In this week's Parsha, we begin the parshiyot dealing with the Mishkan. I would like to suggest that three well-known mitzvot that we are currently discussing in the Daf Yomi-Tefillin, Tzitzis, and Mezuza-are deeply connected to this theme. Each of them, in its own way, reflects the world of the Mishkan and Mikdash.
Tefillin
Shel Rosh
The Gemara learns from the Kohen Gadol’s Tzitz (the golden crown) that just as the Kohen must keep his mind constantly focused on the Tzitz, without allowing his thoughts to wander, so too a person wearing tefillin must maintain awareness and kavanah while they are upon his head (Menachot 36b).
When we examine these two mitzvot, striking similarities emerge. Both are placed in the same area, on the head (Menachot 37a; Rashi to Shmot 28:37). Both bear Hashem’s Name upon the forehead. In both cases, Hashem’s Name is engraved as part of the very object itself (Menachot 36a). The sanctity worn by the Kohen Gadol in the Mikdash finds its parallel in the sanctity worn by every Jew.
Shel Yad
The tefillin placed on the arm are positioned opposite the heart. The Gemara teaches (Menachot 37b) that they must be set on the upper arm, facing and slightly inclined toward the heart.
Similarly, the Choshen-the holy breastplate-is described as resting over Aharon’s heart (Shmot 28:29):
וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחֹשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט עַל לִבּוֹ בְּבֹאוֹ אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ לִזְכָּרֹן לִפְנֵי יְקֹוָק תָּמִיד: וְנָתַתָּ אֶל חֹשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֶת הָאוּרִים וְאֶת הַתֻּמִּים וְהָיוּ עַל לֵב אַהֲרֹן בְּבֹאוֹ לִפְנֵי יְקֹוָק וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת מִשְׁפַּט בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל לִבּוֹ לִפְנֵי יְקֹוָק תָּמִיד:
Thus shall Aaron carry the names of the sons of Israel in the choshen of judgment over his heart when he enters the Holy, as a remembrance before the Lord at all times.
Inside the Choshen were the Urim VeTumim, a klaf containing Hashem’s Name (Shmot 28:30; Rashi). Just as the Choshen carried Hashem’s Name upon the heart of the Kohen Gadol, so too the tefillin shel yad contain holy parshiyot with Hashem’s Name, resting opposite the heart of every Jew.
Tzitzis
Normally, it is forbidden to combine tzemer (cotton) and pishtan (linen); this is the well-known prohibition of shaatnez-kilayim. Yet the Torah commands that these very materials be combined in the garments of the Kohen Gadol. Likewise, the Gemara in Menachot (40a) teaches that kilayim is permitted in tzitzis.
Perhaps this teaches us something deeper. In the Mikdash-and in the world of mitzvot-forces that appear opposed in the natural order can be harmonized. Elements that cannot ordinarily coexist are united in a higher sanctity.
Mezuza
The mezuza gives a Jewish home a status similar to a Mikdash. A Jew’s home becomes, in a sense, a “private" and “miniature Mikdash," and his table is likened to a mizbeach.
The Gemara (Menachot 34a) derives a halachah from what might be called the first mezuza in history-in Egypt. During Makat Bechorot, Am Yisrael were commanded to place blood upon the doorposts of their homes, marking and protecting them (Shmot 12:23):
וְהָיָה הַדָּם לָכֶם לְאוֹת עַל הַבָּתִּים אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם שָׁם וְרָאִיתִי אֶת הַדָּם וּפָסַחְתִּי עֲלֵכֶם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה בָכֶם נֶגֶף לְמַשְׁחִית בְּהַכֹּתִי בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם... וְעָבַר יְקֹוָק לִנְגֹּף אֶת מִצְרַיִם וְרָאָה אֶת הַדָּם עַל הַמַּשְׁקוֹף וְעַל שְׁתֵּי הַמְּזוּזוֹת וּפָסַח יְקֹוָק עַל הַפֶּתַח וְלֹא יִתֵּן הַמַּשְׁחִית לָבֹא אֶל בָּתֵּיכֶם לִנְגֹּף:
The Lord will pass to smite the Egyptians, and He will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and the Lord will pass over the entrance, and He will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses to smite [you].
This closely parallels the concept of the mezuza protecting the home of every Jew (Menachot 33b).
During Korban Pesach, the houses themselves assumed the character of a “private Mizbeach" (see Pesachim 96a). The Targum Yonatan (Shmot 19:4) even brings a midrash that Am Yisrael were carried to the Mikdash by clouds during the Korban Pesach.
These three mitzvot-tefillin, tzitzis, and mezuza-teach us that the world of the Mikdash and Mishkan is not limited to one place. It reflects and shapes our personal lives, while at the same time serving as the national center of kedusha for Am Yisrael.