THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Cyril. The path leading us toward it is indeed extensive. It is written, ‘Thy commandment is immensely vast’ (Psalm 118:96); I believe that proficiency in all matters can solely be obtained through the law, which is provided to assist us, as the prophetic message states (Isaiah 8:20). Therefore, to continually remind us of the decrees established, the Lawgiver instructs: ‘Put these words of Mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign upon your hand, and let them be as frontlets between your eyes; and teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, and
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when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up; and write them on the doorposts of your house, and on your gates, that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give, as the days of heaven above the earth’ (Deut. 11:18-21). The meaning of ‘I will bind them upon your hands’ is made clear in the book of Numbers. For it is written, ‘And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them, and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God’ (Num. 15:37-41). By wisely commanding us to first place the law in our hearts, he then, understanding the deep struggles of the mind, commands that the commandments should be inscribed, as it were, on a tablet, at the thresholds; moreover, that the words of the law, along with revelations, should be placed on the right hand; and he does not consider it unnecessary that tassels and threads of blue should hang from our garments. Palladius. How can these tassels and blue threads remind us of the Divine laws? Cyril. Do you not recognize that the law was spoken in a veiled manner by the ancients and depicted symbolically? Palladius. I acknowledge that. Cyril. The attachment of the blue threads to the hands and arms serves as an indication that we should contemplate and engage in heavenly matters, keeping the commandments in mind. To the Indian, if I am not mistaken, the jachon stone is attributed an essence that seems both ethereal and composed of light and darkness, having depths resembling water, suggesting movement and flow. Thus, the law has providentially ordained that the jachon threads be displayed on both garments and hands, symbolically stating: ‘Let the law be to you a garment for the mind and a covering for the intellect, a heavenly influence guiding you in righteous actions! For the hand signifies action; what we perform is indeed lawful, free from fault, and not inclined toward wickedness. Consequently, the Pharisees expanded ‘their phylacteries and enlarging the borders’ (Matthew 23:5), referring to the records attached to the right hand. They were mocked by Christ for doing so out of servitude rather than in true remembrance of the law. Thus, it is possible to act unlawfully even while appearing to fulfill the law through its misapplication. In this regard, I believe Solomon advised, ‘Do not make yourself overly wise; why should you bring ruin upon yourself?’ (Ecclesiastes 7:16). Therefore, it is imperative to inscribe the Divine command in both mind and heart; the reward of this is vividly illustrated by David, who states about each righteous person, ‘The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide’ (Psalms 36:31). It is evident that one who holds the Divine law within the mind will certainly find stability and steadfastness in virtue. Palladius. Precisely so.