From Cantor Lee: If you have been in my house, specifically in the family room, you probably know there is a door to the right side of the blue couch that leads to another room. It is actually half of our garage which we originally turned into a room many years ago so our son could have a place for his band to meet. Yes, not quite the music we wanted to hear throughout the house! These days the room functions as a playroom for our grandchildren, a meditation/healing room and also where Rabbi David puts on Tefillin.  

Growing up in a Reform household, I didn’t really know too much about Tefillin until I was twenty years old and began dating Rabbi David who had just come from Israel after serving in the Yom Kippur War. Always drawn to anything sacred, I was quite fascinated with his ritual of “laying tefillin” which he did everyday except for Shabbat. But it was more than fascination. Just seeing him perform the ritual touched me in a way I couldn’t explain. Throughout the years anytime Rabbi David has taught our students how to put on Tefillin,, it especially touches my heart in the deepest places, never failing to make me cry. 

With the passing of the years, Rabbi David hasn’t always put on his Tefillin everyday. But whenever there is special healing needed or of major importance, he returns to his daily practice. As you can imagine, that has been the case this year. 

I myself have never put on Tefillin. Traditionally it was meant just for the males, although these days women put on Tefillin as well. But recently I had a chance to experience its amazing power. I was relaxing on the blue couch drifting off, when I began to feel an unusual energy coming  from the right side of the room. As someone who is very sensitive to energy I was puzzled by this kind. Usually I feel the Divine Light coming  through my crown and going down my body or coming into my heart. This came differently and felt very different. The only way I can explain it is that I was filled with the most profound sense of Peace. 

It wasn’t until later after telling Rabbi David of my experience that I learned he was praying with his Tefillin on at the exact same time.  I certainly believe in the power of prayer. But if not, I would be a believer after my experience! Rabbi David told me he was praying for peace. 

From Rabbi David: To a stranger’s eye, the ritual of putting  tefillin on, wrapping the head, arm, hand and finger with a leather strip appears  very bizarre. This  Jewish custom was commanded in the Torah and is considered to be one of the most important deeds a Jewish person can perform.

There are two sets of straps, one for the head  and one for the hand. Each strap is attached to a box so that when the strap is wrapped around the head, the box is placed in the center of the forehead between the eyes. The other box is placed on the inside of the left upper arm close to the heart. Each box contains four biblical chapters which symbolize the principles of the Jewish monotheistic belief that G-D is one and whole, that Israel is a holy nation unto G-D, that the exodus from Egypt is the event that crystalised the Jewish people as a nation and should always be remembered as such.

The Tefillin has an enormous spiritual power. The placing of the boxes with the specific four Torah portions around the head and arm symbolizes the wrapping of the entire Torah around the body, (think of a patriotic person wrapping himself in his country’s flag). Moreover, the way the straps are tied around the fingers and arm creates the word “SHADAI,” one of the names of G-d. This symbolizes the wrapping of the holy name of G-D around the body. 

When performing this deed with real Kavanah, pure intention, one can feel a special energy flooding the body. It is interesting to note that the points of placing the two boxes correspond exactly to the Chinese meridian acupressure points  both on the head and on the arm which produce a flow of energy throughout the entire body.    

Shalom, Cantor Lee and Rabbi David