The Secret of the Light of Tefillin and Jewish Shame

Class No. 230 | Cassette 230, Tuesday, Parashas Lech Lecha, the eve of 10 Cheshvan 5760 - Bar Mitzvah in Zvhil. Wednesday, Parashas Lech Lecha, the eve of 11 Cheshvan 5760 - Bar Mitzvah at the home of the Rav.

A profound discourse explaining the connection between the mitzvah of Tefillin and the trait of shame. The Rav explains how shame is what distinguishes the soul of a Jew from the nations of the world, and how the light of Tefillin awakens the Divine intellect within a person, leading to tikkun (rectification) and true teshuvah (repentance).

When a Jew merits to put on Tefillin, he merits a tremendous light called "Shin Ayin Nehorin" (three hundred and seventy lights). The head Tefillin and the arm Tefillin correspond exactly to the Two Tablets. The holy Zohar states that when the Jewish people sinned with the Golden Calf, they lost the light of the Tefillin. Moses our Teacher then took all the lights of the Tefillin of the six hundred thousand children of Israel, as it is written:

"When His lamp shined upon my head."

The Secret of Jewish Shame

Rebbe Nachman teaches us that the essence of serving Hashem is shame. This is the fundamental difference between the Jewish people and the nations of the world—a Jew has shame. Shame stems from the Divine intellect within the Jewish soul. When a person commits a transgression, the Divine intellect within him is supposed to immediately awaken a deep sense of shame.

Every person goes through terrible things and difficult tests, but the moment someone comes and says to him, "What have you done?" and he is truly ashamed from the depths of his heart, saying, "I will never do this again"—this is his greatness. The Divine intellect immediately brings a person to shame; a young man who stumbles in sin must immediately feel ashamed of it.

The sin of Ishmael was precisely this lack of shame. When he was caught in a transgression, he should have immediately felt ashamed, but instead, he said, "I am just joking, I didn't do anything." If Ishmael had been truly ashamed, if he had come to our mother Sarah and said, "Forgive me, I truly stumbled, I did something wrong"—she would never have banished him from the house. The problem begins when a person refuses to feel ashamed and admit the truth.

In contrast, when a Jew stumbles, even if it is difficult for him to admit it verbally, he is ashamed before himself. He is gripped by a terrible shame, realizes that he is being seen, and takes himself strongly in hand.

The Eyes of Hashem Roam Throughout the Earth

Sometimes a person thinks that no one sees him in his innermost chambers. However, the verse states:

"These seven are the eyes of Hashem, which roam throughout the whole earth."

There are seven supernal eyes, and together with the seven eyes of Malchus (the Divine attribute of Kingship), there are fourteen eyes—embodying the secret of "On the evening of the fourteenth, we search for the chametz," which search the innermost depths of a person's heart. Furthermore, the Torah concludes with the words:

"And in all the great terror which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel."

Six hundred thousand children of Israel, which means one million two hundred thousand eyes, are looking at you! Wherever a Jew goes, he is being watched—by parents, friends, and supervisors. Everyone sees what you are doing.

If, despite all this, a person is not ashamed, he shows that he has a trace of Ishmael within him. Rebbe Nachman says: The light of Tefillin is the secret of shame. When a person puts on Tefillin and merits their light, he begins to acquire a tremendous, holy shame. He feels ashamed of every sin, of every inappropriate glance, and he merits to rectify his flaws through that pure shame.

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