Synoptic Tefillin

SYNOPTIC TEFILLIN

by Jeremy Chance Springfield
9/4/19

The Torah’s commandments to wear tefillin are unique commands when considered in light of so many others (popularly known as “phylacteries” in most Greek-based English translations of Matthew 23:5). The performance of tefillin entail wearing a leather headpiece (tefillah shel rosh) and handpiece (tefillah shel yad) consisting of a “house” (bayit) for each one. Inside these housings (batim) are held four passages from the Torah hand-written by a scribe in ink upon specially prepared scrolls. This is essentially all there is to the physical side of the matter: attaching small leather boxes to one’s body in obedience to the Word to place His commandments literally upon us. It seems outlandishly simple at first glance but wearing tefillin is actually an intimate act allowing the performer to spiritually connect profoundly with the Holy One, if done with the proper intent.

When a believer dons the two batim and their accompanying straps, he performs an act unprecedented among all the commandments. Wearing tefillin literally binds the Word of the Holy One to a person’s physical self. Whereas other commandments may be morally based, ceremonially-based, or situationally-dependent, wearing tefillin physically links the person to the inspired text of Scripture – the very will of the Most High for mankind. This factor places the one performing the commandments of tefillin into a position of personal connection with the text of Scripture that not even reading a scroll of Torah provides: the Torah scroll remains apart from the individual, held at bay and not typically touched out of reverence for the Holy One, but tefillin sit upon the very skin of the person with only a paper-thin leather membrane separating the skin of the believer from the holy scrolls inside. The Word is thus truly impressed in layers and layers upon meaning in every thought and deed while being worn by the believer. This opens up a possibility of sustained intimacy with the Word not so readily encountered in the performance of other commandments. Worn during prayer time and during the study of Scripture, tefillin offer a closeness worthy of a sustained examination.

This physical performance of the commandments of tefillin reflects man’s divine purpose in this life: to achieve a spiritual status of what is called in Hebrew DEVEKUT “clinging,” or “attachment” to the Presence of the Holy One, so that there is as minimal a separation between a person’s will and nature and the will and nature of the Most High. It is a personal communion established between a human and the Holy One. The concept of DEVEKUT has to do with “filling up” one’s love and fear of the Almighty, so there is no lack that would otherwise leave a spiritual chasm between the Divine and the human. There is no magical connection happening when one wears tefillin. Rather, it is a physical expression commanded to be performed by the Most High in repeated injunctions in Scripture, which brings us into a spiritual closeness to Him that is not found through other avenues of obedience to the Spirit. A viable reason exists for His commanding us to perform this simple act. It is, simply put, an astounding intimacy experienced between the Holy One and the believer.

Tefillin are thus physical expressions of the righteous desire to experience this DEVEKUT “connection” to the spiritual life provided by the Most High. Those simple leather boxes are like the physical manifestation of the spiritual DNA that links a believer to the Presence of the Holy One, straps spiraling beyond space and time to touch Him and know an intimacy He yearns for us to experience. Properly performed, the commandments of tefillin are as cables connecting us to the lofty Presence of the Most High, for by it we are literally putting His Words upon our physical bodies in a show of complete alliance to His Kingship in the world. The believer choosing to wear tefillin seeks to express outwardly what is in his heart – a longing to be constantly linked to the Holy One by filling up his life with performance of the commandments of the Kingdom. The leather bayit attached to his arm, the strap winding down to his hand, the bayit crowning his head – all signify that yearning to be a physical conduit for the will of the King of Kings. Judaism long ago understood this unique connection to the Holy One that occurs when donning tefillin, and even perceived it in an intriguing interpretation of the Song of Songs 7:6 (verse 5 in most English translations). Discussing that verse, the ancient text known as Shir HaShirim Rabbah 7:6 reads in an enlightening manner.

This symbolic commentary on the Song of Songs is speaking of the “troughs” (this is the literal reading, however, the term is typically translated more dynamically as “tresses” in most English translations) the Scripture mentions there as if they mean the four compartments that comprise the bayit of the tefillah shel rosh. In fact, this idea linking tefillin and the Presence of the Holy One is repeated and expanded upon in the even more symbolic text of the Zohar 1:14a, where it says that due to this, one wearing tefillin is truly “in the image of the Deity,” as Genesis 1:27 explains. All of this serves to show us the concept of DEVEKUT that performing the commandment of tefillin is supposed to provide for us. The idea that His Presence is right there with us, so close that we are almost touching, is a hint to the intimacy we are to yearn to experience with Him.

From this foundational nature of tefillin, they can be seen to hold amazing Messianic correlations that are worth taking the time to appreciate. In order to be able to properly see that Messianic DEVEKUT connection, however, let us first look more closely at the nature of tefillin.

The four Scriptural passages inserted into both the tefillah shel rosh and tefillah shel yad discuss the context of the commandment itself, and the purposeful consecration of the individual to the Holy One for pure worship to occur, which is vital for the hope of DEVEKUT to ever be achieved by a believer. Those four passages are found in Exodus 13:1-10, Exodus 13:11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Deuteronomy 11:13-21. They read as follows.

1 And YHWH spoke to Mosheh, saying,
2 “Consecrate for Me every firstborn – all opening the womb of the sons of Yisra’el – with man and with beast. He is mine.”
3 And Mosheh said to the people, “Remember this day which you came forth from Mitzrayim, from the house of slavery, for by a strong hand YHWH brought you forth from this, and you shall not eat leavened bread.
4 Today you came out, in the month of the Aviv.
5 And it shall be that when YHWH shall bring you to the land of the Kena’ani, and the Khitti, and the Emori, and the Khivi, and the Yevusi, which He swore to your fathers to give to you – a land flowing [with] milk and honey, then you shall perform this service in this month.
6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to YHWH.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten the seven days, and there shall not be seen with you leavened bread, and neither shall there be seen with you leaven in all your places.
8 And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘The purpose of this is [what] YHWH performed for me at my coming forth from Mitzrayim.
9 And it shall be for you for a sign upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, in order that the Torah of YHWH is in your mouth, for by a strong hand YHWH brought you forth from Mitzrayim.
10 And you shall guard this statute for its appointed time from its certain days.’”

11 “‘And it shall be that when YHWH shall bring you to the land of the Kena’ani, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and shall give it to you,
12 then you shall purpose all opening the womb for YHWH, and all opening firstling of cattle which shall be for you – the males – are for YHWH.
13 And every opening donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, and if you shall not redeem it, then you must break his neck, and all the firstborn men among your sons you shall redeem.
14 And it shall be when your son shall question you later, saying, “What is this?” Then you shall say to him, “With a strong hand YHWH brought me forth from Mitzrayim, from the house of slavery.
15 And it came to be, when Faroh was hardened to send us forth, then YHWH murdered every firstborn in the land of Mitzrayim, from the firstborn man and even the firstborn cattle. And it is concerning this I sacrifice to YHWH all opening the womb of the males, and every firstborn of my sons I redeem.
16 And it shall be for a sign upon your hand, and for frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand YHWH brought us forth from Mitzrayim.”’”

4 Hear, Yisra’el, YHWH our Deity, YHWH is one.
5 And you shall love YHWH your Deity with all your heard, and with all your soul, and with all your veryness.
6 And these words which I command you today shall be over your heart,
7 and you shall impress them to your sons, and speak of them in your sitting in your home, and in your walking in the way, and in your lying down, and in your rising,
8 And you shall bind them for a sign over your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
9 And you shall write them over your doorposts of your home, and on your gates.

13 And it shall be if you shall certainly listen to My commandments which I command you today, to love YHWH your Deity, and to serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul,
14 then I shall give you rain [on] your land at its time, the first and the latter rain, and you shall gather your grain, and your wine, and your oil.
15 And I shall give you grass in your fields for your cattle, and you shall eat and be full.
16 You must guard yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you wander, and serve other deities, and bow to them,
17 and the wrath of YHWH be kindled with you, and He closes the heavens, and there shall not be rain, and the land not give its bounty, and you perish quickly from over the good land which YHWH has given to you.
18 So you shall set up these, My words, over your heart, and over your soul, and you shall bind them for a sign over your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
19 And you shall teach your sons, speaking of them in your sitting in your home, and in your walking in the way, and in your lying down, and in your rising.
20 And you shall write them over the doorposts of your home, and on your gates,
21 in order that your days be lengthened, and the days of your sons over the land which YHWH has sworn to your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens over the earth.

These four passages are written by a scribe usually in this exact order of appearance shared here on a single scroll (although the order can differ, as explained below), and then they are inserted into the housing of the tefillah shel yad. This is done to serve as the singular OT “sign” upon the hand / arm (unless context limits the intent to only the hand itself, the word YAD “hand” in Biblical Hebrew actually assumes the entire limb upon which ends the hand, an imagery visible in both Paleo-Hebrew and Proto-Semitic versions of the letter YOD). This is why the usage of the tefillah shel yad itself essentially incorporates the whole length of the arm, so as to engage the entire arm and not assume the context meant something not explicitly stated, as is commanded in the Torah in all four passages. In this regard, the physical performance is straightforward in how it is done. All of these factors have been arrived-at just by paying careful attention to the wording provided for us in the Torah.

Things become a bit more complex when it comes to the tefillah shel rosh. Regarding this piece, Scripture repeatedly calls it by the plural term TOTAFOT “frontlets,” signifying the fourfold compartments for the tefillah shel rosh, and only once is it called in the text ZIKARON “memorial,” signifying it is ultimately just one piece that has to it a variated design. The complexity involved with the tefillah shel rosh piece is due to a long-standing point of disagreement as to how those separate passages of Scripture quoted above are ordered and placed into the housing. This is because the housing for the tefillah shel rosh, while being one piece, is itself divided into four compartments into which are inserted each separate passage, instead of all together, like in the tefillah shel yad. The point of question for the ancient observers of the commandment is in what order they should be placed into those respective compartments. This question has been around for quite some time. In fact, one can go as far back as the text of the Talmud Bavli, tractate Menachot 34b and see this question first encountered.

Citing just the initial words of each passage, the rabbis were quite clear in what the tradition for the order should be. This answer seems simple enough, but the discussion here continues on and into the next folio of the tractate and shows us that the matter is not as clear-cut as one would expect from the initial statement of how the passages are ordered. We will see that it becomes somewhat more complicated than expected.

This clarification seems to allow for more play in how one could employ the commandment of tefillin in hopes to better achieve the goal of DEVEKUT. So long as the above rules be followed, the wearer could potentially be allowed to place the passages from the Torah in a slightly different fashion inside the batim. And just as if to emphasize this potential for a slightly altered passage order, we do find that disagreement among the rabbis is vocalized in what was even intended in the order allowed in the above Talmudic passage!

Now, one may initially think this might seem like another needless argument among many rabbinic disputes over how commandments should be performed. While it very well could seem like a vain contention, there really is something of value in the existence of the ancient discussion over what was to be accepted as the correct order of Bible passages to be inserted into the tefillin. Not only is there a value in it which I will endeavor to explain in the following paragraphs, but I also hope to prove from this a beautiful connection that applies to our ultimate goal of DEVEKUT as believers in Yeshua as the Messiah.

As we delve further into the details of tefillin, it might seem like a detour, but rest assured it will unravel in the end and ultimately make sense. Pay close attention to the following information, for it really does have a significant role in this topic and will end up leading us right into the ministry of the Messiah!

One of the most famous Jewish commentators of the Torah, known as Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, or Rashi as an acronym, who lived in the latter part of the 11th century and just into the 12th century, promoted the performance of tefillin and the order of passages in them as aligning with the order of their appearance in the Torah itself – essentially the exact order that the Talmud quote above seems to promote at first consideration. Due to the popularity of Rashi’s commentary on the commandments amidst Jewish communities, this perspective is the most widespread in Judaism today, and thus, the most widely followed. For most who observe the commandments of tefillin, the view asserted as legitimate by Rashi is the only view taken on the subject.

However, Rashi’s own grandson, Yaaqov ben Meir, also known popularly by the title Rabbeinu Tam, came along and opposed the validity of how his grandfather understood the order as given in the Talmudic declaration, and instead promoted the performance of the commandment using a tefillin with a markedly different order. Essentially, the difference between the two orders can be viewed as such:

The basic results are that Rashi viewed the matter as placing the passages into a tefillah shel rosh from the right-to-the-left, like an individual was looking at the tefillah shel rosh while it was being worn on another person, just as one would read Hebrew writing. Rabbeinu Tam, however, viewed the matter as placing the passages into the tefillah shel rosh in such a way that it literally followed the way the Talmudic text reads, with the Shema text (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 – the third in order of appearance in the Torah) being on the far left, and then, to the right of it, the Vehaya im shamoa text (Deuteronomy 11:13-21 – the fourth in order of appearance in the Torah). This may seem a little odd, but it is a view arrived at by reading the text of the Talmud absolutely literally, and not just assuming any detail, which is what one has to do if agreeing with Rashi’s explanation. To be entirely fair to the perspective of both rabbis, both orders could be a valid interpretation of the ancient method described in the Talmud. In fact, Rabbeinu Tam’s position was not even a novel assertion of how some performed the commandment in any way – it was merely the most vocalized opposition to the typically-accepted view of Rashi. Many other rabbis and practitioners of tefillin already followed the method described by Rabbeinu Tam.

However, as if that were not enough, two other prominent rabbis of ancient times also gave views they proclaimed as anciently valid on the issue, and their perspectives do not serve to narrow the field for us, but only broaden the matter when they are considered along with the two most popular opinions. The views of these two did not receive initially as widespread a distribution in the Jewish community, so they were not as popularly discussed as the former two. Rabbi Sar Shalom Gaon, who wrote in the Shimusha Rabba in the 9th century, contradicted what Rashi would later suggest the Talmud intended by stating that the antiquated tradition he knew was that the order of the passages was inserted into the tefillah shel rosh so that they would begin on the right side if it was understood that the tefillin was being viewed from behind the wearer. His early view thus was opposite the way the more famous view from Rashi took, who viewed the order as if looking at a person who was wearing the tefillin and going from right-to-left.

Rabbi Avraham ben David, or as he is popularly known by his acronym of Ra’avad, who lived like Rabbeinu Tam also in the 12th century, asserted a similar, but still different approach as having been done from ancient times. He viewed the order the same unique way as Rabbeinu Tam did by reading the Talmudic expression in an ultra-literal manner, except that he did this from the viewpoint of Rabbi Sar Shalom Gaon, who approached the matter as if a person were wearing the tefillin, and not as Rashi or Rabbeinu Tam, who approached it as if they were looking at a person wearing the tefillah shel rosh.

What we have, then, are four different types of tefillin that a believer could potentially wear, and they are referred to by the names / titles of those who argued most stringently for a particular type of order for the passages in the four compartments.

An interesting detail about this is that there is a passage in Scripture, in Psalm 37:37, which appears to reference all four types of tefillin.

Guard the perfect, and see the upright, for the final [status] for that man is peace.

This verse is understood to contain a hint to the different types of tefillin by noting key words within it. The accompanying graphic explains how the four types are viewed as encoded into the verse.

It is thus understood that upon the merit of these teacher’s individual advocacy of the different types of tefillin, the Holy One prophesied of them in this passage and called us to “guard” each version in our observance of the commandment.

In all of this, if your head isn’t spinning by now, you have probably asked yourself just how it is these complex factors relate to the concept of DEVEKUT that is the focus of our desire as a faithful believer in the Holy One.

With the above information in mind, we can begin to see the proper view of what we need in order to appreciate the unique nature of DEVEKUT in the life of a believer.

With the reality that there are four very blatant different viewpoints on how the commandment of tefillin can be performed, we find that Judaism does not mandate we pick one to the exclusion of all others, but to accept all four versions as valid and authentic! Each one can be viewed as essentially correct in how the same material is ordered. The exact same scrolls, with the exact same words, are placed into the compartments of the tefillah shel rosh, so that although the content is arranged differently between the four types of tefillah shel rosh, the content is still identical in message (for the tefillah shel yad, which contains only one scroll with these passages, the difference comes down to two in the order the passages are written on that single scroll). For this reason, the believer is not forced to decide if any of the four versions are invalid or should be refused for one instead of another. Rather, the believer is called to accept all four versions at the same time as authentic and fulfilling the commandment to wear tefillin.

Because of this, the devout in Judaism will even go so far as to purchase tefillin that are specially constructed to meet each of the order requirements described by the rabbis who were aware of the commandment being performed in that particular method. The idea is that none are wrong, but all are unique perspectives inherent in the performance of the commandment itself, as if the commandment were written intentionally vague so as to be performed in each distinct manner. All four methods are encapsulated in the Torah’s wording of the commandment, creating a sort of hypercube / cube-within-a-cube situation, holding within it more than it is by itself. Embedded in the singular text of the Torah is the spiritual DNA that allows for all four versions to be constructed and thus to perform the commandment in effort to experience DEVEKUT with the Holy One.

This serves to exemplify the desire for DEVEKUT in the believer: a love and fear of the Holy One that “fills up” one’s observance of the commandments. While it is true that most in Judaism who perform the commandments of tefillin probably only use the tefillin popularized by the view of Rashi, it is also true there are a growing number who also have assumed in addition to the “Rashi” tefillin the second-most popular view of his grandson, Rabbeinu Tam. Some who are scrupulous even wear versions of both that are made specifically reduced in size so they can be worn at the same time. Otherwise, due to the larger size of most tefillin now constructed, the Rashi version is typically worn first, and then removed, and replaced with the Rabbeinu Tam version during the course of prayers. Fewer still also are adding to the former two observances the latter two described by Ra’avad and in the Shimusha Rabba by Rabbi Sar Shalom Gaon.

All four versions are at once valid, and neither usurp nor nullify another, even though some believers may not recognize the spiritual need to wear more than one pair of tefillin. The four different types stand independent, and yet they do rely upon each other for the complete fulfillment of the spirit of the commandment. Although with passages in different placement inside, the same message is contained in all of them. The wearer should likewise accept them all and meditate upon the unique differences in order to appreciate the fullness of the DEVEKUT that can be had by seeking to fulfill the commandment of tefillin in all its facets.

This profound truth embedded in the comprehensive performance of the four types of tefillin finds a beautiful analog in the Messianic accounts of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The four books record the life and ministry of the promised Messiah, and each one, while unique in its presentation, is singular in the message about who has been chosen to be the rightful heir to provide for Jew and Gentile alike a legitimate means to immediate DEVEKUT by the unsurpassed merit of Yeshua. This is important, because in Judaism, lasting DEVEKUT is only assumed to be found once the Messiah has arrived in the world. Yeshua’s faithful witness is precisely that of DEVEKUT – of filling up all the lack between man and the Most High so that we can truly cling to Him without suffering the staggering gaps otherwise encountered from the lingering sin in our lives.

While it is true that Biblical scholars typically reserve the term “synoptic” to refer to the highly-consonant content of the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the term in its definition of “forming a general summary or synopsis” can also be applied to the over-arching content of the four Gospels as a whole – John not to be excluded from the others! Many accounts are repeated throughout the four Gospels, with important details unique to each, yet which are complimentary to the whole. Although subtleties abound in each individual text of the Messianic accounts, an honest assessment of their contents show they largely do share the same major accounts and key details about the person of Yeshua and the role of Messiah for which He is ordained. The shared content of the accounts is also sometimes ordered slightly differently between the four books – a situation profoundly paralleling that of the four tefillin we should be so blessed to be able to wear – but the nature of the four synoptic texts is ultimately in spiritual harmony. No one book need be discarded for another, as each is unique, and yet necessary for the complete appreciation of the portrait of the Messiah that is provided in them.

The synoptic nature of all four Gospel accounts can be further appreciated when we consider the words that close out the Aramaic Gospel of John, recorded in 21:25.

Yet, there are also many others that Yeshua has performed – those that if, one [by] one was written, not even the world itself, as I suppose, would be sufficient for the texts that could be written.

The student tells us so much was performed by and could have been written about the Messiah. Other scattered references to Yeshua and His ministry have been preserved in extra-biblical historical sources, some of which appear to hold value as possibly legitimate or likely events from His life; perhaps these are glimpses of such references to which John speaks. Their veracity remains to be seen. However, only the situations preserved in the Gospels have preserved the four-fold portrait of His great acts of surpassing merit for the people of the Most High. Therefore, in a true sense, the Gospels in their entirety are synoptic in content, just like the four tefillin we are able to wear to draw close to the Holy One.

Furthermore, Yeshua speaks in Matthew 5:17 that His purpose is at its core that of the concept of DEVEKUT.

You must not suppose that I came to dismiss the Instruction or the Prophets! I have not come that I should dismiss, but instead, that I should fulfill!

The wording Yeshua uses here as spoken in the Peshitta’s Aramaic tongue is the language of DEVEKUT – of going as far as one has to go in order to meet the demands of the Holy One so that intimacy can be experienced. This is what it means to initiate DEVEKUT – to do all that He has called us to do so that there is no separation between us. This was Yeshua’s own personal goal in His initial ministry – showing us all that His focus could be no purer, no higher. Thankfully, this goal He reached in ways we still have yet to comprehend, and not only did He experience that DEVEKUT, He prayed that through attaching ourselves to Him and the unmatched merit that flows through every atom of His being, that we too, while yet not at such austere level due to our own struggle with sin, can still experience the untainted relationship with the Creator that He knows through His special righteous status. This reality is recorded so beautifully in the words He prayed mere hours before His execution on the cross. John 17:19-23 preserves the message for us clearly from the Aramaic text.

19 And concerning their presences I consecrate Myself, that they shall also be consecrated in the truth.

20 And not concerning the presences of these only do I beseech, but also concerning the presences of those who shall trust in Me by their word,

21 that they should all be one, as You, My Father, are in Me, and I in You; that also in us they shall be one, that the world shall trust that You sent Me.

22 And the glory that You gave to Me I have given to them, that they shall be one, as that We are one:

23 I in them, and You in Me, that they shall be matured to one, and that the world shall know that You sent Me, and that You loved them, as that You also loved Me.

Again, these are DEVEKUT-related terms. The focus of Yeshua’s ministry was on giving people hope that they were loved by the Holy One and could in turn love Him back. By encouraging them in that love and in the performance of the commandments, which He did repeatedly by example and in teaching, He showed in each Gospel account that DEVEKUT is indeed the goal of the human experience. To know once more that unparalleled communion with the Creator is the high calling for every man and woman. Yeshua, as the righteous one, has the authority to offer that vital reconnect to each of us who will join to His Messianic merit. Attachment to Yeshua provides the sin-marred believer the opportunity to live in a state of DEVEKUT otherwise unattainable while in the midst of our own weaknesses.

This is the ultimate synoptic message of Yeshua in the four Gospels. Just like the four unique, yet unified types of tefillin that we are able to wear and so bind ourselves to His will and nature, the harmonious messages recorded for us in the four Gospels displays also how we can bind ourselves to the righteous Messiah provided for us by the Holy One. The subtle differences that comprise the totality of the synoptic recorded accounts allow us to see all the facets and nuances of meaning that are contained within the myriads of layers of Yeshua's teachings to Israel. The four Synoptic Gospels thus serve as spiritual tefillin for the knowing believer!

A final intriguing Messianic factor in all of this is that while not many commentators discuss the spiritual significance of the four types of tefillin, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, explained that the four types of tefillah shel rosh are actually inherently linked to the Messiah and the time of His coming, and that the simultaneous performance of all four types will only be realized completely at His arrival – a detail that can only truly be appreciated when their unique connection to the four Gospel texts is considered – as will be shown in the closing paragraphs.

Those today who have chosen to wear all four types of tefillin do so in an ordered fashion. Specific prayers in the daily prayer book are prayed, and certain Scriptures and commentaries are studied during this time. The order generally assumed for those who wear all four types is as follows.

This link of the four synoptic tefillin being promoted fully in the era of the Messiah actually refers us in an enlightening way to a statement Yeshua made concerning how we should perform the commandment. When Yeshua was critiquing some of the unfortunate behavior of the Pharisaic sect in Matthew chapter 23, He mentioned the erroneous way that group was performing the commandment in verse 5.

“And all their deeds they perform that they should be seen of the sons of men, for they broaden their tefillin…”

He tells us here that they were essentially enlarging the tefillah shel yad and tefillah shel rosh to such a degree that the tefillin would be unmistakably visible on anyone wearing them, drawing unnecessary attention. This detail tells us much about the heart of these individuals: they longed to connect with others rather than perform the commandments purely to connect only with the Holy One. Their minds were earthly instead of heavenly minds. Yeshua’s statement has even been borne out by history: while modern tefillin can range in size from generally around 1¼ inch cubes up to about 1¾ inch cubes, the ancient versions found near the Dead Sea area at Qumran, dating back to first century times, were likely no larger than ¾ inch cubes at the time of their original construction, making the enlargement practice Yeshua reprimands truly a broadening event!

Admittedly, not all who observe the commandments of tefillin wear the largest sizes available, although the larger versions are usually encouraged in modern times (in this situation, where the larger sizes are the norm of the time, then being guilty of Yeshua’s admonition is possibly not so applicable to a wearer today). Some who wear tefillin endeavor to obtain considerably diminished sizes of the tefillin so that they can wear two types simultaneously (typically Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam versions). That this is an entirely possible way to wear them is admitted also by the Talmud, in tractate Eruvin 95b.

This fact can also be seen even in the Torah commentary of Hacham Yosef Hayim, called Ben Ish Chai, who mentioned that two pairs of tefillin were, in fact, worn simultaneously as early as from the time of Moses’ giving of the Torah, and only at a much later date (between 7th and 11th centuries) did the practice diminish instead to regularly donning only one pair of tefillin at a time – a detail he brings up by quoting the Talmudic passage of tractate Eruvin 95b (and is also repeated almost verbatim in tractate Avodah Zarah 44a).

While it is not typical to see two pairs of tefillin to be worn at one time, it is something that is a daily practice for some believers, and so should not come as a surprise if encountered.

All of this leads us to a beautiful Messianic conclusion. The significantly diminished size of the ancient tefillin recovered from the Qumran area shows us that the performance of the commandment of tefillin when decreased in size as specifically sanctioned by Yeshua would also have allowed for enough room on the wearer’s head to possibly don all four types of tefillah shel rosh at once! The believer who was able to perform the commandment in such fashion would have therefore his mind entirely focused on heavenly matters, not being conspicuous with oversized batim like others would wear. While it is only conjecture whether anyone ever did this, such a factor serves to highlight the words of Yeshua as encouraging the performance of the commandments in such a way that the desire for DEVEKUT would be present in the ability to wear those four synoptic tefillah shel rosh – something that observers opting for the “broadened” ones simply cannot physically accomplish. Only by carefully heeding the words of the Messiah can the one who performs tefillin for the intent of heavenly DEVEKUT ever hope to don all four types at once!

This perspective of performing tefillin as Messiah so commanded is hinted at in one final passage from the teachings of Judaism and hearkens back to the initial quote shared that began this study. The idea of DEVEKUT and the Presence of the Holy One, the King of Kings of Kings who resides, symbolically, in the compartments of the tefillah shel rosh. This final passage is found in the words of Reb Nachman, recorded in his voluminous work, Likutey Moharan.

Here, Rebbe Nachman seeks to explain the deeper meaning of Isaiah 61:3 and the mention of believers being given "beauty" upon their heads, which he explains is a reference to tefillin. The connection here is that the tefillah shel rosh symbolizes also Rosh Bayit “Head of the House,” the Tzaddik, that is, the “Righteous One,” which is a reference to the Messiah. In these words, we see yet another validation of the Messiah’s vital link to the spiritual concept behind tefillin. Yeshua’s merit, symbolized in the performance of tefillin, brings DEVEKUT to those who attach themselves to Him.

In the end, no matter how one views the four different versions under the light of Scriptural revelation, they are identical in content, but nuanced in detail, just as one can turn each of the four Gospels in every manner under the illuminating light of the Spirit of the Most High and appreciate the subtlety that exists within their harmonious content. Even if you haven’t yet had the opportunity to lay all four types of tefillin as described in this study, just by knowing this beautiful link exists allows you to be blessed with the components of a truly unique Messianic perspective on DEVEKUT. When approached in this manner, understanding the fullness of the performance of the four synoptic tefillin offers the truth of a DEVEKUT so unparalleled that only the Messiah’s merit can provide it for the sin-scarred people of the Most High.

All study contents Copyright Jeremy Chance Springfield, except for graphics and images, which are Copyright their respective creators.