A Child Who Can Guard His Tefillin Is Given Them

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 222:4

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And you shall keep this ordinance in its season" (Exodus 13:10). Why is this said? Because Scripture says, "And it shall be for a sign upon your hand" (Exodus 13:9), I might understand that minors too are included. And there is reason to argue so: since the mezuzah is a positive commandment and tefillin is a positive commandment, if you have learned about the mezuzah that it applies to minors and adults, perhaps tefillin too applies to minors and adults. Therefore Scripture teaches, "And you shall keep this ordinance"; I have spoken only of one who knows how to guard his tefillin. From here the sages said: every minor who knows how to guard his tefillin, his father makes him tefillin. "And you shall keep this ordinance" (Exodus 13:10). This is the commandment of tefillin. Or is it nothing but the ordinance of all the commandments? You say: about what is the passage speaking? About tefillin.

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