The Thieves and the Tefillin

The Shaagas Aryeh was once traveling by covered wagon when thieves set upon them and tried to rob the driver of his money.

The Shaagas Aryeh was sitting, robed in tallis and crowned in tefillin, learning. When he heard the commotion and understood what was happening, he put his head out of the wagon to see what was going on. The thieves saw his face and fled, terror-struck, running for their lives at the sight of the holy tzaddik.

The wagon driver was amazed. "Rebbe, why did those robbers turn tail and run away like that all of a sudden?" The Shaagas Aryeh answered him, "It says in the Torah, 'And all the nations of the world shall see that the name of Hashem is called upon you, and they shall fear you.' Chazal teach that this pasuk refers to tefillin. When they saw the tefillin on my head, they ran for their lives."