In the Torah we are commanded eight times to perform the mitzvah of tefillin.
The tefillin and its contents are a vital part of our essence and the roots of our beliefs
and G-d's love towards us are written within it.
Through the tefillin and its straps we connect to our Merciful Father in Heaven with
bonds of love.
Upon the altar of that love our forefathers gave up their lives.
Even during hard times people ate sparingly, in order to have money to perform this
lofty mitzvah..
Before people were killed for their Judaism they made great efforts to perform this
mitzvah one more time. For an expanded article, press here.
During their lifetimes and in their passing they commemorated and bequeathed to us
an affinity and yearning for the mitzvah of tefillin.
There are many stories known about the great merit of tefillin and the miracles and
wonders that occurred to people donning tefillin.
The holy Torah promises us that by performing the mitzvah of tefillin we will merit to
destroy our enemies.
It says in the verse, "And all the people of the land will see that the Name of G-d is
called on you … they will fear you."
If we would merit and everyone would put on kosher tefillin, we would merit seeing
the Salvation with our own eyes.
Unfortunately, not everyone was brought up that way and many people who would
like to perform this mitzvah, unintentionally do not do so because there are so many
disqualified ones on the market. Non-kosher tefillin certainly do not possess the
the above qualities and merits.
"Certainly kosher tefillin that were written and made according to our holy
Torah accomplish much – and disqualified tefillin are not considered tefillin at
all."
(Malechet Shamayim)
Disqualified mezuzahs and tefillin are dangerous
"Not only do non-kosher tefillin and mezuzahs not save people from troubles and libels, they themselves serve as a danger to those who use them."
(The Or Zaruah from the days of the Rishonim– great Rabbis of the past)
Therefore, once you have decided to purchase tefillin, make sure that you are not led astray.
Every pair of tefillin is composed of hundreds of details in Jewish Law that the producers of the parchment and ink, the scribes and producers of the tefillin boxes and straps all must know and follow. If not, the tefillin are disqualified. If one dons them, not only is he not performing the mitzvah of tefillin, every day he is saying a blessing in vain.
Obviously, due to the complexity of the situation, most people are not proficient in the Laws of tefillin-making and sly individuals take advantage of this unsupervised area and deceive innocent consumers by offering cheap prices. A clever person understands that if someone offers to sell him a Mercedes for the price of a washing machine – if the Mercedes Company has not decided to give out gifts or to subsidize their cars, this must be a fraud. Therefore, everyone should know that kosher tefillin, and certainly those that are strictly kosher take many hours of work and many manufacturers are involved in every pair produced. Therefore, a cheap pair is really very expensive in the long run. Someone who thinks in advance will demand tefillin with supervision of an authorized Rabbi who is familiar with all the Jewish laws involved. Then he can be calm and serene knowing that he bought kosher tefillin and not just boxes.
A terrible, authentic story that we saw ourselves with the contents of tefillin boxes that were bought at a cheap price
One day an agitated father came to us with his son's tefillin and asked us to inspect them immediately. We asked him why it was so urgent. The father told us that his son served in a combat unit in the army in the past Galilee War. He was wounded from a bullet shot into his arm, exactly in the place where one don's the tefillin of the arm. The son was hospitalized for a period of time and then sent for rehabilitation, eventually returning to function in the army. He wanted to return to the same unit but was refused. After lawsuits and trials he succeeded in retuning to his post, but unfortunately, a few days following his return, again he was shot in the arm in the exact place as before. When the Rabbi heard of this strange case he told the father – "In such a case when a bullet hits the place of tefillin-donning twice – that is a clear indication that the soldier's tefillin are not kosher. Give them in immediately to be checked." Thus the father explained the urgency of the situation.
We opened the tefillin carefully and we took out the parchment. To our horror, we found that the tefillin were not written with a scribe's script, but with regular handwriting. The parchment was not made of animal hide as required – it was paper. Briefly – the tefillin were not kosher from the moment they were produced. (This soldier obviously had merits in Heaven and they wanted him to truly merit the mitzvah of tefillin. This story certainly makes one open his eyes to the existing situation.)
A point to ponder
Are you truly interested in the good of the bar mitzvah boy?
In light of the fact that almost all "simple" mezuzahs are not kosher, or kosher only as a last resort, we have decided to bring several points to ponder.
Many parents buy tefillin for the son's bar mitzvah that are simple and cheap. In contrast, they usually spend a great deal on the bar mitzvah celebration and accompanying expenses. Is the tefillin which can bring life in the World to Come the right place to save money? The day after the celebration almost nothing is left, besides the pair of tefillin that will accompany the boy for many years -even if he dons them only once. The merit of the mitzvah protects a person forever. This is even more so when the investment in the tefillin's purchase is for their usage every day for many years. In that case when one purchases expensive tefillin, it comes out that for every day he has paid only pennies for their usage. The mitzvah of tefillin is certainly worth the investment of several pennies a day!
The price we pay for kosher tefillin is usually realistic and justified. To learn the profession in its technicalities and Jewish Laws until one is ready to write them and to prepare the kosher boxes all take a great amount of time. Even though there is a great amount of investment of time and effort in each pair of tefillin produced, they are sold at a small price in relation to the customary cost of a product on the market that requires so much investment. This is because of the fine Jewish men who want to bring merits to others.
However, if the price is very cheap – if the tefillin is not subsidized – this must arouse suspicion that the very cheap price could be a sign of non-kosher tefillin, or one on a very low level of kashruth. There is no piece of furniture that you would buy in such a state. Let's put it this way: The tefillin that you get for such a cheap price – we could give you for free (if we didn't care about your mitzvahs).
By us you will find tefillin with Rabbinical supervision of the Va'ad Kedushat Stam at reasonable prices and convenient terms – tefillin that will bring you all the blessings and merits therein.
Checking tefillin
Even if you bought the most stringent tefillin, they must be checked after three and a half years. Sometimes there are unpleasant surprises; for example- because of changes in the weather, the ink sometimes disintegrates.
By us you can check your tefillin and renovate them as necessary – and receive guidelines on how to keep them up.
For an expanded article on the subject
Contact us or call us at: 972-3-616-60-70
(כתבה שניה)
(Second article)
Self-sacrifice for the mitzvah of donning tefillin – we do not surrender – we don tefillin under threat of death.
Throughout the generations wondrous stories have been told about Jews who sacrificed their lives in order to perform mitzvahs. Following is a story about self sacrifice for the mitzvah of tefillin. May we merit to learn from this story, to strengthen ourselves to work for the kashruth of this mitzvah.
Menachem Binyamim Frank ob"m, a Holocaust survivor from the city of
The first case happened when a Nazi soldier found him taking out the tefillin from its hiding place in the camp in order to put it on. The German attacked him in rage and grabbed it away. He held the straps and hit him many times on the head with the tefilllin boxes until he fainted. The Nazi thought that the Jew died from his beating, he cut up the tefillin with a knife, threw it down and left. When Reb Menachem woke up from his fainting he collected the torn parts of the tefillin and hid them, crying terribly. That day he didn't don tefillin.
The following day he heard that someone in a different part of the camp had tefillin. Every day Reb Menachem would climb over the wire fence that separated the two parts of the camp, don the tefillin and return the same way to his area. Going from one part of the camp was life threatening. The Nazis would shoot when they saw anyone climbing the fences.
The second episode occurred after they were freed from the camps by the Americans. From sheer exhaustion Reb Menachem slept in a hay loft for more than thirty hours. This was the second time during the entire period of the Holocaust that he had not donned tefillin.
Are we willing to sacrifice ourselves for Do we make great efforts to perform the
the mitzvah of tefillin? mitzvah of tefillin stringently?
Contact us or call us at: 972-3-616-60-70