#20 Why Tefillin, Tzitzis, Yarmulkah, and Mezuzah,....?
There is common characteristic which ties all these mitzvos together: They are distinct outer objects which have no practical function for the life of a human being and must be affixed to where there is a very important function for the human being. They involve the prominent positioning of objects which are purely symbolic in nature.
The Rambam in הל' תפילין ומזוזה וס"ת סוף פרק ז' quotes a Chazal which actually puts Tefillin, Tzitzis and Mezuzah in one category and explains the theme:
"חייב אדם ליזהר במזוזה מפני שהיא חובת הכל תמיד וכל עת שיכנס ויצא ויפגע בייחוד שמו של הקב"ה ויזכור אהבתו וייעור משניתו ושגייתו בהבלי הזמן וידע שאין שם דבר העומד לעולם ולעלמי עולמים אלא ידיעת צור העולם ומיד הוא חוזר לדעתו והולך בדרכי מישרים.
אמרו חכמים כל מי שיש לו תפילין בראשו ובזרועו וציצית בבגדו ומזוזה בפתחו מוחזק לו שלא יחטא שהרי יש לו מזכירים רבים והן הן המלאכים שמצילין אותו מלחטוא"
בפרק ד' הל"כה- קדושת תפילין קדושה גדולה היא שכל זמן שתפילין על ראשו של אדם ועל זרועו הוא עניו וירא ואינו נמשך בשחוק ובשיחה בטילה ואינו מהרהר במחשבות רעות אלא מפנה ליבו לדברי האמת והצדק.
Rav Wolbe in Alei Shor Vol. II in the שער רביעי מערכה ראשונה: יראה (page 475 and onward) points out that the outer world in which we live in, is naturally in a state of unawareness of Hashem's existence. The world is made very “smooth”. One can cruise through life in this world with no speed bumps, no roadblocks, all the way to Gehinnom. One main function of these symbols is to put something in our external world to remind us that we exist in the presence of a Supreme Being. Without this periodic—or better yet, constant--awareness, we would be wasting the enormous investment that has been put into every single Jew to achieve a significant amount of closeness to Hashem.
Mitzvos which involve physical objects or activities in general serve to give some kind of religious structure and to the external world of a Jew. If all there was to Judaism was thinking and contemplation about Hashem, and it didn't matter what you did in action, there would be no realm where a person's fear and love of God could be adequately expressed. The realm of physical action is part of the reality of every healthy, fully functioning human being. To leave this realm out of his religion and religious expression is to cut off a part of one's reality from Judaism which is a total anathema to the Torah's entire philosophy.
Fear is primarily expressed in refraining from action and discipline-- love is primarily expressed in positive action and display of affection. But certain positive mitzvos have fear as their theme. Their point is to bring the awareness of God's presence before you in such a way as to be incapable of succumbing to sin in such a state. You become awake to all the futility of this-worldly pursuits and make yourself re-focus on the transcendent existence that can be a part of you if you would concentrate on using this world to achieve it.
These mitzvos are able to make the concept of discipline into an external reality: You literally bind yourself in leather straps. You tie knots of thread on your clothing and wrap them around itself in between the knots-- which make them look like a whip. They proclaim that the body is not a free entity that will be allowed to follow its whims and cravings. They are harnessed into the service of the Creator.
Te Rambam elsewhere goes as far to say that the inverse is blasphemous. If one will use the transcendent spiritual power inherent in these mitzvos as merely a device to further his advantage and security in this world, he loses his portion in the world to come. He is actively trading his potential transcendent existence in for a fleeting one. He is “cashing in” on mitzvos.
