Should your tefillin be refurbished or replaced?
Bargain Tefillin: Six questions you should ask before you buy
One should definitely be wary of very inexpensive tefillin. Even if you want to really on many leniencies, it's hard to make tefillin that meet minimal halachic requirements without compromising on the basics. Here's a question we received from a prospective tefillin peshutim buyer.
Shalom, I am looking for a Tefillin for my Bar Mitzvah...
Tefillin in Mauthausen and Gunskirchen
Before entering Mauthausen, Eliyahu hid his precious tefillin by carefully tying them to his leg. At the selection, someone whispered to him to lie about his age and profession. Eliyahu, a 15-year-old yeshiva student, told the camp commandant that he was a 28-year-old tailor. “I was sent to the right, to life, while the...
Tallit & tefillin bags: Can you manage without the vinyl covers?
Which is more important: tallis or tefillin?
Toward the very beginning of the Gemara is a well-known breisa:
אמר רבי יוחנן הרוצה לקבל עליו עול מלכות שמים שלימה יפנה ויטול ידיו ויניח תפילין ויתפלל
Translation: "R' Yochanan said one who seeks to accept upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven in a complete manner should empty his bowels, do the...
Tefillin Gassot – Mehudar 1, Mehudar 2
If you are shopping for tefillin gassot online, you may have come across options labeled "Mehudar 1" or "Mehudar 2" or "Mehudar 3" etc. in reference to the parchments.
These labels are somewhat arbitrary and are determined by the tefillin seller. There is no universal scale for tefillin parchment writing quality. One tefillin dealer may...
Tefillin – Gassot, Ribua Regel, Miksheh
Recently I receive an interesting question from a prospective tefillin buyer looking for top quality, expensive tefillin:
For the ribua regel, does it make a noticeable difference having someone do that in terms of how precise the shaping of them is? I am trying to balance price with quality. At this point I have to...