Va’eschanan 6:8 · unit 2

TT #46 · Parashas Va’eschanan · Passuk 6:8

The Complete Passuk

וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ׃

And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.

Chabad.org — 6:8

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to the baraisa that only one who is obligated in the mitzvah of binding may write tefillin / mezuzah / a Sefer Torah (Gittin 45b / Menachos parallel).

Sefaria — Gittin 45b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
תָּנָא רַב חִינָּנָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרָבָא מִפַּשְׁרוֹנְיָא: סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה תְּפִלִּין וּמְזוּזוֹת שֶׁכְּתָבָם צָדוֹקִי כּוּתִי נָכְרִי עֶבֶד אִשָּׁה קָטָן וּמוּמָר — פְּסוּלִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וּקְשַׁרְתָּם וּכְתַבְתָּם — כָּל שֶׁיֶּשְׁנוֹ בִּקְשִׁירָה יֶשְׁנוֹ בִּכְתִיבָה, וְכָל שֶׁאֵינוֹ בִּקְשִׁירָה אֵינוֹ בִּכְתִיבָה.

English: Rav Chinena son of Rava of Pashronia taught: A Sefer Torah, tefillin or mezuzos written by a Sadducee, a Cuthean, a non-Jew, a slave, a woman, a minor or an apostate are invalid, as it is said “and you shall bind them… and you shall write them” — whoever is included in the binding is included in the writing, and whoever is not included in the binding is not included in the writing.

On the daf / in context: The juxtaposition of the command to bind and the command to write limits the writing of these sacred texts to those who themselves are obligated in the mitzvah of tefillin.

Type of Learning

Semichut / diyuk of “ukeshartam… u-chesavtam” — only one obligated to bind may write.

What Is Learned

Tefillin, mezuzah and a Sefer Torah may be written only by a person who is himself obligated in the mitzvah of binding tefillin.