Understanding Deut. 11:18-20

Q

What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 11:18-20? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

A

Deuteronomy 11:18-20 says,

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

These verses apply specifically to the preceding 17 verses of Deuteronomy 11 but have come to represent the entire Torah or first 5 Books of the Bible in general.

This command led to the Jewish tradition of wearing phylacteries, small leather pouches containing four passages from the Torah that are strapped to the forehead and left arm during prayer, and attaching a messuzah to the door frame of their houses. A messuzah is a small ceramic or metal container that also contains verses from the Torah.