The Tefillin Booth

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The Tefillin Booth: The Do-It-Yourself Tefillin Guide

A short animated film on how to put on tefillin.

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About the animator: After graduating from the Curtin school of Fine Arts in Perth, Western Australia, Yitzchok Faigenbaum began a journey to Judaism which culminated in two years of study at the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, NJ. With further studies in animation at a 3d film school, his aspiration is to bring together the world of art and the teachings of the Torah.

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yitz sapo westlake July 4, 2018

great video!! Reply

meir leibowitz los angeles May 31, 2016

nice story Reply

Yisroel Cotlar Cary, NC December 3, 2013

Re: Toupee There is indeed a difference between something attached (ok) versus something worn and taken off. The latter would be considered a 'hefsek', something interrupting between the head and the Tefillin.

If, however, one is embarrassed to go out in public (shul) without it, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe Orach Chaim, 4:40) discusses first putting on the tefilin at home without it and saying the shema, and then later, wearing the head tefilin without a blessing at shul over the Toupee.

In practice, this should be an issue asked with one's own Rov (rabbinic authority). Reply

kyle November 21, 2013

toupee Is a toupee an interruption for the shel rosh? is this different for a permanent versus temporary? What length of time constitutes permanent? How does the idea of embarrassing someone being a grave sin affect whether one would be required to remove the toupee in public if in fact it were considered an interruption between the tefillin and head? Reply

Anonymous November 18, 2013

the straps on my tefillin I recently went through my belongings in the basement and found my tefilin. I want to start using them regularly again which lead me to a few questions...
1. how often must tefilin be checked?
2. can you put up a link with a video or pictures that show how to tie the straps (not how to put on tefilin but how to correctly tie the leather straps themselves onto the boxes) on the shel yad and the shel rosh? Reply

Anonymous USA November 11, 2013

Response to 7? Wraps on arm? Well, actually, the 8th loop that you see is only a half a loop. You want there to be 7 FULL loops around your arm so that you can fulfill the Mitzvah properly, so the eighth loop (the one closest to his shoulder) is just there to make the 7 actual loops be fully around your arm.
In other words, when you start wrapping something around your arm, the first loop isn't really a loop- the string doesn't go all the way back to where it started- it goes on to make more real loops.

So, just to answer your question in 1 sentence-
The 8th loop you see isn't an official loop. Reply

Anonymous Ottawa, Canada August 8, 2012

Tefillin Thank you for the wonderful video. I now do it every morning. Nice and easy.Although I go to Shull every Saturday I will now make a habit of putting on Tefillin every day. Reply

Anonymous February 18, 2012

tefilin if theres a way & a meaning in tying tefilin on/up, is there a way to tie them back in each appropriate box? and a meaning to it too? Reply

Sven New Yerushalayim, Yisra''el December 27, 2011

7? Wraps on the Arm? The video says 7, but it shows 8..what am I missing here? Does the first or last one "not count"..perhaps as a "transitional" wrap "starting" or "transitioning" from the arm to the hand?
I just want to get it right.
Thank you so much for the great video..I'm sure it's accurate, I'm just a newbie and don't understand the how to count the wraps properly I assume - Shalom! Reply

Menachem Posner for Chabad.org Montreal, QC December 21, 2011

To Samuel Shene-Gerszenfisz It is hard to diagnose what the problem may be from a distance. I suggest that you stop by a Chabad center or synagogue in your area to consult. I am sure that whomever you meet will be happy to share his experience with you. In fact, your local Chabad rabbi may even make a house call. Reply

Samuel Shene-Gerszenfisz Toronto, Canada December 20, 2011

Tfilin When I use the ARM tfilin, it's very loose. How do I tighten or redo the special knot?
Toda,
Reply

ELEAZAR SHLOMO ben YAKOV GOLDMAN GUANAJUATO, MEXICO November 20, 2011

CHABAD, TEFILLIN and the KOTEL When I went to visit the KOTEL for the 1st time, the 1st thing that occured was a group of CHABAD CHASSIDIM took me, wrapped me up in tefillin, and sent me on my way to the WALL to daven. They helped me with everything and it was an excellent experience The experience of being in ISRAEL at the KOTEL changed my life completely. Reply

Anonymous September 18, 2011

video and tefillin This is awesome . Thank you for this video. Speed here is no problem. I like the speed. It is perfect for a first time exposure to this. I can see whee you had His help with the production of this video.! Thanks again. Reply

Anonymous Liberty, MO August 16, 2011

Tefilllin... 1. Have you ever seen "Water, The Great Mystery"?
In it, Dr. Masaru Emoto says putting WORDS (taped) on containers effects the water structure -- it crystallizes differently according to the word: "I hate you" "I want to kill you" made it impossible to make beautiful crystals; "love & gratitude" made the most beautiful crystal.
Since the human body is WATER, if people KEEP these "WORDS" of the Torah on their heads, doesn't that also have an effect on their water crystallization?
Does it put the Spirit that wrote those words co-mingled with the spirit-mind of the human?

2. Does it say "between your eyes" (forehead); or is that some Hebrew idiom - science has discovered that the heart has its own "brain" that communicates with the other "brain" (the normal one we know about) through a gland that connects to the frontal lobe of the "brain". What do you say about this? Reply

Matthew Seth Ostrove Winnipeg, Canada July 5, 2011

The light It connects me to G-d so I can spread light and change the world! Reply

Hart Peikoff Winnipeg, -1 via chabadwinnipeg.org December 24, 2010

The Tefillin Booth I saw this dazzling video after I went through the instructions on how to put on Tefillin and the Prayers to say. Rabbi Boruch H. sent me the link.

I feel good and peaceful. Yes! Reply

Theodore Stephano New York December 14, 2010

Tight, man!! This is *tight*! (get it? tight means "cool" in modern slang"! Reply

Mr. Yossie Jaffe September 7, 2010

Like I like this video a lot! Reply

Dr. Mark Gary Blumenthal June 8, 2010

The Tefillin Booth Absolutely lucid and technically accurate. Ideal for a baal t'shuvah (returnee to Judaism) like myself who has only recently begun to lay tefillin on a daily basis. Thank you! Reply

Anonymous Jacksonville, FL April 29, 2010

SPEED I LOVED THE VIDEO! My only question would be, is this tradition supposed to be done quickly? -I thought the video was great, the only reason I'm asking about the speed at which one preforms it, is because our Rabbi teaches it at warp speed..... Reply

The Do-It-Yourself Tefillin Guide