AmHaaretz posted an article by Josiah Draper, on Tefillin. I think it is very educational to question the basis of this Rabbinic artefact:
One common practice cited as proof the Oral Law is Tefillin. And I have to admit, you absolutely need the Oral Law for this one. There's no way to sugarcoat a way around it. Without the Oral Law, we would not know how to use Tefillin.... because Tefillin is not biblical!
Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:16, Deuteronomy 6:8, and Deuteronomy 11:18 are the verses cited for proof of Tefillin. Let's take a closer look at them. Read these, the other passages I will cite, and their sorrounding verses after each explantion after each explanation, please.
Exodus 13:9 reads "And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead - in order that the teaching of YHVH may be in your mouth - that with a might hand YHVH freed you from Egypt." Now the question is - what is "this"?
It is the observance of the Days of the Unleavened Bread. We read about the festival in the previous verses, Exodus 13:6-8, and then we come to verse 9 which says "and this...."; There hasn't been a change of subject indicated. So why should we believe otherwise? Verse 10 reaffirms that it indeed is talking about the feast of Unleavened Bread, as it says:
"You shall keep this institution at its set time from year to year."
Obviously, Tefillin isn't something that has a set date for it's use. The verses before the passage, and after the passage, both talk of observing the days of unleavened bread. With no indication of a subject change, there is absolutely no reason to believe it is talking about something different.
Next we come to Exodus 13:16. It reads:
"And so it shall be as a sign upon your hand and as a symbol on your forehead that with a mighty hand YHVH freed us from Egypt." Again, the question is thus : What is "it"?
The answer is Redemption of the Firstborn. The previous verses, verses 11 through 15, are all talking about Redemption of the Firstborns. Just like the last verse, there is no indication of a subject change, and no reason to believe it is talking about something new.
Now we come to Deuteronomy 6:8 & 11:18. The language and context of the latter is extremely close to that of the former, so I'll just be covering the first one. Let's read the verse and it's context.
"4 Hear, O Israel! YHVH is our God, YHVH alone! 5 You shall love YHVH your God with all your heart and with all your should and with all your might. 6 Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. 7 Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; 9 inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Now, let's isolate the verses cited for Tefillin & Mezuzah.
"Bind them as a sign upon your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." First things first - what are we supposed to bind on our hands, put on our foreheads, our houses, and gates? What are the instructions being reffered to earlier, in verse 6? We see at the beginning of Deuteronomy that Moses was teaching "all Israel on the other side of the Jordan." (Deut. 1:1). When we get to chapter 6 of the book, they are still there, as the first verse (6:1) tells us that they "are about to cross into" Eretz Yisrael - the land of Israel. Thus, the instruction being reffered to is everything that was written before it.[1]
Now ask yourself this - do the Tefillin ever include this entire instruction? The answer is no. The text in the Tefillin boxes are the scriptures that are claimed as the support for the practice. If these verses refer to Tefillin, I must ask: Where does it say the Tefillin are to be used in prayer? And where does it say that they are ever to be taken off? It doesn't. We are supposed to be living these commandments 24/7. In fact, the Vilna Gaon [2] taught that Tefillin should be worn the entire day.
Next we must ask : How is the type of language used in these verses used in the rest of the Bible? Does it refer to Tefillin there, also? The answer, again, is that it does not.
In the Book of Proverbs, we see this type of language used 4 times.
"Listen my son to the teaching of your father and do not abandon the Torah of your mother; because it is a beautiful wreath for your head and a necklace upon your throat." (Proverbs 1:8-9). "Do not let truth and righteousness leave you; tie them upon your throat, write them upon the tablet of your heart.(Proverbs 3:3)
"Keep my son the commandments of your father and do not abandon the Torah of your mother; Tie them upon your heart always, don them upon your throat. (Proverbs 6:20-21). "Keep my commandments and live, and my Torah as the pupil of your eye. Bind them on your finger, write them upon the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 7:3).
To this, we add the word of our prophet Jeremiah[4]: "I will place my Torah in their inward parts and upon their hearts I will write it." (Jeremiah 31:32)
The Torah is to be like a fine bracelet or necklace which we are to wear proudly. In other words, the Torah is supposed to be precious to us and be remembered always.[3] This is what the verse is talking about.
Rashi's grandson, Rashbam, realized this also. Commenting on “And it shall be for a sign upon your hand and a remembrance between your eyes” he writes the following:
"As a sign on your arm": According to the plain meaning [of the verse, it means that] it shall be a constant remembrance to you as though it were written on your arm. It is like [Song of Songs 8:6, which reads] "Place me like a seal upon your heart.", like a piece of jewelry or gold chain which people put on the forehead for decoration.
In modern times, Rabbi Leo Trepp notes that “taken literally, the Commandment bids us to make the Love of God and the teachings of the Torah our motto, in order that our home may become a small sanctuary.”[5], as Karaites have always taught.
Submitted by Josiah Draper http://www.ancient-paths.net/
[1] Some argue that the instructions are the ones starting at 5:1
[2] http://www.tefillin.co.il/english/faq/index.htm
[3] http://www.karaite-korner.org/tefillin.shtml
[4] The moderator of KJD provided the quote from Jeremiah and the next footnote
[5] The Complete Guide to Jewish Observance p. 36
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