The gemara on Berakhos 6a states something very intriguing:

אָמַר רַבִּי אָבִין בַּר רַב אַדָּא, אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: מִנַּיִן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַנִּיחַ תְּפִילִּין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״נִשְׁבַּע ה׳ בִּימִינוֹ וּבִזְרוֹעַ עֻזּוֹ״.

Rabbi Avin bar Rav Adda said that Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From where [do we know] that the Holy Blessed One, wears “tefillin”? As it is stated, “Hashem has sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength.” (Yeshaiah 62:8).

Then it explains the proof text by bringing a pasuq that associates yemino (His “Right [Hand]”) with Torah and another that shows the “zero’ah uzo” (His “Arm” of Strength), which must be the other hand, the left one, refers to “tefillin” – which is worn on the left arm, after all. Then it continues

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק לְרַב חִיָּיא בַּר אָבִין: הָנֵי תְּפִילִּין דְּמָרֵי עָלְמָא מָה כְּתִיב בְּהוּ? אֲמַר לֵיהּ ״וּמִי כְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ״.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said to Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin: What is written in the tefillin of the Master of the world?

[Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin] said to him: It is written: “Who is like Your people, Israel, a singular nation on the earth?” (Divrei haYamim I 17:21).¹

This enigmatic gemara is usually explained that Hashem’s “tefillin” is being used to conjure an image of how our relationship to Him is reciprocated. Just as we tie on ourselves verses that call for us to love Him, Hashem “wears tefillin” that state the esteem in which He holds us.

A page later in the gemara (Berakhos 7a), they explain a pasuq in this week’s parashah (Ki Sisa):

״וַהֲסִרֹתִי אֶת כַּפִּי וְרָאִיתָ אֶת אֲחֹרָי״.
אָמַר רַב חָנָא בַּר בִּיזְנָא, אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן חֲסִידָא: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהֶרְאָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמֹשֶׁה קֶשֶׁר שֶׁל תְּפִילִּין.

“And I will remove My hand, and you will see My “Back”, [but My “Face” you will not see].” (Exodus 33:23).
Rav Ḥana bar Bizna said that Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida [said, this verse] teaches that the Holy Blessed One, showed him the knot of the “tefillin” of His “Head”.

Moshe was privileged to get a revelation of the fact that Hashem has a special tie to the Jewish People, but not the words within the tefillin itself, the concepts of how His special Providence to us works. Only from behind, after the fact, will Jewish History, or any of history, make sense.²

But I want to ask the next question: Does Hashem wear “tefillin” on Shabbos? (Don’t worry, the answer is better than the question.)

This reciprocation idea would imply He doesn’t. After all, we do not wear tefillin on days like Shabbos, whenever melakhah (constructive work) is prohibited. We do not need tefillin on Shabbos because it alone is a sign of our relationship to Him. As it says, “אַ֥ךְ אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ כִּי֩ א֨וֹת הִ֜וא בֵּינִ֤י וּבֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם לָדַ֕עַת כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י ה֖’ מְקַדִּשְׁכֶֽם׃ — Only keep my Shabbasos, for it is a sign between Me and you, and your descendants for all generations that I am Hashem Who consecrates you.” (Exodus 31:13) And thus to wear them would be as though one is saying that Shabbos is not enough. So, should we imagine Hashem as wearing His “tefillin” on Shabbos either?

But the Maharal asks a question: There is a sign of our relationship to Hashem that we do wear on Shabbos — tzitzis. How does tzitzis differ from tefillin that wearing it on Shabbos is not a slight?

The Maharal points to Nishmas,³ the poem we say before Yishtabach on these days.

There are three aspects of the soul that comprise the self: The nefesh is the lowest, our connection to and the influence of our bodies and this world. The neshamah is the highest, our connection to heaven and our higher calling. Our will, whose role is to choose between them, is the ruach.

But Nishmas only refers to two of them:

:נִשְׁמַת כָּל חַי תְּבָרֵךְ אֶת שִׁמְךָ ה’ אֱלקינוּ.
…וְרוּחַ כָּל בָּשר תְּפָאֵר וּתְרומֵם זִכְרְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ תָּמִיד

The neshamah of everyone who is alive will bless your name, Hashem our G-d,
And the ru’ach of all flesh will glorify and elevate memory of You, our Kind, continuously…

Notice, there is no mention of the nefesh. The Maharal explains the Shabbos is only about the upper levels of the soul. In fact, we are prohibited from melakhah, from improving this world. The nefesh, our connection to the physical world even is attenuated.

Tefillin is worn on the head, which is associated with the neshamah. tzitzis, and on the arm, which we use to express our will – ru’ach.⁴ So they are made redundant by Shabbos. But tzitzis, placed on a garment that covers the body, is a symbol on the nefesh’s level. Still needed even on Shabbos.

Back to our question about Hashem’s “tefillin“. Our tefillin tie us to something higher than ourselves. But Hashem’s “tefillin“? Not only is it a metaphor for how He is “tied” to our comparatively lowly selves, but it also even calls our people “גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ – a singular nation on the earth“!

So perhaps, just as we still wear tzitzis on Shabbos, His “tefillin” stay on.

The gemara on Berakhos 6a states something very intriguing:

אָמַר רַבִּי אָבִין בַּר רַב אַדָּא, אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: מִנַּיִן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַנִּיחַ תְּפִילִּין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״נִשְׁבַּע ה׳ בִּימִינוֹ וּבִזְרוֹעַ עֻזּוֹ״.

Rabbi Avin bar Rav Adda said that Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From where [do we know] that the Holy Blessed One, wears “tefillin”? As it is stated, “Hashem has sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength.” (Yeshaiah 62:8).

Then it explains the proof text by bringing a pasuq that associates yemino (His “Right [Hand]”) with Torah and another that shows the “zero’ah uzo” (His “Arm” of Strength), which must be the other hand, the left one, refers to “tefillin” – which is worn on the left arm, after all. Then it continues

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק לְרַב חִיָּיא בַּר אָבִין: הָנֵי תְּפִילִּין דְּמָרֵי עָלְמָא מָה כְּתִיב בְּהוּ? אֲמַר לֵיהּ ״וּמִי כְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ״.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said to Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin: What is written in the tefillin of the Master of the world?

[Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin] said to him: It is written: “Who is like Your people, Israel, a singular nation on the earth?” (Divrei haYamim I 17:21).¹

This enigmatic gemara is usually explained that Hashem’s “tefillin” is being used to conjure an image of how our relationship to Him is reciprocated. Just as we tie on ourselves verses that call for us to love Him, Hashem “wears tefillin” that state the esteem in which He holds us.

A page later in the gemara (Berakhos 7a), they explain a pasuq in this week’s parashah (Ki Sisa):

״וַהֲסִרֹתִי אֶת כַּפִּי וְרָאִיתָ אֶת אֲחֹרָי״.
אָמַר רַב חָנָא בַּר בִּיזְנָא, אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן חֲסִידָא: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהֶרְאָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמֹשֶׁה קֶשֶׁר שֶׁל תְּפִילִּין.

“And I will remove My hand, and you will see My “Back”, [but My “Face” you will not see].” (Exodus 33:23).
Rav Ḥana bar Bizna said that Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida [said, this verse] teaches that the Holy Blessed One, showed him the knot of the “tefillin” of His “Head”.

Moshe was privileged to get a revelation of the fact that Hashem has a special tie to the Jewish People, but not the words within the tefillin itself, the concepts of how His special Providence to us works. Only from behind, after the fact, will Jewish History, or any of history, make sense.²

But I want to ask the next question: Does Hashem wear “tefillin” on Shabbos? (Don’t worry, the answer is better than the question.)

This reciprocation idea would imply He doesn’t. After all, we do not wear tefillin on days like Shabbos, whenever melakhah (constructive work) is prohibited. We do not need tefillin on Shabbos because it alone is a sign of our relationship to Him. As it says, “אַ֥ךְ אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ כִּי֩ א֨וֹת הִ֜וא בֵּינִ֤י וּבֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם לָדַ֕עַת כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י ה֖’ מְקַדִּשְׁכֶֽם׃ — Only keep my Shabbasos, for it is a sign between Me and you, and your descendants for all generations that I am Hashem Who consecrates you.” (Exodus 31:13) And thus to wear them would be as though one is saying that Shabbos is not enough. So, should we imagine Hashem as wearing His “tefillin” on Shabbos either?

But the Maharal asks a question: There is a sign of our relationship to Hashem that we do wear on Shabbos — tzitzis. How does tzitzis differ from tefillin that wearing it on Shabbos is not a slight?

The Maharal points to Nishmas,³ the poem we say before Yishtabach on these days.

There are three aspects of the soul that comprise the self: The nefesh is the lowest, our connection to and the influence of our bodies and this world. The neshamah is the highest, our connection to heaven and our higher calling. Our will, whose role is to choose between them, is the ruach.

But Nishmas only refers to two of them:

:נִשְׁמַת כָּל חַי תְּבָרֵךְ אֶת שִׁמְךָ ה’ אֱלקינוּ.
…וְרוּחַ כָּל בָּשר תְּפָאֵר וּתְרומֵם זִכְרְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ תָּמִיד

The neshamah of everyone who is alive will bless your name, Hashem our G-d,
And the ru’ach of all flesh will glorify and elevate memory of You, our Kind, continuously…

Notice, there is no mention of the nefesh. The Maharal explains the Shabbos is only about the upper levels of the soul. In fact, we are prohibited from melakhah, from improving this world. The nefesh, our connection to the physical world even is attenuated.

Tefillin is worn on the head, which is associated with the neshamah. tzitzis, and on the arm, which we use to express our will – ru’ach.⁴ So they are made redundant by Shabbos. But tzitzis, placed on a garment that covers the body, is a symbol on the nefesh’s level. Still needed even on Shabbos.

Back to our question about Hashem’s “tefillin“. Our tefillin tie us to something higher than ourselves. But Hashem’s “tefillin“? Not only is it a metaphor for how He is “tied” to our comparatively lowly selves, but it also even calls our people “גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ – a singular nation on the earth“!

So perhaps, just as we still wear tzitzis on Shabbos, His “tefillin” stay on.

Spoiler: Of course, in an Existence without time, what does any of this mean, anyway? How far can we stretch the tefillin metaphor? But it was a fun way to frame the Maharal’s thought!

¹ Truth is, when preparing the next Tefillah Meanings I got distracted by the quote of “וּמִי כְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל”, in Shabbos Minchah. It is an easier topic to present; the Iranians haven’t given me enough sleep this week, so I went with it.

² Did that qualify as a reference to us being mid-war? War is hard and painful, but we trust that is Providential, and when we see the outcome, it will all make sense. This relates to the post on the Tav-to-Alef alphabet in Tiqanta Shabbos, how Hashem is not only the First Cause, He is also the Ultimate Purpose to which all of history flows.

³ I guess I got a touch of Tefillah Meanings in there after all!

⁴ Maybe if they were to be worn on the stronger hand, they would be about changing the world, and thus not clearly ru’ach rather than nefesh? Truthfully, I could use your help with this aspect of the Maharal’s thought.: Of course, in an Existence without time, what does any of this mean, anyway? How far can we stretch the tefillin metaphor? But it was a fun way to frame the Maharal’s thought!

Art Credit: Alex Levin (again)

¹ Truth is, when preparing the next Tefillah Meanings I got distracted by the quote of “וּמִי כְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל”, in Shabbos Minchah. It is an easier topic to present; the Iranians haven’t given me enough sleep this week, so I went with it.

² Did that qualify as a reference to us being mid-war? War is hard and painful, but we trust that is Providential, and when we see the outcome, it will all make sense. This relates to the post on the Tav-to-Alef alphabet in Tiqanta Shabbos, how Hashem is not only the First Cause, He is also the Ultimate Purpose to which all of history flows.

³ I guess I got a touch of Tefillah Meanings in there after all!

⁴ Maybe if they were to be worn on the stronger hand, they would be about changing the world, and thus not clearly ru’ach rather than nefesh? Truthfully, I could use your help with this aspect of the Maharal’s thought.