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(9) “And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead*on your forehead Lit. “between your eyes”; cf. Deut. 6.8. —in order that the Teaching of יהוה may be in your mouth—that with a mighty hand יהוה freed you from Egypt.

(16) “And so it shall be as a sign upon your hand and as a symbol*symbol Others “frontlet.” on your forehead that with a mighty hand יהוה freed us from Egypt.”

ולטטפת this denotes the Tephillin; and because they consist of four houses (compartments) they are called טטפת... ...because whoever sees them (the Tephillin) bound between the eyes will remember the miracle (so that they become a זכרון, a reminder) and will speak about it (so that they become a טטפת. something that causes one to speak about the miracle).

He should put on the arm-tefillin first and recite the blessing "... to place tefillin" and afterwards put on the head tefillin. He should only recite [that] one blessing for both of them. Rem"a: Some say to recite [the following] blessing on the head tefillin "...on the mitzvah of tefillin" even if one did not make an interruption between them (ie. the arm and head tefillin) [The Ro"sh in the Laws of Tefillin]. [This is the widespread Ashkenazic custom, to make 2 blessings]. It is good to always recite after the second blessing: "Blessed is the Name of His glorious Kingdom forever and ever" [Mahar"i ben Chabib Agur, Siman 38]

The maidservant of that prostitute entered and said to her: That man who sent you four hundred gold coins came and sat at the entrance. She said: Let him enter. He entered. She arranged seven beds for him, six of silver and one of gold. Between each and every one of them there was a ladder made of silver, and the top bed was the one that was made of gold.

The maidservant of that prostitute entered and said to her: That man who sent you four hundred gold coins came and sat at the entrance. She said: Let him enter. He entered. She arranged seven beds for him, six of silver and one of gold. Between each and every one of them there was a ladder made of silver, and the top bed was the one that was made of gold.

She went up and sat naked on the top bed, and he too went up in order to sit naked facing her. In the meantime, his four ritual fringes came and slapped him on his face. He dropped down and sat himself on the ground, and she also dropped down and sat on the ground. She said to him: I take an oath by the gappa of Rome that I will not allow you to go until you tell me what defect you saw in me.

He said to her: I take an oath by the Temple service that I never saw a woman as beautiful as you. But there is one mitzva that the Lord, our God, commanded us, and its name is ritual fringes, and in the passage where it is commanded, it is written twice: “I am the Lord your God” (Numbers 15:41). The doubling of this phrase indicates: I am the one who will punish those who transgress My mitzvot, and I am the one who will reward those who fulfill them. Now, said the man, the four sets of ritual fringes appeared to me as if they were four witnesses who will testify against me.

She said to him: I will not allow you to go until you tell me: What is your name, and what is the name of your city, and what is the name of your teacher, and what is the name of the study hall in which you studied Torah? He wrote the information and placed it in her hand.

She arose and divided all of her property, giving one-third as a bribe to the government, one-third to the poor, and she took one-third with her in her possession, in addition to those beds of gold and silver.

She came to the study hall of Rabbi Ḥiyya and said to him: My teacher, instruct your students concerning me and have them make me a convert. Rabbi Ḥiyya said to her: My daughter, perhaps you set your sights on one of the students and that is why you want to convert? She took the note the student had given her from her hand and gave it to Rabbi Ḥiyya. He said to her: Go take possession of your purchase.

Those beds that she had arranged for him in a prohibited fashion, she now arranged for him in a permitted fashion. The Gemara completes its point about the reward of mitzvot and points out how this story illustrates the concept: This is the reward given to him in this world, and with regard to the World-to-Come, I do not know how much reward he will be given.

The Gemara illustrates that point. It is like this incident, as Abaye once heard a certain man say to a certain woman: Let us rise early and go on the road. Upon hearing this, Abaye said to himself: I will go and accompany them and prevent them from violating the prohibition that they certainly intend to violate. He went after them for a distance of three parasangs in a marsh among the reeds, while they walked on the road, and they did not engage in any wrongful activity. When they were taking leave of each other, he heard that they were saying: We traveled a long distance together, and the company was pleasant company.

Abaye said: In that situation, if instead of that man it had been one whom I hate, a euphemism for himself, he would not have been able to restrain himself from sinning. After becoming aware of so great a shortcoming he went and leaned against the doorpost, thinking and feeling regret. A certain Elder came and taught him: Anyone who is greater than another, his evil inclination is greater than his. Therefore, Abaye should not feel regret, as his realization is a consequence of his greatness.

...because the brain rules over the heart [as explained in Raaya Mehemna, Parashat Pinchas] by virtue of its innately created nature. For this is how man is created from birth, that each person may, with the willpower in his brain, restrain himself and control the drive of lust that is in his heart, preventing his heart’s desires from expressing themselves in action, word, or thought, and divert his attention altogether from the craving of his heart toward the completely opposite direction, particularly in the direction of holiness.