Tefillin construction: The four types of tefillin

There are a number of ways to construct the two leather boxes – the shel yad and the shel rosh. The best and most difficult way is to mold a single piece of leather into a box shape. Another technique is to cut and glue leather into a box shape.

Tefillin – Pricing and Details>>>

Molded leather, of course, is more work, more expensive and sturdier. These tefillin are generally referred to as Tefillin Gassot. The other three types – Tefillin Peshutim, Tefillin Peshutim Mehudarim and Tefillin Dakkot – are made of thinner leather. This means they are much less durable, so they actually may not be an economical choice over time. Keep in mind that because they are made with budget buyers in mind, the parchments, straps, sewing and painting work are of a lower caliber. In other words, inside and out you are bound to get significantly lower quality. We used to sell Tefillin Peshutim Mehudarim in the $250-$300 price range, but were never fully satisfied with the quality, therefore we started selling more expensive tefillin peshutim mehudarim made by one of the most reliable, established tefillin makers in Jerusalem.

Tefillin Peshutim – The Shel Rosh box is formed by relying on a halachic leniency according to which gluing several pieces of leather renders it a single piece.

Tefillin Peshutim Mehudarim – Tefillin dakkot made by folding and gluing a single piece of leather.

Tefillin Dakkot – A thin layer of leather stretched over the box to unify it. They generally last only 3-5 years before the pieces of leather begin to separate and the tefillin lose their required square shape, rendering them invalid for use.

Tefillin Gassot – Sometimes referred to simply as Ohr Echad, these tefillin are made of a single piece of thick, high-grade leather stretched over metal plates and then folded and pressed to form a perfectly square shape. These are the very best type of tefillin available, both in terms of their adherence to halacha as well as durability. With proper care and maintenance, they can last for 60 years, making them a worthwhile investment over time.

What’s inside the tefillin boxes?

Tefillin
Tefillin ready for the parchments to be inserted

The tefillin boxes (called battim) house strips of parchment with four passages from the Torah written by a specially trained scribe, known as a sofer.

Exodus 13:1-10
Exodus 13:11-16
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Deuteronomy 11:12-21

The arm tefillin contains all four sections written on a single piece of parchment (or klaf). In the head tefillin there are four separate compartments, one for each of the four.

To be kosher, the letters on the parchment must be whole and distinct. If ink has flaked off and the letters are broken or run into one other, the tefillin are not kosher. Cheap tefillin are written on parchment which has been treated to make it easier to write on, but the treatment hastens the decay of the letters. So even if you’re lucky and the letters are just barely kosher (because they were written as quickly as possible without violated the fundamental halachic requirements), they’re bound to decay in ten years.

Buy Tefillin

Tefillin Peshutim Mehudarim>>
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See also:
Types of Tefillin: The Parchments
On Tefillin Prices
Tefillin – What’s Inside?