The Beginner's Guide: How to Put on Tefillin

Putting on Tefillin is a commandment obliging men to don tefillin every day, except for special days. Tefillin are worn during the day and not at night, on weekdays and not on Shabbat or holidays. The tefillin consist of two separate units: "tefillin of the arm" and "tefillin of the head."

How do you put on tefillin? Watch:

The Order of Putting on Tefillin:

1. Some say before the laying (not obligatory): "For the sake of uniting Hashem and His Shechinah in awe and love. To unite the name Y"H V"H with complete unity in the name of all Israel: Here I am preparing by laying tefillin to fulfill the command of my Creator who commanded us to lay 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.' These are the four sections: Shema, and it shall come to pass if you shall diligently hearken, Sanctify, and it shall be when Hashem shall bring you. That they include His unity and oneness, blessed be His name in the world." "And so that we remember the miracles and wonders He performed for us in taking us out of Egypt, and that He has the power and the dominion over the heavens and the earth to act according to His will. And He commanded us to lay on the hand as a reminder of the outstretched arm and that it is opposite the heart to subjugate the desires and thoughts of our heart to His service, blessed be His name. And on the head opposite the brain, that the soul in the brain with all my senses and powers will be devoted to His service, blessed be His name: "And from the abundance of the mitzvah of tefillin, it shall continue upon me to have long life and abundance of holiness and holy thoughts, without sinful thoughts and any transgression, and that the evil inclination will not tempt us or challenge us, and allow us to serve Hashem with our hearts. And may it be Your will, Hashem, our God and the God of our ancestors, that the mitzvah of laying tefillin be considered before You as if I have fulfilled it in all its details, intricacies, intentions, and the 613 mitzvot dependent on them. Amen, Selah."

2. Put on the arm tefillin and bless: "Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to lay tefillin."

3. Tighten the arm tefillin, place the head tefillin, and bless (according to Ashkenazi custom only. Sephardic do not bless on the head tefillin): "Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the mitzvah of tefillin."

4. Tighten the head tefillin and say: "Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever."

5. Some say after laying: "From Your wisdom, Supreme God, may You bestow upon me, and from Your understanding, grant me understanding. And in Your kindness, You will increase upon me, and in Your strength, wipe out my enemies and adversaries. And may the good oil flow on the seven branches of the menorah to bestow Your goodness upon Your creations. You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor."

6. Wrap the hand strap around the finger and say: "I will betroth you to me forever, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, in kindness and compassion. And I will betroth you to me in faith, and you will know Hashem."

7. After laying tefillin, recite these passages: "Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: Sanctify to me every firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast. It is mine: And Moses said to the people, Remember this day, in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by the strength of hand Hashem brought you out from this; no leavened bread shall be eaten: Today you are going out in the month of Aviv: And it shall be when Hashem brings you to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey; that you shall keep this service in this month: Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day shall be a feast to Hashem. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days, and no leavened bread shall be seen with you in all your boundaries: And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which Hashem did to me when I came forth out of Egypt: And it shall be for a sign upon your hand and for a memorial between your eyes, that the Torah of Hashem may be in your mouth: for with a strong hand has Hashem brought you out of Egypt: Therefore you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year." (Exodus 13:1-10)

"And when Hashem brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, You shall dedicate to Hashem all that opens the womb, and every firstborn offspring of cattle that you have; the males shall be Hashem's. But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem: And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What is this? You shall say to him, With a strong hand Hashem brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage. And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, Hashem slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to Hashem all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem: And it shall be for a sign upon your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by the strength of hand Hashem brought us out of Egypt." (Exodus 13:11-16)

What are the tefillin, how do they benefit a person, and how should they be worn correctly? Rabbi Zamir Cohen in his enlightening and guiding lecture answers all the questions: