Reciting Shema without Tefilin

A certain person was up late, learning Torah. By the time he got to sleep, there wasn’t much time until he had to recite Shema. His usual practice was to wake up shortly before the time of Shema, dress quickly and say Shema on time. But there wasn’t enough time for him to put on tefillin before reciting Shema. When he reached the sugyah in Berachos which states that one who says Shema without tefillin is compared to one who gives false testimony, he was very devastated and wondered if he was required to change his habit. At the same time, he wondered if this statement was relevant to him. He said to himself, “After all, I do put on tefillin while I daven. So perhaps it is not likened to giving false testimony. On the other hand, I don’t have tefillin on when I recite Hashem’s command to bind them on your arm and head, so maybe that is the problem?” When this question reached the Chozeh of Lublin, zt”l, he permitted the man to continue his practice. “This is clear from the very gemara you quote. We find that that saying Shema without tefillin is like bringing a sacrifice without the wine libation. But the halachah regarding a libation is that it is still valid if it is brought within ten days after bringing the sacrifice. We see that as long as one brought the libation within its halachic time framework, the sacrifice is not considered to be without a libation. The same is true regarding Shema. Even if one said Shema without tefillin, if he put on tefillin that day as the halachah requires he is not likened to one who gives false testimony.” The Eretz Tzvi, zt”l, proves this from the halachah in Rosh Hashanah. “From the Maharsha in Avodah Zarah 4 it is clear that one need not wear tefillin when saying Shema as long as he puts it on afterwards. He explains how we say יום תרועה during shachris before blowing shofar. Since we will blow later, this is not considered false testimony. The same is true regarding tefillin.”

The Seal of Hashem is Truth

Once, Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, zt”l, demurred before the , zt”l. “I am nothing,” he stated simply.
“Excellent!” replied the Chozeh.
“No, I don’t mean it as a kind of avodah. I mean that I am really nothing.”
“Well, it is certainly better to feel as though you are nothing from nothing than to feel that you are something from something.”
Suddenly Rav Bunim began to cry out, “Oy! But I am absolutely nothing!”
The Chozeh’s final reply assuaged Rav Bunim. “You may feel like you are nothing but at least you go in the way of Hashem. Our sages teach that the seal of Hashem is truth. If a person thinks that he achieves something on his own, he is living a lie. As our sages say, if Hashem does not help one in his daily struggle with his evil inclination, evil would prevail.”
Rav Simcha Henoch of Alexander, zt”l, explained why Hashem’s seal is specifically truth. “Why not use one of the attributes that are mentioned earlier in the grouping of His thirteen middos, such as רחום or חנון? The answer is that every other attribute can be faked, in which case it is false. A person can show mercy where it is not warranted, or be gracious inappropriately. Usually he will then be cruel when it is proper to show mercy, like our sages tell us about Shaul and Agag.
“The only attribute that cannot be falsified is truth. The reason why is obvious. If one falsifies truth, it is not truth at all!”