(Courtesy of http://www.crownheights.info) Many religious Jews will criticize Chabad for putting tefillin on Jews that "could never appreciate the value of the mitzvah, understand it, or lack the proper intent". It is easy to criticize something when you are doing nothing. We are commanded to put on tefillin today, just as we were yesterday, and tomorrow, and on the third Wednesday of August in the year 2064. Each mitzvot just like each day is independent of itself. You can not rely on your good deeds of yesterday today and except G-d to continue to bless you because six months ago you gave a more than generous amount of tzedakah or three years ago you finished learning the whole Gemara. Non Chasidic Jews are quick to jump on Chasidim which is more so targeted at Lubavitchers for exposing Torah and Mitzvot to the simple Jews. They claim that you must have intent and understanding of mitzvot to perform them properly. Now I agree, perfect intent and full understanding of the mitzvot makes Ribono Shel Olam so very happy. However that is not the main purpose to my understanding of why we have the mitzvot and why we perform them.
Parshas Mishpatim is chalk full of laws, and most of these laws, unlike Chukim are rational. You are responsible for damages from your animals, proper conduct with slaves, things that any moral community could at some point come up with. As compared to the Chukim like eating matzoh or the use of a red heifer which no one could ever think of period. The Sfas Emes, the 2nd Rebbe of Ger exposed a non-pshat aspect of Torah that along with the help of the mussar text Yalkut Yosef helped me understand the concept of Mitzvot.
Exodus 24: (7) Then he took the record
of the covenant and read it aloud to the people.
And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken
we will do and we will hear!”
We don't study Torah and perform Mitzvot for a deeper understanding of life. We do it BECAUSE HAKODESH BARUCH HU SAID SO! sorry for the caps. I wanted that to stick out. When we do what G-d has said, then by default he blesses us with a deeper understanding of his Torah and Mitzvot. The Torah says this, Chazel says this, and all the great commentators say this. At what point did we forget this and decide since we (and by we i mean them) know more Torah than the simple Jew that not only do they not deserve the knowledge but its not our job to give it. Imagine if Moses had that attitude, especially after the golden calf.
If you put on tefillin today and say Shema you have performed those two mitzvot. It doesn't matter if you did it yesterday, or if you have plans to do it tomorrow. The Torah is in the now and here and isn't dependent on the there and before. Thank G-d that the Lubavitcher Rebbe O.B.M. brought the beautiful mitzvah of tefillin to the common unlearned Jews. Nowhere in the Torah written or oral does it say "It is a mitzvah to put on tefillin (only if you are a Talmud Chachum)" and if it does will someone please point it out to me.
I'm not a Talmud Chachum or anything but a humble little chasid desperate for Emes. I make mistakes and understand thing wrong and pray that G-d can give me clarity and insight. I do know one thing though every weekday B"H I put on tefillin. Before this i declare that I'm performing the mitzvah tefillin "for the sake of G-d" not because I have some deep understand thanks to R' Areya Kaplan's book Tefillin that I read, or to get points up in Olam Habah. Simply because G-d said so and that is a good enough reason for me.
I'll leave you with a story....
Once R' Yaakov Yitzhak the Seer of Lublin was learning with his brother R' Pinchas Horowitz. The Seer's shammas kept interrupting him and whispering something in his ear. Finally his brother with irritation and almost anger said, "My dear brother Yaakov how can you let your shammas interrupt you during your Torah study, does he not know how valuable your time is?! It shouldn't be wasted on anything but the study of Torah! The Chozeh of Lublin responded " My dear brother when I study Torah I get so involved in what I am learning that I have my shammas whisper into my ear "There is a Ribbono Shel Olam" so I do not forget.
You see here, sometimes we get so involved in Torah study and the deep Mamash deep as Reb Shlomo would say that we forget the whole reason why we are studying the Torah. For the sake of G-d, thats why. Even studying Torah can be a form of Avodah Zara so always keep in mind for whom we stand before, HaKodesh Baruch Hu.
Parshas Mishpatim is chalk full of laws, and most of these laws, unlike Chukim are rational. You are responsible for damages from your animals, proper conduct with slaves, things that any moral community could at some point come up with. As compared to the Chukim like eating matzoh or the use of a red heifer which no one could ever think of period. The Sfas Emes, the 2nd Rebbe of Ger exposed a non-pshat aspect of Torah that along with the help of the mussar text Yalkut Yosef helped me understand the concept of Mitzvot.
Exodus 24: (7) Then he took the record
of the covenant and read it aloud to the people.
And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken
we will do and we will hear!”
We don't study Torah and perform Mitzvot for a deeper understanding of life. We do it BECAUSE HAKODESH BARUCH HU SAID SO! sorry for the caps. I wanted that to stick out. When we do what G-d has said, then by default he blesses us with a deeper understanding of his Torah and Mitzvot. The Torah says this, Chazel says this, and all the great commentators say this. At what point did we forget this and decide since we (and by we i mean them) know more Torah than the simple Jew that not only do they not deserve the knowledge but its not our job to give it. Imagine if Moses had that attitude, especially after the golden calf.
If you put on tefillin today and say Shema you have performed those two mitzvot. It doesn't matter if you did it yesterday, or if you have plans to do it tomorrow. The Torah is in the now and here and isn't dependent on the there and before. Thank G-d that the Lubavitcher Rebbe O.B.M. brought the beautiful mitzvah of tefillin to the common unlearned Jews. Nowhere in the Torah written or oral does it say "It is a mitzvah to put on tefillin (only if you are a Talmud Chachum)" and if it does will someone please point it out to me.
I'm not a Talmud Chachum or anything but a humble little chasid desperate for Emes. I make mistakes and understand thing wrong and pray that G-d can give me clarity and insight. I do know one thing though every weekday B"H I put on tefillin. Before this i declare that I'm performing the mitzvah tefillin "for the sake of G-d" not because I have some deep understand thanks to R' Areya Kaplan's book Tefillin that I read, or to get points up in Olam Habah. Simply because G-d said so and that is a good enough reason for me.
I'll leave you with a story....
Once R' Yaakov Yitzhak the Seer of Lublin was learning with his brother R' Pinchas Horowitz. The Seer's shammas kept interrupting him and whispering something in his ear. Finally his brother with irritation and almost anger said, "My dear brother Yaakov how can you let your shammas interrupt you during your Torah study, does he not know how valuable your time is?! It shouldn't be wasted on anything but the study of Torah! The Chozeh of Lublin responded " My dear brother when I study Torah I get so involved in what I am learning that I have my shammas whisper into my ear "There is a Ribbono Shel Olam" so I do not forget.
You see here, sometimes we get so involved in Torah study and the deep Mamash deep as Reb Shlomo would say that we forget the whole reason why we are studying the Torah. For the sake of G-d, thats why. Even studying Torah can be a form of Avodah Zara so always keep in mind for whom we stand before, HaKodesh Baruch Hu.
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