהגו של עולם, בין ברבים בין ביחיד, אלא אם יעשה המצות יצליחנו שכרו, ואם יעבור עליהם יכריתנו ענשו, הכל בגזרת עליון כאשר הזכרתי כבר (בראשית יז א, ולעיל ו ב) ויתפרסמו הנסים הנסתרים בענין הרבים כאשר יבא ביעודי התורה בענין הברכות והקללות, כמו שאמר הכתוב (דברים כט כג-כד) ואמרו כל הגוים על מה עשה ה' ככה לארץ הזאת, ואמרו על אשר עזבו את ברית ה' אלקי אבותם, שיתפרסם הדבר לכל האומות שהוא מאת ה' בעונשם. ואמר בקיום וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה' נקרא עליך ויראו ממך. ועוד אפרש זה בעזרת השם (ויקרא כו יא):
(1) And for frontlets (totafot) between your eyes: This word does not have a known family (meaning etymologically it has no relation to any other word), but the masters of language (linguists) have thought to relate it to the expression, "and speak (hatef) to the South" (Ezekiel 21:2), "and my word would drip (titof) upon them" (Job 29:22) - which is a borrowed [usage] from "and from the mountains will drip (vehitifu) sweet wine" (Amos 9:13). [The verse is] saying that you should make the leaving of Egypt on your arm a sign and between your eyes a speech, that it should drip like dew upon its listeners. But our rabbis call something that is placed on one's head totafot, like they said (Shabbat 57a), "not with totafot and not with sanbutin." And Rabbi Abahu said (Shabbat 57a), "Which is totafot? [That which] surrounds from ear to ear." And they are the real masters of language, as they speak it and know it, and from them it is fitting to accept [their explanation]. And the verse says totafot (in the plural), and not totefet (in the singular) because they are [made up of] many compartments, as we have received [this tradition] about their form from our holy forefathers, who saw the prophets and the early ones making [them] like this all the way until Moshe, our teacher. And behold, the principle of this commandment is that we should place the written word of leaving Egypt on our arm and head, which correspond to the heart and the head that are the dwelling places of thought. And behold, we write the 'Kadesh' section (Exodus 13:1-10) and 'Vehaya ki yeviekha' (Exodus 13:11-17) in the totafot, because of this commandment that we have been commanded about them, to make the leaving of Egypt totafot between your eyes. And in the 'Shema' section (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and 'Vehaya eem shemoa', (Deuteronomy 11:13-22), we are commanded that we also make the commandments totafot, as it is written (Deuteronomy 6:6), "And these words which I command you today shall be on your hearts and they will be totafot between your eyes." And therefore we write these two sections in the totafot, which are the commandment of unifying [God] and the memory of all of the commandments and their punishments and rewards and all of the basis for faith. And it stated about the one of the arm, "and it shall be a sign upon your arm, and they expounded upon it (Menachot 36b), "It is [on] the left [arm] towards which the heart veers." And according to the true path, that which the verse stated, "Because of this, did God do for me," is just like, "this is my God and I will adorn Him" (Exodus 15:2), to say that because of His name and His honor, did He do this for us and took us out of Egypt. "And this will be a sign" upon the forearm of your strength is like the explanation of "You are the glory of their strength" (Psalms 89:18). And behold, the sign is like the sign of circumcision and Shabbat. And because all is included in its general rule, our forefathers copied the sign on the hand from Moshe - from the mouth of the All powerful - that it be one compartment, as is the matter that the verse stated (Song of Songs 5:1), "my sister (achoti), my bride (kallah)," because it unifies (mitachedet) and is composed (kelullah) of thirty-two paths; and it is written (Song of Songs 2:6), "And his left is under my head." And it states, "and for a memory between your eyes," that he should place them on the place of memory between the eyes which is the beginning of the brain. And that is the beginning point of memory and where forms are stored after they separate from being in front of him. And the expression, "between your eyes," is that it be in the middle of the head and not to one side; or since there are [found] the roots of the eyes, and from there is seeing. And so [too] (Deuteronomy 14:1), "do not place a baldness between your eyes for the dead." And to explain this, it went back and stated, "and for totafot," to elucidate that the commandment is not between the eyes below, but [rather] at the top of the head are they placed, like totafot. And it states a plural expression, as there are many compartments, as we have received [in our tradition]. And now I will tell you a general rule about the explanation of many commandments. Behold, from the time of there being idolatry in the world - from the days of Enosh - the opinions about faith started to blur. Some of them deny the fundamental principle and say that the world is prior [to God's creation] and 'they rejected God and say, "It is not Him.'" And some reject His knowledge of particulars - 'And they say, "How can He know, and is there knowledge to the most High?"' And some of them concede His knowledge but reject His oversight, and 'they make man to be like the fish of the sea,' that God not supervise them and there not be punishments and reward with them at all - they say, '"The Lord has abandoned the Earth."' And when God favors a certain community or individual and does a wonder for them by changing the custom of the world and its nature, the nullification of these opinions becomes clear to everyone. As the amazing wonder teaches that there is a God in the world who innovated it, and knows and supervises and is able [to do whatever He wants]. And when this wonder is first proclaimed by the mouth of a prophet, the truth of prophecy also becomes clear from it - that God speaks with man and reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets. And with this, all of the Torah is established. And therefore the verse states about the wonders (Exodus 8:18), "so that you will know that I am the Lord in the midst of the Earth," to teach about [His] supervision, that He did not leave it to happenstance, as per their opinion. And it stated (Exodus 9:29), "so that you will know that to the Lord is the Earth," to teach about [His] innovation [of the Earth] - since they are His, as He created them from nothing. And it stated (Exodus 9:14), "in order that you will know that there is none like Me in the whole Earth," to teach about His ability, that He is the Decider about everything - there is no one that stops Him. As the Egyptians rejected or were in doubt about all of this. If so, the great signs and wonders were trustworthy witnesses about faith in the Creator and about the entire Torah. And since the Holy One, blessed be He, will not do a sign and wonder in each generation in front of the eyes of each evildoer or heretic, He commanded us that we should always make a memorial and a sign to that which our eyes saw. And we should copy this thing for our children, and their children for their children, and their children for the last generation. And [the Torah] was very strict about this, such that it made one liable for cutting off, for eating of chamets (Exodus 12:15), and for leaving the Pesach sacrifice (Numbers 9:13). And it required that we write all that was shown to us of signs and wonders upon our arms and upon our eyes, and also to write them at the entrances to houses in mezuzot. And [it required] that we mention it with our mouths, in the morning and in the evening, as the sages said (Berakhot 21a), "[The blessing that mentions the leaving of Egypt and begins,] 'true and solid' is [an obligation from] the Torah," from that which is written (Deuteronomy 16:3), "in order that you remember the day of your leaving the land of Egypt all the days of your life." And [it required] that we make a Sukkah booth every year. And so [too], many commandments in memory of the leaving of Egypt, are similar to these. And all of it is to be a testimony for us for all of the generations about the wonders, that they not be forgotten; and that there not be an opening for the heretic to speak and reject faith in God. As one who buys a mezuzah for one zuz and affixes it to his entrance and has intent for its matter, has already conceded to [God's] innovation [of the Earth] and to the knowledge of the Creator and His supervision, and also to prophecy. And [such a person] believes in all of the outlines of the Torah, besides conceding that the kindness of the Creator to those who do His will is very great - as He took us out of Egypt, from that slavery to freedom and great honor in the merit of their forefathers that desired to fear His name. And therefore they said (Avot 2:1), "Be careful with a light commandment as with a weighty one," since they are all very desirable and beloved - as through them a person concedes to his God all the time. And the intention of all the commandments is that we believe in our God and concede to Him that He is our Creator. And that is the intention of provenance, as we have no other explanation for the first provenance - and the highest God only desires the lower beings, so that man should know and concede to his God that He created him. And the intention of raising of the voice in prayer and the intention of synagogues and the merit of communal prayer is that there be a place for people to gather and concede to God that He created them and makes them exist, and to publicize this and to say in front of Him, "We are Your creatures." And this is the intention of what they said, may their memory be blessed (Yerushalmi Taanit 2:5), "'And they called to God with strength' (Jonah 3:8) - from here you learn that prayer requires [an audible] voice; the brazen is victorious over the timid (See Arukh's entry on chatzaf). And from the great public miracles, a person can [also] concede to hidden miracles, which constitute the foundation of the entire Torah. As a person does not have a share in the Torah of Moshe, our teacher, until we believe that all of the things and events we [encounter] are all miracles [and] there is no nature or custom of the world with them, whether with regard to the many or to the individual. But rather, if one does the commandments, his reward will bring him success and if the transgresses them, his punishment will cut him off - everything is the decree of the Most High, as I have already mentioned (Ramban on Genesis 17:1, and Exodus 6:2). And hidden miracles regarding the many become publicized when they come from the objectives of the Torah in [the form] of the blessings and the curses, as the verse stated (Deuteronomy 29:23-24), "All the nations will say, 'Why did the Lord do thus to this land?'[...] They will say, 'Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, God of their fathers," such that it will be publicized to all of the nations that it is from the Lord, as their punishment. And regarding the fulfillment [of the commandments], it states (Deuteronomy 28:10), "And all of the peoples of the land will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you and they will fear from you.'" And I will explain this more with God's help (Ramban on Leviticus 26:11).
ואני תמה למה לא נפרש כפשוטו על שם הכתוב (ש"ב א' י') ואצעדה אשר על זרועו, ת"י לטוטפתא דעל דרעי', וביחזקאל (כ"ד) ופארכם על ראשיכם תרגומו וטוטפתכון בראשיכון הרי דתרגום של פאר היינו טוטפת, וידוע דתפלין נקראו פאר כמו שדרשו (מו"ק כ"ג א' ובכ"מ) הפסוק דיחזקאל פארך חבוש עליך אלו תפלין, כנודע, וכמש"כ התוס'.
ודע שכתב התוי"ט ריש פ"ד דמנחות בהא דקיי"ל ארבע פרשיות של תפלין מעכבות זא"ז, וז"ל לא איתמר בגמ' מנ"ל דמעכבין, והרמב"ם בפיה"מ כתב וכולן סמכו אותן לרמזים והענין קבלה בידינו, עכ"ל הרמב"ם ותוי"ט.
ולי נראה לומר סמך נכון מנ"ל דמעכבין ע"פ מ"ש בנדה ס"א ב' בענין שעטנז דבעינן שיהיה שוע טווי ונוז ביחד, ולחד מ"ד או שוע או טווי או נוז, ופסקו בגמרא כמ"ד כולן ביחד, ומפרשי הטעם משום דאפקינהו רחמנא בחד לישנא, ר"ל שכולם נכללין במלה אחת שעטנז, יעו"ש. ולפי"ז אחרי דהארבע פרשיות של תפלין אפקינהו רחמנא בחד לישנא, במלת טוטפת, כמבואר לפנינו כאן בדרשת ר"ע טט בכתפי שתים פת באפריקי שתים, דין הוא שצריכים להיות כולם ביחד והיינו שמעכבים זה את זה, ודו"ק. .
(שם ל"ד ב׳)
(ב) ולטוטפות: משרש טוף, ומשפטו טפטפות, כמו בבל שמשפטו בלבל; ושרש טוף מורה בל' ערבי סבוב, ונקרא טוטפת עדי המקיף הן הראש הן היד, ואצעדה אשר על זרועו ת"י וטוטפתא דעל דרעיה (Fullerus וראז' וגיז').
(מה) והמדה הזאת נקראת "תפילין של יד", והסוד (שמות יג טז) והיה לאות על ידכה ולטוטפות בין עיניך, והנה תפילין של ראש סוד קשר תפארת בכת"ר על ידי (הש"ת) בינה, ותפילין של יד סוד קשר של (העשירית) מלכות בתפארת על ידי היסו"ד ובעזרת השם יתעלה במדת תפארת נודיעך עקרים גדולים בענין התפילין ומעשיהם ועניניהם:
(ב) ולטוטפת. מלא וא"ו קדמאה וחסר וא"ו תנינא כמ"ש בפ' עקב:
You should appreciate that something which is described as אות is meant to be remembered on an ongoing basis, hence the description of זכרון as well as the description אות for describing the phylacteries and their purpose. This is why our sages (Menachot 36) ruled that one is to put on the phylacteries of the hand before the phylacteries of the head so that the אות will become a זכרון. We follow the sequence in which these two phylacteries are mentioned in the Torah.
ולטוטפת בין עיניך, “and as ornaments between your eyes.” When removing the phylacteries they are removed in the reverse order of how they were put on. If one were to first take off the phylacteries of his arm just as he had put them on first, how could the phylacteries on the head still serve as זכרון seeing we have explained that there could not be a זכרון unless there was an אות which the זכרון would commemorate? This is why the אות aspect of the phylacteries must be both first and last.
Our sages in Menachot 36 explained it as follows: “when removing the phylacteries the one on the head must be removed first as the Torah speaks of והיו לטוטפת בין עיניך, they shall be as ornaments between your eyes. As long as they are between your eyes, i.e. plural, two, they are ornaments. As long as the phylacteries of the head are between your eyes the phylacteries are an ornament. Leaving them all by themselves deprives them of being fit to be described as “ornaments.” (2) A Midrashic approach (based on Menachot 37): the letter ה at the end of the word ידכה means that the phylacteries are to worn on the “weaker” hand [a play on words יד כהה, “the weak hand”], the left arm. Generally speaking a man’s left arm is not as strong as his right arm. (3) A Kabbalistic approach: The additional letter ה at the end of the word ידכה was “borrowed” from the tetragram, i.e. from the last letter ה in the name י-ה-ו-ה. It symbolizes the attribute of Justice as practiced in the terrestrial world. It is the type of wisdom given to Solomon [who asked to be a competent judge for the people of Israel] in the dream when G’d allowed him to make a wish (Kings I 3,9). He spoke of his wish to possess a לב שומע, “a heart which is able to listen.” This is the reason that the phylacteries of the arm are to be worn on the left arm, the arm closest to the heart. The attribute which Solomon wished for is also known as כלה. The text of the phylacteries of the hand is written on a single roll of parchment and has a single housing, as opposed to the four “housings” of the phylacteries on the head. There is a mystical dimension to this in Song of Songs 4,9 where the same Solomon describes this attribute as אחתי כלה, usually translated as “my own, my bride.” The closeness to the point of a shared identity between Israel (Solomon) and the attribute of wisdom is alluded to by the word כלה as כלולה ב'לב, “included in the 32 paths of בינה, the ways to acquire wisdom.” [the oldest kabbalistic text, the ספר היצירה, is based on this concept. Ed.] The attribute כלה granted to Solomon enables the student to make a useful combination of these 32 paths of understanding, insight.
In order to teach that this letter ה at the end of the word ידכה has symbolic significance, the paragraph והיה כי יביאך contains five letters ה each of which is equipped with a תג, [a crown on top of a letter, usually reserved for the letters ש ע ט נ ז ג ץ You will not find these תגים on the corresponding letters in the Torah scroll. They are written only in the parchment which is part of the phylacteries of the hand. Ed.] The respective letters with these “crowns” are: the ה in ונתנה לך; the two letters ה in הקשה, the ה in ויהרוג, and the ה in ידכה. All of the words in question which have this ”decorated” letter ה are references to G’d’s attribute of Justice.
Having put on the phylacteries on the arm, one proceeds to put on the phylacteries of the head. The phylactery of the head is divided into four housings closely stuck together and containing the four paragraphs of the Torah in which the subject of phylacteries is mentioned in separate housings, each on its own parchment. They are in the sequence: 1) קדש לי כל בכור, 2) והיה כי יביאך, 3) שמע, 4) והיה אם שמוע. The paragraph קדש לי כל בכור corresponds to the emanation (attribute) חכמה, which is also known as ראשית, i.e. ראשית חכמה יראת ה' (Psalms 111). The word קדש, “sanctify” is a clear allusion to this. We have other verses containing the word קדש which are always understood as a reference to his attribute of חכמה.
The second paragraph והיה כי יביאך, which deals with the Exodus is understood to refer to the attribute בינה, The attributes חכמה,בינה,גדולה,גבורה were prominently involved in the Exodus and are therefore represented in the phylacteries. This is reflected also in the four-armed letter ש [as opposed to the usual three-armed ש. Ed.] which is embossed on the housing of the phylactery of the head. The emanation (attribute) תפארת is represented by the phylacteries themselves rather than by the Torah sections written inside them. All this is part of the mystical dimension of what the Talmud says in Berachot 6 that “G’d Himself puts on phylacteries.” The emanations (attributes) נצח והוד are represented by the respective “heads” of the letter שין which is embossed on the phylactery of the head. The three “extremities” רישי'ן i.e. ראשין (upper ends of the letter ש), symbolise the three emanations נצח הוד יסוד. (in the usual three-armed ש). The additional arm and its head is considered the קשר, the “connection“ to the lowest emanation מלכות which links the emanations (attributes) to the terrestrial world the one known as אחרונה, “the last one, the hindmost one. This is also the mystical dimension of G’d saying to Moses (Exodus 33,23) וראית את אחורי “you will only see the hindmost aspect of Me.” What G’d did show Moses was the קשר של תפילין, the “knot, tie” of the phylacteries, i.e. the point at which G’d the transcendent becomes immanent, i.e. manifest, in the terrestrial part of His universe. (Berachot 7).
Seeing that the straps of the phylacteries surround the head of the wearer this is perceived as an allusion to the continuous link between the manifest part of G’d’s largesse all the way to that point of the קשר. In view of the fact that the straps at the same time extend down to the level of one’s navel, it is an allusion to the fact that at the other end these emanations extend till the קו האמצעי, emanation תפארת, the central emanation (dividing line between what is perceived on the left and what is perceived on the right of the diagram of these 10 emanations) Seeing that these straps have to be black, a decree dating back to Moses for which we have not been told a reason, this is proof of the profound mystical meaning concealed within the whole commandment of the phylacteries and its details. The reason the second phylactery has to be placed on the head is that this is the seat of the power of the soul. Whatever has been written inside the phylactery on the head has also been written inside the phylactery of the hand, except that it has been written on a single piece of parchment and in an undivided housing. This is to teach that the lowest emanation מלכות, also known as אחרונה, is contained within it, and that it on the other hand contains all the higher attributes (emanations). The קשר, i.e. the shape of the knot in the strap symbolizes the צדיק; the reason it is worn on the left arm is that in that way it is opposite the right side of G’d whom we are to face at all times.
You must appreciate that the commandment of phylacteries are really two separate commandments though they (both) are part of the same syndrome. The proof that they are two commandments lies in the fact that they are not interdependent as are for instance the ארבעה מינים, the four plants on Tabernacles. When the Etrog is missing for instance, one cannot recite a benediction over the remaining 3 plants and vice versa. In the case of the phylacteries, however, absence of either the phylactery of the head or the phylactery of the arm does not prevent one from putting on the other (Menachot 38) and reciting a benediction over performance of the commandment. Moreover, seeing that both phylacteries represent the same idea, one must not engage in conversation between putting on the one and the other. This is what is meant in Sotah 44 that if one engages in conversation between putting on one phylactery and the other, this rates as the kind of sin on account of which a soldier is sent home rather than participating in an expansionist war [to protect him from the angel of death who is always around in places of danger waiting to pounce on the guilty. Ed.] (4) Seeing that both phylacteries represent the same idea it would have been logical to assume that halachah would treat them as interdependent on one another just as they do the Lulav and the Etrog. The fact that nonetheless they are treated differently halachically has been explained in terms of the Talmud Berachot saying that G’d Himself puts on phylacteries. The source of this statement is explained in the Sefer Habahir of Rabbi Nechunyah ben HaKanah in the form of a parable. The matter is compared to a king who owns a precious ornament which he sometimes wears on his head and on other occasions he wears it on his arm. This is the reason that the two phylacteries cannot be treated as if they were interdependent since we try to emulate G’d and how He treats His phylacteries. You may also conclude from the above that putting on the phylactery on the left arm is an allusion to the attribute of Justice which receives its input from the left.
In this respect there is a parallel with the Etrog which is also held in the left hand. (5) On the other hand, I have seen an opinion expressed by a prominent Kabbalist according to which the holding of the Etrog in the left hand and the putting on of the phylactery on the left arm cannot be compared. He claims that the fact that the Etrog is held in the left hand is because the left hand is appropriate for this seeing that the right hand holds the other three plants which have been tied together. The reason the phylactery of the hand is worn on the left arm, however, is in order for it to be opposite the right side of G’d. It has been said of G’d מימינו אש דת למו, “with His right hand He presented the fiery Torah to them.” (Deut. 33,2). The scholar in question quotes as further support for his view Psalms 45,10: ”the consort stands on your right hand decked in gold of Ophir.” You will note that the phylactery of the head contains G’d’s name 21 times so that between the two phylacteries G’d’s name appears 42 times corresponding to the 42-lettered name of G’d. (6) Some people, examining the subject of the phylacteries still further, believe that just as the Shechinah is portrayed as resting on the four animals based on two cherubs depicted in Ezekiel’s visions in Ezekiel chapter 1 and chapter 10, so the phylacteries are a symbol of the Shechinah resting on the Israelites who put on the phylacteries which contain four sections of the Torah on its two major organs (heart and brain). The brain and the heart are perceived as flanking such a person from two opposite sides, as we read in Exodus 25,19 (in connection with the lid of the Holy Ark) כרוב אחד מקצה מזה וכרוב אחד מקצה מזה, “one cherub at one extreme and one cherub at the end from the other extreme.” Our sages (Menachot 43) say that whoever has phylacteries on his head, on his arm and fringes, ציצית, on his garment can be certain that he will not commit a sin (major one) as we have been assured in Kohelet 4,12 that “the threefold thread will not easily be severed.” Rabbi Shimon ben Levi in Menachot 44 states that anyone who regularly wears phylacteries will live long as we have a verse (Isaiah 38,16). Those who have the name א-ד-נ-י on them (on their bodies) and whose insides are filled with that spirit ‘You will add more life to me.’”
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).
According to Talmudic tradition, the word totafoth alludes to the four boxes in the head Tefillin, since tot in a Caspian dialect is two and foth or poth is two in African or Phrygian (see note on Genesis 10:2; Menachoth 34b). The word tot appears to be cognate to 'two,' and possibly also to the Latin totas, and hence the English 'total.' Poth is cognate to the Gothic bothe, the English 'both,' and the Sanscrit botto.
Significantly in ancient Egyptian, ftu or fot means four, while tot can denote a gathering, resemblance, divine, or hard leather. Hence, totafoth may have had the connotation of a fourfold amulet, made of leather, as the Tefillin indeed are.English
- Rav Aryeh Kaplan, The Living Torah
Amos Chacham in the Daat Mikra says that jewelry worn on the head would "hang, drop down", and we find jewelry called netifot נטיפות in Yeshaya 3:19.
Tigay also suggests "headband", but derives the word totafot from the Arabic tafa - "go around, encircle". (From this root we also get taifa, the Spanish districts under the Moslems.)
And with all this said, I still haven't scratched the surface. Rav Kasher, in the appendix to Torah Sheleimah Parshat Bo, has an article that lists eleven explanations to the word totafot. (Tigay quotes another article that has 21).
Aside from what we've already discussed, Kasher quotes the Chizkuni and others who say it may be related to the Aramaic word מטייפין - "will see". (Maybe this is an example of an alternation between tetand tzade - צפה also means "to see".) (http://www.balashon.com/2007/01/totafot.html)
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Renderings in recent English transla- tions include the traditional "frontlets" (RSV) as well as "phylactery" (NEB), "circlet" (JB), "pendant" (NAB) and "symbol" (NJV). In his explanation of the NJV's "symbol," H. M. Orlinsky describes it as "approximately the meaning of obscure" twtpt, citing the parallel 'wt, "sign" and zkrwn, "memorial" used in the place of twtpt in the related passage Exod 13:9.7 The article "Frontlets"8 in the IDB refers to the t(w)tpt simply as "objects worn on the forehead" and cites with a question mark the oft-suggested etymology from ntp "to drop, drip," while the article "Phylacteries"9 in the same dictionary speaks of the word's uncertain etymology but suggests that the word should perhaps be read as a singular noun ttpt "meaning a 'round jewel."' The Encyclopedia Miqrait mentions the post-biblical usage of twtpt (singular) for a "woman's ornament" and considers it "possible" that in the Bible it refers similarly to "an ornament a man binds to his head"; derivation from ntp is also mentioned as a possibility, to which the ornaments called ntypwt (Judg 8:26; Isa 3:19) would then be comparable.10 HALAT mentions 5 Those followed in the edition of A. and R. Sadaqa, Jewish and Samaritan Version of the Pentateuch (Jerusalem: Rubin Mass, 1961-1965) rather than those followed by A. von Gall, Der Hebriiische Pentateuch der Samaritaner (Giessen: A. Topelmann, 1914-1918). 6 For the versions, see appendix. 7 H. M. Orlinsky, Notes on the New Translation of the Torah (Philadelphia: Jewish Publica- tion Society, 1970) 168. 8 J. M. Myers, in IDB 2. 326. 9 G. H. Davies, in IDB 3. 809. '0 E. S. Hartum, in Enc. Miqr. 3. col. 376. Wellhausen compared Arabic natafatun (Reste Arabische Heidentums [Berlin: Reimer, 1887] 165). ntypwt are taken to be droplet-shaped ornaments (A. R. S. Kennedy, "Phylacteries," HDB 3. 872); cf. the Samaritan targum's tpyn (see appendix) and cf. M. M. Kasher, Humash, Torah Shelemah (New York: American Biblical Encyclopedia Society, 1949-) 12.279 ?8. 322 This content downloaded from 149.105.122.82 on Tue, 12 Jun 2018 13:50:02 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms TIGAY: ON THE MEANING OF T(W)TPT post-biblical usage but defines t(w)tpt in the Bible as "Merkzeichen an d. Stirn" and mentions the competing etymologies from ntp/tpp and Arabic tiifa (see below)," neither of which yields precisely this meaning. The most recent study, in TWAT, concludes that the biblical evidence permits no precise definition and simply defines the object as a forehead ornament ("Stirnschmuck").12... Tigay, Jeffrey H. ; טיגאי, יעקב חיים ; Tigay, Jeffrey Howard Journal of Biblical Literature 101,3 (1982) 321-331 |