The Source for Tefillin
(ח) וְהִגַּדְתָּ֣ לְבִנְךָ֔ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּעֲב֣וּר זֶ֗ה עָשָׂ֤ה יהוה לִ֔י בְּצֵאתִ֖י מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃(ט)וְהָיָה֩ לְךָ֨ לְא֜וֹת עַל־יָדְךָ֗ וּלְזִכָּרוֹן֙ בֵּ֣ין עֵינֶ֔יךָ לְמַ֗עַן תִּהְיֶ֛ה תּוֹרַ֥ת יהוה בְּפִ֑יךָ כִּ֚י בְּיָ֣ד חֲזָקָ֔ה הוֹצִֽאֲךָ֥ יהוה מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃(י) וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֛ אֶת־הַחֻקָּ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לְמוֹעֲדָ֑הּ מִיָּמִ֖ים יָמִֽימָה׃
And you shall tell your child on that day, saying: It is because of what the Eternal did for me when I came out out of Egypt.And it shall be a sign to you upon your hand, and a memorial between your eyes, that the Torah of the Eternal may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Eternal brought you out of Egypt.You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.
לאות על ידך - לפי עומק פשוטו: יהיה לך לזכרון תמיד, כאלו כתוב על ידך. כעין, שימני כחותם על לבך.
According to the deep meaning: this memory should be with you permanently, as if it had been inscribed on your hand. Like (in Song of Songs 8:6) שימי כחותם על לבך, “place it on your heart as if it had been engraved there like a seal.”
בין עיניך - כעין תכשיט ורביד זהב שרגילין ליתן על המצח לנוי.
Between your eyes - like a precious jewel which one places on one’s forehead as a decoration.
The Contents of Tefillin: Exodus 13:1-10 Exodus 13:11-17 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Deuteronomy 11:13-22 Signs and Memorials - What the Torah tells us about Tefillin
(ט) וְהָיָה֩ לְךָ֨ לְא֜וֹת עַל־יָדְךָ֗ וּלְזִכָּרוֹן֙ בֵּ֣ין עֵינֶ֔יךָ לְמַ֗עַן תִּהְיֶ֛ה תּוֹרַ֥ת יהוה בְּפִ֑יךָ כִּ֚י בְּיָ֣ד חֲזָקָ֔ה הוֹצִֽאֲךָ֥ יהוה מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃
(9) And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in thy mouth; for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.
(טז) וְהָיָ֤ה לְאוֹת֙ עַל־יָ֣דְכָ֔ה וּלְטוֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֣ין עֵינֶ֑יךָ כִּ֚י בְּחֹ֣זֶק יָ֔ד הוֹצִיאָ֥נוּ יהוה מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃
(16) And it shall be for a sign upon thy hand, and for frontlets between your eyes; for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.’
(ח) וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ׃
(8) And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes.
(יח) וְשַׂמְתֶּם֙ אֶת־דְּבָרַ֣י אֵ֔לֶּה עַל־לְבַבְכֶ֖ם וְעַֽל־נַפְשְׁכֶ֑ם וּקְשַׁרְתֶּ֨ם אֹתָ֤ם לְאוֹת֙ עַל־יֶדְכֶ֔ם וְהָי֥וּ לְטוֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֵיכֶֽם׃
(18) Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
Tefillin: The word tefillin (called totafot in the Torah) means "emblem, sign, insignia," the visible symbol of an abstract idea. Tefillin are our reminder of the commandment of the Shema: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut 6:5). All your heart: this is the tefillin on the upper arm opposite the heart. All your soul: this is the head-tefillin opposite the seat of consciousness, the soul. All your might: this is the strap of the hand-tefillin, symbolizing action, power, might. Tefillin thus symbolize the love for God in emotion (heart), thought (head) and deed (hand).
God wears Tefillin too!
א"ל רב נחמן בר יצחק לרב חייא בר אבין הני תפילין דמרי עלמא מה כתיב בהו א"ל (דברי הימים א יז, כא) ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץומי משתבח קוב"ה בשבחייהו דישראל אין דכתיב (דברים כו, יז) את יהוה האמרת היום (וכתיב) ויהוה האמירך היום אמר להם הקב"ה לישראל אתם עשיתוני חטיבה אחת בעולם ואני אעשה אתכם חטיבה אחת בעולםאתם עשיתוני חטיבה אחת בעולם שנאמר (דברים ו, ד) שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד ואני אעשה אתכם חטיבה אחת בעולם שנאמר ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץאמר ליה רב אחא בריה דרבא לרב אשי תינח בחד ביתא בשאר בתי מאיא"ל (דברים ד, ז) כי מי גוי גדול ומי גוי גדול (דברים לג, כט) אשריך ישראל (דברים ד, לד) או הנסה אלהים (דברים כו, יט)ולתתך עליון
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said to Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin: What is written in the phylacteries of the Master of the world? Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin replied: It is written: “Who is like Your people, Israel, one nation in the land?” (I Chronicles 17:21). God’s phylacteries serve to connect Him, in a sense, to the world, the essence of which is Israel.Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak continues: Is the Holy One, Blessed be He, glorified through the glory of Israel? Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin answered: Yes, as indicated by the juxtaposition of two verses; as it is stated: “You have affirmed, this day, that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His laws and commandments, and listen to His voice.” And the subsequent verse states: “And the Lord has affirmed, this day, that you are His treasure, as He spoke to you, to keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 26:17–18). From these two verses it is derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Israel: You have made Me a single entity [ḥativa] in the world, as you singled Me out as separate and unique. And because of this, I will make you a single entity in the world, and you will be a treasured nation, chosen by God.You have made Me a single entity in the world, as it is stated that Israel declares God’s oneness by saying: “Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4). And because of this, I will make you a single entity in the world, unique and elevated with the utterance: “Who is like Your people, Israel, one nation in the land?” Consequently, the Holy One, Blessed be He, is glorified through the glory of Israel whose praises are written in God’s phylacteries.Rav Aḥa, son of Rava said to Rav Ashi: It works out well with regard to the contents of one of the four compartments of God’s phylacteries of the head. However, all four compartments of Israel’s phylacteries of the head contain portions of the Torah that praise God. What portions in praise of Israel are written in the rest of the compartments of God’s phylacteries of the head?Rav Ashi said to him: In those three compartments it is written: “For who is a great nation, to whom God is close, like the Lord our God whenever we call upon Him?” (Deuteronomy 4:7); “And who is a great nation, who has righteous statutes and laws, like this entire Torah which I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:8); “Happy are you, Israel, who is like you? A people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and that is the sword of your excellence. And your enemies shall dwindle away before you, and you shall tread upon their high places” (Deuteronomy 33:29); “Or has God attempted to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs and by wonders” (Deuteronomy 4:34); “And to elevate you above all nations that He has made, in praise, in name and in glory; that you may be a holy people to the Lord, your God, as He has spoken” (Deuteronomy 26:19).
God Prays!
א"ר יוחנן משום ר' יוסי מנין שהקב"ה מתפלל שנאמר (ישעיהו נו, ז) והביאותים אל הר קדשי ושמחתים בבית תפלתי תפלתם לא נאמר אלא תפלתי מכאן שהקב"ה מתפלל.מאי מצליאמר רב זוטרא בר טוביה אמר רב יה"ר מלפני שיכבשו רחמי את כעסי ויגולו רחמי על מדותי ואתנהג עם בני במדת רחמים ואכנס להם לפנים משורת הדין.תניא א"ר ישמעאל בן אלישע פעם אחת נכנסתי להקטיר קטורת לפני ולפנים וראיתי אכתריאל יה יהוה צבאות שהוא יושב על כסא רם ונשא ואמר לי ישמעאל בני ברכני אמרתי לו יה"ר מלפניך שיכבשו רחמיך את כעסך ויגולו רחמיך על מדותיך ותתנהג עם בניך במדת הרחמים ותכנס להם לפנים משורת הדין ונענע לי בראשו וקמ"ל שלא תהא ברכת הדיוט קלה בעיניך
Along the same lines, Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From where is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? As it is stated: “I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of My prayer” (Isaiah 56:7). The verse does not say the house of their prayer, but rather, “the house of My prayer”; from here we see that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays.The Gemara asks: What does God pray? To whom does God pray?Rav Zutra bar Tovia said that Rav said:
God says: May it be My will that My mercy will overcome My anger towards Israel for their transgressions,
and may My mercy prevail over My other attributes through which Israel is punished,
and may I conduct myself toward My children, Israel, with the attribute of mercy,and may I enter before them beyond the letter of the law.Similarly, it was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, said: Once, on Yom Kippur, I entered the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, to offer incense, and in a vision I saw Akatriel Ya, the Lord of Hosts, one of the names of God expressing His ultimate authority, seated upon a high and exalted throne (see Isaiah 6).
And He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me.I said to Him the prayer that God prays: “May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger,and may Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes,and may You act toward Your children with the attribute of mercy,and may You enter before them beyond the letter of the law.”
The Holy One, Blessed be He, nodded His head and accepted the blessing. This event teaches us that you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly. If God asked for and accepted a man’s blessing, all the more so that a man must value the blessing of another man.
But perhaps more intriguing is that there is a tradition dating back to the early Geonic period (which spanned roughly 589-1000 CE), recorded in the work Shimusha Rabba, that the shin to the right of the wearer should have three heads, and the shin to his left should have four heads. The four-headed shin is also mentioned in the Zohar.
Although the ultimate reasons behind these laws aren’t necessarily knowable, commentaries offer a number of possible explanations for both the regular and the four-headed shin.
When the letter shin is written in a Torah scroll, ink is applied to create three heads. When it comes to engraving, however, the letters are essentially made out of air—representing the esoteric dimensions of the Torah. The way to engrave the letter shin is by using a frame of four segments, in effect creating a shin with four heads.
The mitzvah of tefillin is found in the Shema itself, and one is meant to recite the Shema while wearing tefillin.
The Zohar also explains that the tefillin correspond to various other sevens, such as the seven days of the week and the seven sefirot, divine attributes. When we put on tefillin, we are connecting our own attributes with divinity and channeling that divine energy into our lives.
The letter shin has the numerical value of 300. Thus, two shins make 600.
Putting the two shins together spells the word שש, which means “joy” (reminding us to perform this and all mitzvahs with joy). It also has the numerical value of 6 (if we calculate the value of each letter but truncate all of the zeros, a method known as mispar katan [“small value”]).
Adding the heads of the two shins together equals 7.
Altogether we have 600 + 6 + 7 = 613 mitzvahs!
(This, incidentally, is the source for the custom of looking at the shins of the tefillin when putting on or taking them off, to remind us of all the mitzvahs of the Torah.)
Expounding on the verse in Deuteronomy “And all the peoples of the earth shall see that G‑d’s Name is proclaimed upon you, and they shall fear you, the Talmud explains that this is a reference to the tefillin worn on the head.
Thus, some explain that G‑d’s Name is alluded to in the letter shin of the head tefillin itself.
One of the oldest and most common monoalphabetic substitution ciphers used by the mystics (and even found in scriptures) is known as at-bash. In at-bash, the first letter of the alef-bet (alef) is exchanged with the last letter (tav), the second letter (beit) with the penultimate letter (shin), and so on. (The first two pairs of substitutions form the words at-bash.)
If one were to write out G‑d’s name using at-bash,the result would be the letters מ צ פ צ (mem, tzadik, pei, tzadik). All together, these letters equal 300 (40+90+80+90=300), which is the numerical value of the letter shin.
The shin is thus a reflection of G‑d’s name, which strikes terror into the hearts of wrongdoers and protects its wearers. Indeed, when we put on tefillin, this mitzvah brings safety and security to our Jewish brethren, and by extension, peace to the entire world.
The Laws of Tefillin and How They Are Made
(ג) עשרה דברים יש בתפילין כולן הלכה למשה מסיני וכולן מעכבין לפיכך אם שינה באחת מהן הרי התפילין פסולות שנים הן בכתיבתן ושמנה בחפויין וקשירת רצועותיהן ואלו הן השנים שבכתיבתן:שכותבין אותן בדיו ושיהיו נכתבין על הקלף.
(3) Tefillin have ten details that are all halakhah according to Moses from Sinai, and all of them prevent tefillin from being fit, therefore if one changes one of them those are unfit tefillin. Two of these are with regards to their writing, and eight of them are regarding the covering and the tying of the straps. These are the two regarding their writing: They must be written in ink, and they must be written on parchment.
שמונה הלכות יש במעשה התפילין כולן הלכה למשה מסיני ולפיכך כולן מעכבות ואם שינה באחת מהן פסל ואלו הם:
- שיהיו מרובעותוכן תפירתן ברבוע ואלכסונן ברבוע עד שיהיה להן ארבע זויות שוות
- ושיהיה בעור של ראש צורת שי"ן מימין ומשמאל
- ושיכרוך הפרשיות במטלית
- ושיכרוך אותן בשיער מעל המטלית ואח"כ מכניסן בבתיהן
- ושיהיו תופרין אותן בגידין
- ושעושין להן מעבורת מעור החפוי שתכנס בה הרצועה עד שתהא עוברת והולכת בתוך תובר שלה
- ושיהיו הרצועות שחורות
- ושיהיה הקשר שלהן קשר ידוע כצורת דל"ת.
There are eight halachot with regards to the making of tefillin that are halakhah from Moses at Sinai, and therefore each of them prevent tefillin from being fit, and if one changes but one of them, they are unfit, and they are:
1. They must be square, and they are sewn shut in a square, and they casing must be square on all sides.
2. In the leather of the headpiece is the shape of a shin on the right and on the left.
3. The parchments must be tied with a piece of parchment.
4. The parchments must then be tied with hair above the scrap, and then placed into the compartments.
5. They must be tied shut with sinew.
6. They must be made with a passage from leather covering that straps can pass through easily.
7. The straps must be black.
8. They knot must be in the shape of a dalet.
The goal of this page is to help educate the consumer about how Tefillin are made and some of the differences between different kinds of Tefillin. We hope that this will help the consumer make an informed purchase.
There are three main parts to any pair of Tefillin. There are the black boxes, which make up the body of the Tefillin. These are called Batim. There are the black leather straps that are used to bind the Tefillin to the Head and the arm. These are called Retsuos. And there are the hand written scrolls that are folded up and placed inside the Batim. These are called Parshios.
Many people are surprised to find out that Tefillin Batim are made out of leather. We usually think of leather as being soft and flexible. Tefillin Batim, on the other hand, are hard and rigid. But it is true. Tefillin Batim are made out of a type of leather that has been processed so that it will be very stiff.
Here are some of the basic rules about Tefillin Batim:
· They must be made out of one piece of leather, which was tanned by a Jewish man with the intention of being used to make Tefillin.
· They must be square to within 2%. Since the average Tefillin box measures 3.5 cm, this means that there can be no more than 0.7 mm difference between that length and the width. There is no requirement for the height.
· The box that goes on the arm has to have one compartment inside to fit one scroll. The box that goes on the head must have four compartments for four scrolls.
· On the right side of the head box is the Hebrew letter "Shin". The left side has a special letter "Shin" with 4 heads.
There are three types of Batim that are made today. They are called Gassos, Dakos, and Peshutim.
Gassos
These are the best type of Batim. They are made out of one thick piece of leather. The leather is taken from the neck of an ox. While the leather is still wet and soft, it is placed into a hydraulic press and is pressed into the shape of Tefillin. The four compartments of the head Tefillin are all formed from that same one piece of leather. After it is pressed, before it can be sanded smooth and painted, it must be allowed to harden for one whole year. If they would complete these finishing touches before it is fully hardened, it may continue to shrink and would not end up perfectly square.
Gassos Batim have the following advantages over other types of Batim:
· They literally fulfill the requirement that Batim be made of one piece of leather.
· They are quite durable, and if they are dented or chipped, they can usually be worked back into their perfectly square shape by any expert sofer.
· They are much less likely to warp or loose their squareness over the years.
These are the most basic type of Batim. They are made from many pieces of thin leather that are glued together to form the Tefillin box. Even though Batim must be made of one piece of leather, these Batim rely on a lenient opinion in Jewish law, which says that when you glue two things together, they are considered as if they are one. Because Peshutim take much less time and labor to produce, they are significantly less expensive than Gassos. This makes them perfect for someone who is on a limited budget. But they are also less durable than Gassos and will usually need to be replace every 10 years or so depending on frequency of use.
These have a frame made of many pieces of leather, similar to Peshutim. The difference is that a paper-thin membrane, made of leather, is stretched over the entire frame and between the compartments of the head Tefillin. This membrane ensures that the Tefillin are considered as one piece according to all opinions. Therefore, they are considered equal to Gassos in regard to their kosher status. But, just like Peshutim, they are not very durable, and usually have to be replaced every 10-15 years, depending on use.
Retsuos
The leather straps that are used to bind the Tefillin to the head and arm are called Retzuos. It is important to stress that the retzsuos are as much a part of the Tefillin as the boxes and scrolls.
Here are some basic rules about Retsuos:
· Retsuos must be made out of leather, which was tanned by a Jewish man with the intention of being used to make Tefillin.
· The minimum width for Retsuos is 10 mm (1 cm). If they become thinner, due to streatching or if they begin to tear, they must be replaced.
· The front side of the Retsuos must be entirely black. If any portion of the Retsuos loses it's blackness, it must be painted immediately.
Parshios
The scrolls, which are inside the Tefillin boxes, are called Parshios. A scribe who is trained in their writing handwrites the Parshios on parchment. Just as with the Mezuzah Scroll, there are many rules pertaining to how Tefillin Parshios are written.
The Parshios are the most expensive part that goes into a pair of Tefillin. They generally make up 65%-75% of the cost of the complete Teffilin.