Tefillin Laying Guide

Order of putting on Tefillin: A guide for putting on Tefillin according to Sephardic and Ashkenazi customs

Looking to know how to put on Tefillin correctly? Here is the complete guide, including prayers, blessings, and the differences between customs.

Essentially – how do you put on Tefillin?

In principle, the best time to fulfill the mitzvah of putting on Tefillin is atthe morning Shacharit prayer. In any case, it is important to remember: first, one should bless before putting on the Tefillin the Blessing of the Torah (if you have not yet recited it that day).

The Blessing of the Torah:

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has chosen us from all the peoples and given us His Torah. Blessed are You, Lord, who gives the Torah.

Prayer before putting on the Tefillin (for intent of unification)

It is desirable to say before putting on the Tefillin this wonderful prayer (this is a great merit, but not obligatory):

For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Presence, with fear and reverence, to unify the Name YHWH Elohim in perfect unity in the name of all Israel: I intend when putting on the Tefillin to fulfill the commandment of my Creator. He commanded us to put on Tefillin. As it is written in His Torah: ‘And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes,’ and these are the four sections, Shema, and it shall be if you listen, sanctify, and it shall be when He brings you, that there is in them His unification and oneness, blessed be His name forever. And that we remember miracles and wonders, Who did for us by taking us out of Egypt, and who has the power and dominion in the highest and in the lowest to do according to His will: and commanded us to place upon the hand as a reminder the outstretched arm, and that it be opposite the heart To subjugate thereby the desire and thoughts of our heart to His service Blessed be His name. And upon the head opposite the brain, that the soul in my brain with all my senses and powers shall all be devoted to His service, blessed be His name. And from the abundance of the commandment of tefillin shall flow upon me to be for me lifeLong days and an abundance of holiness and holy thoughts without any thought of sin and iniquity at all. And that the evil inclination not seduce us nor provoke us, and that it leave us to serve the LORD with all our heart. And may it be Your will, LORD our God and God of our fathers, that the commandment to put on tefillin be considered before the Holy One blessed be He as if I have fulfilled it in all its details, accuracies, intentions, and the 613 commandments connected to it, Amen, Selah.

The method of laying tefillin: step by step

Pay attention to the differences in customs: inSephardic tefillin laying It is customary to sit during the laying, whileThe Ashkenazi custom is to lay standing.

1. Tefillin of the arm: Place on the arm, and before tightening, say the blessing:

   “Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to put on tefillin.” After the blessing, tighten the strap and wrap 7 wraps around the arm.

2. Tefillin of the head: Place on the head. Some Ashkenazim also say a blessing here before tightening:

   “Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the commandment of tefillin.” (Those who bless on the head tefillin add after tightening: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.”)

And some say afterwards:

And from Your wisdom, God Most High, rescue me, and fromYour understanding, grant me insight, and in Your kindness, make me great, and by Your strength, crush my enemies and my adversaries, and pour the good oil on the seven branches of the menorah, to bestow Your goodness upon Your creations. You open Your hand and satisfy every living desire.

 

3. Wraps on the finger: After placing the head tefillin, wrap 3 wraps around the middle finger (one on the middle phalanx, then two on the lower phalanx) and say:

   “I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, justice, kindness, and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.”

Recitation of Shema Yisrael in tefillin

It is proper to say before the Shema:

I hereby accept upon myself the positive commandment of “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

And then say “O faithful King” along with the powerful and eternal verse with great intent:

Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one: (whispered: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever)

(For the full continuation of the Shema reading – the sections “V’ahavta,” “Vehaya im shamoa,” and “Vayomer” – it is recommended to have a siddur or follow the original text).

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A little about the virtue of the mitzvah of Tefillin

“It is a positive commandment from the Torah to lay Tefillin every day during the weekdays, and it is a holy and very exalted commandment above all the commandments in the Torah, with many deep and profound hints and secrets. Through it, a person merits to be adorned and glorified with the crown of the King of the Universe and with the connection of unity and holiness, to resemble the form of its Creator, as if the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory places Tefillin. Through it, one becomes a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the act of Creation, and prayers are elevated through it. And the Tefillin are a cause, testimony, and proof of the Divine Presence’s dwelling among Israel” (Sefer Piskei Teshuvot vol. 1 p. 271 in the name of the Sages and the holy Zohar).