How do you put on tefillin?

Answer 1

Tefillin are put on as follows: The hand-tefillin are put on the upper arm of the left hand (Right hand on lefties) on the muscle slightly turned towards the body. The knot should not separate from the box. The blessing is then said and then the strap is wound on the arm 7 times. The head-tefillin are put on making sure to keep the box above the (original) hair line in line with the nose, and the knot at the back of the head in the recess above the hair-line. The straps are then put to hang in front with the black sides visible. The hand strap is then wound around the middle finger three times and the remainder around the hand.

Answer 2

The purpose of this article is to explain the differences between the different kinds of Tefillin and to point out the Halakhic (Jewish religious law) onsiderations and their importance, so you can make a wise and knowledgeable choice when buying Tefillin . It is obvious that a Beit Tefillin (The housing for the parchments) that is made with more stringent observance of the Halakha will be more expensive, which is why it is important to understand these differences so as to make intelligent choices.

It is not the purpose of this article to discuss the parchments of the Tefillin and how to choose them, since that is usually out of your hands. It is only important to say that the best parchments available should be chosen, ones that were written by a religious scribe and checked by a professional proofreader. The importance of the source for parchments is derived from the fact that parchments are written by a single scribe with no one supervising him, as opposed to the making of the Beit Tefillin which is mechanized and easy to supervise, making it simpler to ensure the quality of the Tefillin .

See related links down below for more information.

For the most thorough guide to the purchase of tefillin read Rabbi Askotzky's acclaimed book, Tefillin & Mezuzos, published by Targum Press, 2003. In addition, visit Rabbi Askotzky's website, listed below under related links. Via the website you can submit questions to the sofer.

Answer 3

there is more than one Sephardi way to lay tefillin.

the Spanish and Portuguese way is to tighten the knot, wind one round above the elbow, then seven below. the hand tying is complicated but i will explain as best i can. up between 3rd(middle) and 4th finger. once round the middle of 3rd, twice round the bottom. between 3rd and second, coming back toward you then under the hand, and back over between thumb and 2nd and again, slightly further up.

note: there are also separate Greek, Moroccan, Iraqi, Tunisian and Iranian ways of putting on tefillin.