GEMARA: Rabbi Yannai said: Tefillin demand a clean body, like Elisha, the master of wings...
This amazing story exemplifies one of the main reasons why I love Talmud. The gemara's first response to a mishna about storing food on shabbat is to tell a fantastical tale about the mysterious Elisha, whose tefillin morph into a dove when faced with Roman persecution. The leap is amazing, the story is a classic, and it offers great depth of interpretation.
"Why a dove?" asks the talmud, because just as the dove's wings protect it, so do the mitzvot protect Israel.
Because Elisha kept the law, he is saved by the symbol of that protection, and yet of course, he would not have needed the protection had he not kept the law.
Tefillin = dove's wings = mitzvot = insulation for food on shabbat.
And the clean body demanded, explained to refer to either passing wind or sleeping, seems to be more of a purity of soul, the white of the dove's wings.
Half-formed thoughts perhaps, but I'm several pages behind... Time for more talmud.
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