Tefillin and Prayer
Question
Rabbi Moshe Newman
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Answers
The AriZal, one of the greatest Kabbalists ever to have lived, explains that the Head Tefillin sit exactly on the fontanel, which is open for approximately the first year of a baby’s life. They are a conduit to the spiritual realms and they open the brain to God and allow us insight into what God wants from us in this physical world.
By the way, Rabbeinu Bechaye writes in his work Kad HaKemach that God gave us five senses. Four of them – taste smell sight and hearing – are centered around the head. And the fifth, touch, is located in the arm. Rabbeinu Bechaye explains that the function of Tefillin is to “bind together” our senses and to dedicate them back to God. Each one of the four sections of the Head Teffilin represent one of the senses, and the Tefilin that is worn on the arm represents the sense of touch.
When we do this and internalize this idea, our prayers are certainly enhanced.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team