Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days of Pesach (and Sukkot) are filled with a unique, semi-Kedusha, holiness. Strangely, it’s a period of time where most men do not engage with their special relationship of teffilin.

I wonder how to achieve that intense closeness that I almost take for granted every morning, binding myself to The Creator, this week by pointedly not tying these leather boxes, filled with Torah verses, on my arm and my forehead.

It’s one of the great mysteries to me, how to develop, with years of daily practice, a constant awareness that can then be recalled by not doing.

Nevertheless, this is something we can all achieve.

We will re-don them here in Israel on Sunday, in the Disaspora, on Monday, with a special and renewed awareness. Much like the view you can get after climbing down from a ladder and then ascending a nearby one that’s even higher.