Questions tagged [tefilin]
Also called "phylacteries": a religious object worn by Jewish men, usually during morning weekday prayers.
386
questions
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Sources permitting converting tefillin from one shitta to another
Over Shabbat, I had a discussion on the subject of switching tefillin between shittot, which resulted in me asking the MIT Chabad rabbi whether switching a pair of Rashi tefillin to Rabbeinu Tam was ...
3
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1answer
258 views
Source of custom of putting on head tefillin before completely winding yad tefillin?
When reading an Egyptian halachic work I noticed that it mentioned two customs for wrapping tefillin. The more general custom was to wrap the tefillin shel yad but leave it incomplete, put on the shel ...
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4answers
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Why does the Torah use the non-Hebrew word 'Totafot'
Related to this question.
Rashi, on Shemot (13:16): "...וְהָיָה לְאוֹת עַל יָדְכָה וּלְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ " writes:
and for ornaments between your eyes: Heb. וּלְטוֹטָפֹת, tefillin. Since ...
2
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1answer
279 views
Can one sleep in a room with a tefillin bag/tefillin in the room?
Can a person sleep in a room with their tefillin bag? Does it matter that the tefillin is in the tefillin bag?
Also, if the answer is no, what can one do on Friday night, if one finds out that ...
5
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3answers
948 views
Define the terms used for “types” or “grades” of tefillin
Follow up on this M.Y. question:
The questioner mentioned these grades of tefillin:
Peshutim
Mehudarim
Dakos
Gassos
Gassos Prudos
I have heard of some of these terms, but there may be others on ...
2
votes
1answer
296 views
Identifying the Grade of Your Tefillin
So I was wondering how someone would go about determining whether his tefillin was Peshutim Mehudarim, Dakos, or Gassos, or even Gassos Prudos? Can this be done without taking the tefillin apart?
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1answer
655 views
Re-tying Arizal tefillin with Ashkenazi knots
If my tefillin are Nusach Ari, and I'm Ashkenazi, can I re-tie the knots and make the tefillin look Ashkenazi? (Such as re-tying the Shel Yad knot to have the loop closer to you, and re-tying the Shel ...
3
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1answer
234 views
Placing Tefillin on the floor
I've been taught since little that one can't place a pair of Tefillins on the floor, and that one must carefully avoid not dropping them. But what is considered being on the floor? For example, can I ...
4
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1answer
164 views
Framing old Tefillin Parshiot
I recall hearing somewhere that some folks are accustomed to remove the (likely possul) parshiot from old tefillin and frame them.
As tefillin are generally more difficult to correct, is this ...
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1answer
158 views
How do we count the 7 arm tefillin windings?
This article gives several reasons why we wrap the tefillin around our arm 7 times.
Do the 7 windings start from the "half" intial wind that begins from the bottom of the "loop" that the strap comes ...
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2answers
154 views
Why we do not put tefillin on our hearts?
Devarim 11:18 says to put "these words" on our heart and soul. While soul is definitely allegoric, the heart is probably not. So why we do not wear heart part of tefillin?
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1answer
142 views
Sephardic communities that stand to put on hand-t'filin
Rabbi Shimon Eider's book, Student Edition of Halachos of Tefillin, dates to 1985. In it (section Ⅲ D 7), he writes:
Some Poskim hold that one should sit while putting on the Shel Yad and ...
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0answers
175 views
Rulings that Sephardim should stand to put on hand-t'filin
Rabbi Shimon Eider's book, Student Edition of Halachos of Tefillin, dates to 1985. In it (section Ⅲ D 7), he writes:
Some Poskim hold that one should sit while putting on the Shel Yad and ...
2
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0answers
202 views
How does one tell the difference between Rash"i and Rabbeinu Tam tefillin shel yad from their exteriors?
This question explains that the extra hair emanating from the tefillin shel rosh of Rabbeinu Tam tefillin is a way to identify the shel rosh of Rabbeinu Tam tefillin vs. Rash'i tefillin.
If 2 ...
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3answers
388 views
Use tefillin without permission?
May one use another person's tefillin without his permission to perform the mitzvah of donning the tefillin?
What if you have a skin condition such as eczema?
If somebody did end up borrowing your ...
4
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1answer
71 views
Kanfei Yonah – Above or Below the Bayit
I have seen two basic styles of wrapping tefillin up 'al kanfei yonah. The first, which I've seen mainly among the older generation is to put the kesher (knot) below the bayit with the loop in the ...
4
votes
2answers
188 views
Is there any benefit to an adult with the general mental capacity of a child of around 6 months wearing Tefillin?
I assume that an adult with the general mental capacity of a child of around 6 months is free from mitzvos. Would there be any benefit to (the neshomo of) this adult in getting his body to do mitzvos ...
4
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2answers
249 views
Is it Halachically permissible to use tefillin peshutim if one cannot afford better tefillin?
I would like to buy my first Tefillin. I was raised in a semi-secular household, and thus do not own a pair of my own.
However, being a student, I am tight with my money. I understand that there is ...
2
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0answers
50 views
Trimming my retzuos [duplicate]
So, I recently recieved a pair of tefillin and have been laying them everyday since (about four weeks.) I've noticed that the retzuos on the shel yad are a bit too long for the length and width of my ...
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0answers
144 views
Stolen Tefillin Fund
My tefillin have gone missing, as well as a tallit which had belonged to my grandfather ז”ל. At present, I still hope that they turn up, however I am trying to look into other options if chas veshalom ...
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0answers
50 views
Why do Nusach Ashkenaz and Nusach Sefard have different ways of winding the arm tefillin? [duplicate]
I hope that I have the description correct, here:
Nusach Ashkenaz winds the arm tefillin toward the body, while Nusach Sefard winds it away from the body.
What is the origin of this difference, and ...
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1answer
128 views
Wrapping Tefillin vs. Wearing Tefillin
When we put on tefillin, we (I am Ashkenazi) say 2 brachot -- l'haniach tefillin and al mitzvat tefillin.
The second makes sense -- I am making a bracha on fulfilling the mitzvah of tefillin. But ...
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5answers
375 views
Custom Tallis and Tefillin Bag makers
As some of you may know, I was in Israel for awhile. While I was there, I decided to look for a set of bags with a nesiyat kapayim design (hands in the position used for duchaning, similar to this) on ...
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votes
3answers
469 views
Earliest halakhic sources for wearing both Rashi and Rabbenu Tam tefillin simultaneously?
Orach Chayim brings that pious men should wear both Rashi and R. Tam tefillin at once when davening (34:2-3). Do we know what the earliest halakhic sources recommending this are, and their reasoning?
...
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0answers
103 views
Did Elisha get his tefillin back?
The story of אלישע בעל כנפים (Elisha-the-man-of-the-wings) is told on Shabbos 130a:
דא"ר ינאי תפילין צריכין גוף נקי כאלישע בעל כנפים [...] ואמאי קרו ליה
אלישע בעל כנפים שפעם אחת גזרה מלכות הרשעה ...
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1answer
500 views
why is flatulence forbidden in tefillin and during prayer
Why is flatulence forbidden in Tefillin and during prayer?
Is it because partials of the feces get stuck to the body so now you do not have a clean body?
or what?
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votes
2answers
551 views
What is the meaning of “guf naki” regarding prohibitting women to wear tefillin?
I wish to preface that I know that there are various concerns both pro and against women wearing tefillin, and for some, this is a "hot" issue. For purposes of my question, please dispel personal bias,...
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0answers
115 views
Does an open wound make one unfit to lay Tefillin?
In order to be fit to wear Tefillin one must have a guf naki, a clean body (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayyim 37:2) . Suppose one has an open wound or sore on one's skin and it is actively bleeding or ...
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0answers
210 views
Is a person allowed to wear tefillin during Tish'a B'Av Shacaharit if he won't be able to daven mincha that day?
Let's say a person needs surgery on Tish'a B'Av in the afternoon. He knows that he will not be able to daven Mincha.
Should he wear tefillin during Shacharit instead? What if he attends shul for ...
6
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1answer
126 views
Getting heat rash from tefillin
Summer is here, and it seems to have brought me some problems.
I seem to be getting heat rash from my tfillin shel yad. During, and for another half hour or so after davening, my arm gets all red and ...
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0answers
98 views
Tefillah shel rosh cover
B'ezrat Hashem I plan on going to Israel next month, however, this presents a small problem. As a Kohen, I will be duchaning every day, while wearing my tefillin. Due to the placement of the tefillah ...
2
votes
1answer
962 views
Tefillin at mincha on fast days
At my shul (a sephardi one), I occasionally see people wearing tefillin at mincha on fast days (other than Tisha b'Av). Is this a minhag with a source, or is there some other reason why people do this?...
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1answer
110 views
Sharp Edges on Tefillin
I've noticed that some tefillin have very sharp edges at the base of the titura. As many people may have noticed, this can become highly uncomfortable while davening.
Does anyone have a solution for ...
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0answers
128 views
Tefillin of the Chofetz Chaim
I was reading the Wikipedia article on R' Netanel Sofer, the inventor of tefillin gassot earlier and learned something which seems somewhat suspect: he was the sofer for the Chofetz Chaim's tefillin. ...
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0answers
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Teffilin during Shabat
Semag :
כל אחד מישראל אינו יהודי שלם אלא אם כן יש לו שני עדים שהוא יהודי, הלכך בשבת ויום טוב שנקרא שבת, ושבת נקרא אות, פטור אדם מלהניח תפילין כי די שיש לו שני עדים שהוא יהודי עדות שבת ועדות מילה
(...
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1answer
82 views
If a lefty becomes ambidextrous
If a lefty teaches himself (before or after his bar mitzvah) to write with his right hand
What happens with teffilin?
What if he teaches himself to prefer his right hand for everything?
Sources ...
2
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0answers
93 views
Someone damages tefillin that he borrowed from someone else. Is he liable?
From Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 10:22:
מֻתָּר לִקַּח תְּפִלִּין שֶׁל חֲבֵרוֹ גַּם שֶׁלֹּא בִידִיעָתוֹ לְהָנִיחָן וּלְבָרֵךְ עֲלֵיהֶן, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַבְתִּי בְּסִימָן שֶׁלִּפְנֵי זֶה סָעִיף י"א לְעִנְיַן ...
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1answer
68 views
Tefillin without external separations
In schul, I've noticed that there is a pair of peshutim which have been partially deconstructed. In particular, I noticed that the partitions between the compartments of the shel rosh seemed somewhat ...
2
votes
1answer
240 views
Instances where women wore tefillin [duplicate]
Up to (and including) the period of the Rishonim, are there multiple documented instances of Jewish women wearing tefillin?
Edit: As discovered by another user on this website, there is another ...
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0answers
122 views
How did the people of Zmigrod wrap tefilin?
My family is from there, but we've lost our ancestral minhag due to secularization and subsequent return to different sects within orthodox Judaism. I am just curious in reclaiming my ancestral ...
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1answer
284 views
Wrapping tefillin to create letters
When we wrap, there seems to be a prevalent custom to incorporate the shapes Dalet, Yod and Shin in the strap on the hand/arm (depending on one's custom (discussed in Sefer Ta'amei Haminhagim page 13 ...
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0answers
437 views
Banei Abir clan of Habbani Yemenite Jewry
There's this video for "ancient tefillin wrapping" that shows a wrapping style utilizing the paleo-hebrew characters. The statement is that this method of wrapping is preserved by the "Banei Abir clan ...
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3answers
687 views
Why does one have to put on Tefillin every day?
Technically, one should wear Tefillin all day. We don't, since we can't keep ourselves clean the whole day.
But we still put it on once a day during Shacharis, since we can presumably keep ourselves ...
6
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5answers
226 views
Mirror for Teffilin
Is it enough to use my fingers to figure out if the teffilin is between my eyes, or am I halachically required to use a mirror in order to ensure that it is?
I faintly remember a sugya in Ketuvot ...
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votes
1answer
103 views
Teffilin at night after having been sick
If I was sick all day and was unable to put on Teffilin during the day, may I put it on at night to make up for the day I missed? If I remember correctly, the Mishna Berurah says that if one will not ...
3
votes
2answers
450 views
Practicing Binding Tefillin at Night
May someone who is not accustomed to laying tefillin practice binding at night, when there is no mitzvah, so that they will be proficient at wrapping when the day comes?
4
votes
1answer
325 views
Why do we remove tefillin (tefilin) for Hallel?
Those who wear tefillin on chol hamoed remove them before beginning Hallel. What is the reasoning behind doing that? Also, is there an ideal time to remove them (e.g., before or after the repetition ...
7
votes
1answer
181 views
Why do we say pesukim from Hoshea after donning tefillin?
In the standard Artscroll Ashkenazik siddur, after wrapping the tefillin around one's fingers it says to say the following pesukim from Hoshea 2:21-22
וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ לִי, לְעוֹלָם; וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Which Knot to Use on Tefillin Shel Rosh
When I was a child, I saw that all people had the same knot on their Tefillin Shel Rosh - a Double Daled (Ashkenazi community).
Recently I saw a comment that even those who grew up with a Double ...
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vote
3answers
387 views
Is it proper to put away the tefillin before the end of Shacharit?
In many shuls, I see the majority of people begin putting away their tefillin when the chazan begins the full Kaddish (after U'va Letzion). To me this seems disruptive and disrespectful to the ...
