It Shall Be for a Sign Upon Thy Hand

"And it shall be to you for a sign upon your hand" (Exodus 13:9): this is the upper arm. "Between your eyes": this is the crown of the head. Where exactly? They of the school of Rabbi Yannai say: the place where an infant's brain is soft. And the four passages of the phylacteries are these: "Sanctify to Me every firstborn," "And it shall be when the LORD brings you," "Hear, O Israel," and "And it shall be if you obey." And a house in which there are phylacteries and a Torah scroll, it is forbidden to engage in marital relations in it until one places them in a vessel within a vessel. Rava said: a cloak upon a chest is regarded as a vessel within a vessel. The phylactery of the hand has four passages, and these are all on one roll. And these four passages are all upon the phylactery of the head in four compartments. And from where do we know that there are four? "Tat" in the Coptic language means two, "pat" in African means two, so there are four for the head, and all of them are five. And from where do we know that the hand-phylactery is one? As it is written: "And it shall be for a sign upon your hand" (yadekhah), with an extra letter heh, making five. Thus you have learned: four compartments for the head, and one compartment for the hand. One might think four for the hand? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "for a sign upon your hand." And where on the hand does one place it? One might think upon the back of the hand, just as the phylactery of the head is upon the top of the head? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart" (Deuteronomy 6:6). From here they said: the placing must be opposite the heart. One might think that this applies even at night? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "from days to days" (Exodus 13:10). Days and not nights. One might think it applies on Sabbaths and festivals? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "from days to days." Days and not nights. One might think it applies on Sabbaths and festivals? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "from days to days." There are days when a person puts them on, and there are days when a person does not put them on. Rather, these are the days when a person does not put them on: Sabbaths and festivals. One might think the phylacteries are on the right hand? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "upon your hand" (yadekhah). And "your hand" means none other than the left, as it is said: "My hand also has founded the earth, and My right hand has spanned the heavens" (Isaiah 48:13). And so it says: "She put her hand to the tent peg, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer" (Judges 5:26). And from where do we know that it is on one roll? "And it shall be to you for a sign": to you and not to others. And the measure of the strap of the hand: Rami bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: up to the middle finger. And what is "tzeredah"? The middle finger. And the width of the strap is as the length of a barleycorn. And it is a commandment to put on the hand-phylactery first and to recite the blessing: "Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to put on phylacteries." Then he proceeds to put on that of the head and recites the blessing: "Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the commandment of phylacteries." And if he spoke between the phylactery of the hand and the phylactery of the head, a transgression is in his hand, and he returns from the ranks of those arrayed for battle on account of it. And if it was during the recitation of "May His great name be blessed" or during the Kedushah that he paused between the phylactery of the hand and that of the head, and he answered the Kedushah or "May His great name be blessed," he does not return from the ranks of those arrayed for battle; rather, he repeats the blessing over that of the head, because every phylactery requires two blessings. If he blessed them together, the blessings count for both. If he interrupted them with "May His great name be blessed" or with the Kedushah, the first blessing is voided, and he repeats and recites both. And it goes without saying for ordinary conversation, which is a great transgression. And when he removes them, he removes that of the head and afterward that of the hand. One might think that women are obligated in it? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "so that the Torah of the LORD may be in your mouth" (Exodus 13:9). Whoever is included in the study of Torah is obligated; this excludes women, who are not included in the study of Torah. One might think even minors are obligated? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "and you shall keep" (Exodus 12:10). Whoever is included in keeping is included in performing; this excludes minors, who are not included in keeping. And if there is a minor who is bar mitzvah and possesses understanding, he is obligated. One might think he need not examine the phylacteries? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "from days to days." From here they said: a person must examine his phylacteries once in twelve months. "From days to days" is stated here, and it is stated elsewhere: "for days shall be his right of redemption" (Leviticus 25:29). Just as there it means twelve months, so too here it means twelve months; these are the words of the House of Hillel. And the House of Shammai say: he need never examine them. And so Shammai used to say: these are the phylacteries of my mother's father. And these four passages, one must write them in their proper order. If one wrote them not in their proper order, they must be stored away.