[Avodah] Ta'amai d'kra - why do we put tephillin on our weaker arm

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Fri, Oct 23, 2015 at 01:34:20PM -0400, M Cohen via Avodah wrote:
: why do we put tephillin on our weaker arm?
...
: But in terms of ta'amai mitzvos..

: assuming the head tephillin represents shibud of our head/brain to HKBH,
: and the arm tephillin represents shibud of our strength to HKBH
: then arm tephillin sbe on our stronger arm

Perhaps the point is to wrap your tefillin using your stronger arm, rather
than on it. This would fit the source derahsha, that the tefillin should
be wrapped by the same hand that is commanded to do the next mitzvah in
the chumash -- mezuzah.

To strengthen this idea a bit -- because I realize it needs strengthening
-- the mitzvah is only the tying, the tightening of the first loop. We
could take the optionality of the further wrapping in two opposite
directions:

1- We wrap around our arm so as to further express the ta'am hamitzvah,
which would lead to the position RMC assumes. Or

2- The wrapping is for an entirely different reason. Lehalakhah, we
are just putting a box on the arm, which need not feel like subjugating
it. Deprecating the significance this element because it's optional.

The hand being used to do the tying is doing avodas Hashem and therefore
should be the strong hand. Thus showing shibud, but in the same way as
nearly other mitzvah; being done with the stronger hand is not uniquely
tefillin.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             A person lives with himself for seventy years,
micha at aishdas.org        and after it is all over, he still does not
http://www.aishdas.org   know himself.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                            - Rav Yisrael Salanter