You’re about to embark on a powerful Jewish experience! Tefillin are an ancient spiritual technology, a tool to bring balance between out thoughts, emotions and actions.
From the age of 13 every Jewish man is commanded to put on tefillin. The pair of tefillin you hold in your hands was brought to you be Tech Tribe and Tefillin Stands.
Tefillin is more fun with friends! When you’re done wrapping, please take a selfie and share a picture with others. Be sure to tag us: @MyTechTribe and @Tefillin_Stands
🦾 1. Place the Arm Tefillin (Shel Yad)
Take the tefillin for the arm (a single smooth box) and place it on your weaker arm—left for right-handed, right for left-handed. The box should rest on your bicep, just below the halfway point between shoulder and elbow, facing your heart. Roll up your sleeve so the tefillin touches your skin.
💬 2. Recite the Blessing
💪 3. Bind the Arm Tefillin
🧠 4. Place the Head Tefillin (Shel Rosh)
🖐️ 5. Wrap Around the Hand and Fingers
🤦♂️ 6. Say the Shema & Pray
🤳 7. Share The Moment
Say the blessing:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהַנִּיחַ תְּפִלִּין
Baruch atah Ado-nai, Elo-heinu melech ha’olam, asher kideshanu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu l’haniach tefillin.
"Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to put on tefillin."
From this point until both tefillin are in place, do not speak.
Tighten the strap so the knot stays in contact with the box. Wrap the strap around your arm: two more times over the biceps, then seven times around your forearm, and once around your palm. Leave the rest of the strap loose
Take the head tefillin and place it above your forehead, centered between your eyes, just above the hairline. The knot at the back should rest at the base of your skull.
Return to your hand. Take the remaining strap and wrap it three times around your middle finger: once at the base, once above the first joint, and again at the base. Use any leftover strap to wrap around your palm and tuck in the end so it stays secure.
Cover your eyes with your right hand and recite the Shema prayer:
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד׃
Sh’ma Yis-ra-eil, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, A-do-nai E-chad.
”Hear, O Israel, the L‑rd is our G‑d, the L‑rd is One.”
Recite the following verse in an undertone:
בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד
Ba-ruch sheim k’vod mal-chu-to l’o-lam va-ed.
”Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.”
Meditate for a moment on the meaning of the mitzvah and continue with the morning prayers if possible.
Tefillin is more fun with friends! When you’re done wrapping, please take a selfie and share a picture with others. Be sure to tag us: @MyTechTribe and @Tefillin_Stands
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman relates:
This was back in the early sixties, when the first mainframe computers were being introduced into business. Professor Abraham Polichenco, a pioneer in computer technology, visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe and posed a question to him:
"I know that everything that exists in the world, even something that we discover later in history, has its source somewhere in the Torah. So, where are there computers in the Torah?"
Without hesitation, the Rebbe answered, “Tefillin.” The professor was perplexed.
"What’s new about a computer?" the Rebbe continued. "You walk into a room and you see many familiar machines: A typewriter, a large tape recorder, a television set, a hole puncher, a calculator. What is new?
"But under the floor, cables connect all these machines so they work as one."
The professor nodded enthusiastically. He hadn’t realized it before, but yes, this is all that a computer is: A synthesis of media and processing devices.
"Now look at your own self. You have a brain. It is in one world. Your heart is in another. And your hands often end up involved in something completely foreign to both of them. Three diverse machines.
"So you put on tefillin. First thing in the day, you connect your head, your heart and your hand with these leather cables — all to work as one with one intent. And then when you go out to meet the world, all your actions find harmony in a single coordinated purpose."
This project is dedicated
לע"נ הרה"ח התמים ר' יחיאל דב ב"ר אברהם מנחם ע"ה נעלקען