✦ ❖ ✦
DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman ל״ב · Writing the tefilin (סדר כתיבת התפילין)

סדר כתיבת התפילין — a complete treatise on the art of the sofer: the four parashiot and their order, the ink, the parchment tanned for the sake of the mitsva (עיבוד לשמה), the כתיבה לשמה, the corrections, the checking and the insertion into the בתים
סימן ל״ב · נ״ב סעיפים
סדר כתיבת התפילין
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
✦ ❖ ✦

How are the tefilin we put on each morning written? This siman — the longest in the Shulchan Aroukh on tefilin, נ״ב סעיפים — is a genuine treatise of sofrout (the scribe's art). It is addressed first of all to the sofer, but every Jew gains by knowing its principle: it explains why kosher tefilin are so precious. As the subject is highly technical, we present it grouped into 8 large families — the eight chapters below — with the vocalized Hebrew text representative of each, its translation and an accessible explanation, followed by a section of practical cases.

Topic: The writing of the tefilin — the four parashiot, the ink and the writing, the שרטוט and the כתב אשורי, the קלף and the עיבוד לשמה, the כתיבה לשמה, פתוחות וסתומות, the הגהה and the בדיקה, and the בתים
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ל״ב · נ״ב סעיפים

Compiled by: Rav Yossef Haim Samama
DAAT · daattorah.com

The preceding simanim settled the mitsva of the tefilin, their place on the arm and the head, and the time of putting them on. There remains what grounds all the rest: how is the parchment itself written? The Shulchan Aroukh here devotes נ״ב סעיפים — the longest siman on tefilin — to sofrout, the art of the sofer. We learn that everything in a tefilin must be done לשמה — "for the sake" of the holiness of the tefilin: the tanning of the leather (העיבוד), the writing, and above all the divine Names (האזכרות). Each letter must be surrounded by blank (מוקף גויל), written in כתב אשורי with black ink, without any error invalidating the whole. We study here at the level of principle, in eight thematic families that cover the fifty-two seifim; for the fine conduct of the sofer, one refers to the works of סת״ם and to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline — the 8 families of the נ״ב סעיפים

A. The four parashiot and their order — קדש · והיה כי יביאך · שמע · והיה אם שמוע; writing them in the order of the Torah; שינה → פסול (seif 1-2)
B. The ink (דיו) and the writing — black ink, neither color nor gold; כתיבה תמה, מוקף גויל, the תגין; the right hand (seif 3-5)
C. The שרטוט and the כתב אשורי — the ruling and the form of the letters (seif 6)
D. The parchment: קלף / דוכסוסטוס / גויל — the flesh side, the עיבוד לשמה, עכו״ם, the permitted hides (seif 7-14)
E. The כתיבה לשמה and the האזכרות — saying « לשם קדושת תפילין », the Names לשמן, re-reading, knowing how to read (seif 19-22, 29-31)
F. פתוחות וסתומות and the corrections — the open/closed parashiot, the spaces, חק תוכות, what may be corrected (seif 17-18, 23-28, 32-36)
G. The הגהה and the בדיקה — the checking, broken or missing letters, the נקב, the תינוק (seif 13, 15-16)
H. The insertion of the parchments into the בתים — the square בתים, the שי״ן, the תיתורא, the sewing (seif 37-52)
+ Practical cases and comprehension questions

A. The four parashiot and their order (seif 1-2)

Representative text (seif 1)

מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין שֶׁיִּכְתֹּב אַרְבַּע פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת: קַדֶּשׁ לִי, וְהָיָה כִּי יְבִאֲךָ, שְׁמַע, וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ. וְצָרִיךְ לְכָתְבָם בַּסֵּדֶר הַזֶּה — לִכְתֹּב תְּחִלָּה הַקּוֹדֶמֶת בַּתּוֹרָה — וְאִם שִׁנָּה פָּסוּל; וּלְכַתְּחִלָּה יִכְתֹּב שֶׁל יָד קֹדֶם שֶׁל רֹאשׁ.
The mitsva of the tefilin is to write four parashiot — קדש לי, והיה כי יביאך, שמע and והיה אם שמוע. They must be written in this order, writing first the one that precedes in the Torah; and if he changed the order, it is פסול (invalid). Preferably (לכתחילה), one writes first the arm-tefilin, then that of the head.
אַרְבַּע פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת — the four passages — the tefilin contain four passages of the Torah where the mitsva of the tefilin appears. In the head-tefilin (של ראש), each is written on a separate parchment; in that of the arm (של יד), the four are written on a single parchment (seif 2). The order matters: one writes each parcha according to its place in the Torah, and reversing it renders the tefilin פסול.
What these seifim say (1-2):
The family in one sentence: the tefilin bear four parashiot, written in the order of the Torah (changing it invalidates) — separate for the head, joined for the arm.

B. The ink (דיו) and the writing (seif 3-5)

Representative text (seif 3-4)

יִכְתְּבֵם בִּדְיוֹ שָׁחֹר. כָּתַב אֲפִלּוּ אוֹת אַחַת בִּשְׁאָר מִינֵי צִבְעוֹנִים אוֹ בְּזָהָב — הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ פְּסוּלִין. צָרִיךְ שֶׁלֹּא תִּדְבַּק שׁוּם אוֹת בַּחֲבֶרְתָּהּ, אֶלָּא כָּל אוֹת תְּהֵא מֻקֶּפֶת גְּוִיל.
One writes them with black ink (דיו). If even a single letter was written with other colors or with gold, they are פסולות (invalid). No letter may touch its neighbor: each letter must be entirely surrounded by blank (מוקף גויל).
מֻקָּף גְּוִיל — "surrounded by parchment" — each letter must be encircled by blank on its four sides: two letters that touch, or a letter split in two, invalidate the writing. The sofer writes a כתיבה תמה ("perfect writing"), without even the little point of the יו״ד being missing (קוצו של יו״ד), with the תגין (the crownlets) traced as they should be. He writes with the right hand (seif 5); written with the left it is פסול as long as others written with the right can be found (a left-hander: his left is his "right"). On the ink, the Shulchan Aroukh also refers to the tractate יורה דעה.
What these seifim say (3-5):
The family in one sentence: tefilin written with black ink, each letter surrounded by blank and perfectly formed, with the right hand — a color, a gold, or a stuck letter can invalidate everything.

C. The שרטוט and the כתב אשורי (seif 6)

Representative text (seif 6)

אֵין צָרִיךְ לְשַׂרְטֵט כִּי אִם שִׁטָּה עֶלְיוֹנָה, וְאִם אֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ לְיַשֵּׁר הַשִּׁטָּה בְּלֹא שִׂרְטוּט — יְשַׂרְטֵט כָּל הַשּׁוּרוֹת. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לְשַׂרְטֵט תָּמִיד לְמַעְלָה וּלְמַטָּה וּמִן הַצְּדָדִים, וְכֵן נוֹהֲגִין.
One need only rule (שרטוט) the top line; and if one does not know how to align the line without ruling, one rules all the lines. Some say one must always rule above, below and on the sides — and such is the custom.
שִׂרְטוּט — the ruling — before writing, the sofer traces fine lines (not in lead, which would leave a colored mark) so that the writing is straight. The halakha requires ruling only for the first line, but the custom is to rule the whole perimeter. This regular writing is the כתב אשורי — the "Assyrian" script, the sacred square graphy whose precise form of each letter is a הלכה למשה מסיני (הלמ״ס).
What this seif says (6):
The family in one sentence: the sofer rules the parchment (at least the top line, by custom the whole perimeter) and writes in כתב אשורי, the sacred square graphy.

D. The parchment: קלף / דוכסוסטוס / עיבוד לשמה (seif 7-14)

Representative text (seif 7-8)

הֲלָכָה לְמֹשֶׁה מִסִּינַי: תְּפִלִּין עַל הַקְּלָף, וְלֹא עַל הַדּוּכְסוּסְטוֹס וְלֹא עַל הַגְּוִיל. כּוֹתְבִין עַל הַקְּלָף בִּמְקוֹם בָּשָׂר, וְאִם שִׁנָּה פָּסוּל. וְצָרִיךְ שֶׁיְּהֵא הַקְּלָף מְעֻבָּד לִשְׁמוֹ.
It is a הלכה למשה מסיני: the tefilin are written on the קלף, and not on the דוכסוסטוס nor on the גויל. One writes on the קלף on the flesh side (מקום בשר), and if one changed, it is פסול. And the קלף must be tanned for the sake of the mitsva (מעובד לשמו).
קלף · דוכסוסטוס · עיבוד לשמה — the hide, once worked, was formerly split in two: the outer layer (hair side) is the קלף — it is on it, on the flesh side, that the tefilin are written; the inner layer (flesh side) is the דוכסוסטוס. Our parchments, undivided, have the status of קלף. The leather must be tanned for the sake (מעובד לשמו) of the tefilin or of a ס״ת — if it was tanned for a מזוזה, it is פסול. Tanned by an עכו״ם (non-Jew), the Rambam invalidates and the Rosh validates if a Jew assists (see siman 11 and siman 14). The hide comes from a pure animal, beast or bird (even נבלה or טרפה), not from a fish (seif 12); it must be whole, without a hole that would cut a letter (seif 13).
What these seifim say (7-14):
The family in one sentence: one writes on the קלף (flesh side), tanned for the sake of the tefilin (עיבוד לשמה), drawn from a pure animal and from a whole hide.

E. The כתיבה לשמה and the האזכרות (seif 19-22, 29-31)

Representative text (seif 19)

בִּתְחִלַּת הַכְּתִיבָה יֹאמַר בְּפִיו: אֲנִי כּוֹתֵב לְשֵׁם קְדֻשַּׁת תְּפִלִּין. וּמִלְּבַד זֶה, בְּכָל פַּעַם שֶׁכּוֹתֵב אַזְכָּרָה — צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר שֶׁכּוֹתְבָהּ לְשֵׁם קְדֻשַּׁת הַשֵּׁם.
At the start of the writing, he says with his mouth: "I write for the sake of the holiness of the tefilin." And besides this, each time he writes an אזכרה (a divine Name), he must say that he is writing it for the sake of the holiness of the Name.
אַזְכָּרָה — a divine Name — the heart of the כתיבה לשמה. Before beginning, the sofer declares aloud that he is writing « לשם קדושת תפילין »; and at each Name of God he encounters, he repeats that he is writing it « לשם קדושת השם » — for a Name written without this intention is פסול and cannot be "recovered." He must not write from memory a parcha he does not know perfectly, but copy מן הכתב (seif 29); he must know how to read (seif 30-31); and he re-reads each parcha several times before storing it, so that none be confused with another (seif 21-22). He watches over the letters חסרות ויתרות (a letter too many or too few → פסול, seif 20).
What these seifim say (19-22, 29-31):
The family in one sentence: everything is written לשמה — the sofer declares the intention at the start and at each divine Name, copies from the text, re-reads and checks each letter.

F. פתוחות וסתומות and the corrections (seif 17-18, 23-28, 32-36)

Representative text (seif 36 and 17)

יַעֲשֶׂה כָּל פָּרָשִׁיּוֹתֶיהָ פְּתוּחוֹת, חוּץ מִפָּרָשָׁה אַחֲרוֹנָה — וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ — שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂנָּה סְתוּמָה, וְאִם שִׁנָּה פָּסוּל. אִם נָפְלָה טִפַּת דְּיוֹ לְתוֹךְ הָאוֹת וְאֵינָהּ נִכֶּרֶת — אֵין תַּקָּנָה לִגְרֹר, דְּהָוֵי חַק תּוֹכוֹת וּפָסוּל.
He makes all his parashiot "open" (פתוחות), except the last — והיה אם שמוע — which he makes "closed" (סתומה), and if he changed it is פסול. If a drop of ink fell into a letter to the point where it is no longer recognizable, there is no remedy by scraping: this would be חק תוכות ("carving out" the form), and it is פסול.
פתוחה / סתומה and חק תוכות — an open parcha (פתוחה) leaves a space to the end of the line; a closed parcha (סתומה) leaves a blank in the middle. The spaces between words, lines and letters have precise measures (seif 32-35). A letter must be born of writing (וכתב), not of a carving: scraping the ink to "release" a form is חק תוכות and invalidates (seif 17-18). One may re-write over a scraping — even an אזכרה — but one never corrects a divine Name by erasing it, for this would be כמוחק את השם ("like erasing the Name"). Certain stuck or broken letters can be repaired if the form subsisted; others, corrected afterward, become שלא כסדרן (out of order) and are פסולות (seif 23-28).
What these seifim say (17-18, 23-28, 32-36):
The family in one sentence: the parashiot follow the order of the open and closed ones with measured spaces; a letter is born of writing, not of scraping (חק תוכות), and a divine Name is never erased.

G. The הגהה and the בדיקה — the checking (seif 13, 15-16)

Representative text (seif 16)

נִפְסַק אַחַת מִן הָאוֹתִיּוֹת: אִם תִּינוֹק שֶׁאֵינוֹ לֹא חָכָם וְלֹא טִפֵּשׁ יוֹדֵעַ לִקְרוֹתוֹ — כָּשֵׁר, וְאִם לָאו — פָּסוּל.
If one of the letters has broken: if a young child (תינוק) who is neither especially clever nor foolish knows how to read it (to recognize it), it is כשר (valid); otherwise, it is פסול.
הגהה · בדיקה · the תינוק — after the writing, one re-reads and checks (הגהה) each letter. The classic criterion for a doubtful letter — broken, ill-formed, or where a hole has cut a stroke — is the תינוק: an "average" child who knows how to read is presented with the letter; if he recognizes it, it is valid (provided it was written correctly then damaged). The נקב (the hole) is decisive: a hole in the blank inside a ה or a ם may be tolerated, but a hole that leaves the letter without "blank around" invalidates it (seif 13, 15). This is the whole sense of the periodic בדיקה of the tefilin.
What these seifim say (13, 15-16):
The family in one sentence: after the writing, one checks each letter (הגהה / בדיקה); a broken or holed letter is valid according to whether a תינוק still recognizes it and its form subsists.

H. The insertion of the parchments into the בתים (seif 37-52)

Representative text (seif 45 and 39)

יִתֵּן כָּל פָּרָשָׁה בְּבַיִת שֶׁלָּהּ, שֶׁתְּהֵא זְקוּפָה מְעֻמָּד בְּבֵיתָהּ. תְּפִלִּין, בֵּין שֶׁל רֹאשׁ בֵּין שֶׁל יָד, הֲלָכָה לְמֹשֶׁה מִסִּינַי שֶׁיִּהְיוּ מְרֻבָּעוֹת; וְתִיתּוֹרָא דִּתְפִלִּין הֲלָכָה לְמֹשֶׁה מִסִּינַי.
He places each parcha in its compartment (בית), standing upright in its בית. The tefilin, of the head as of the arm, are — הלכה למשה מסיני — square (מרובעות); and the תיתורא of the tefilin is also a הלכה למשה מסיני.
בַּיִת · שי״ן · תִּיתּוֹרָא · תְּפִירָה — the parchments are lodged in the בתים (the "houses") of leather: four compartments for the head, a single one for the arm (seif 38). The בתים are square — a הלמ״ס — of sewing and of diagonal (seif 39), blackened (40). On the leather of the head is formed the שי״ן with three heads on one side, four on the other (seif 42-43). The base is the תיתורא (like the deck of a bridge), extended by the מעברתא through which the strap passes (seif 44). One sews (תפירה) with tendons of a pure animal, three stitches per side (seif 49-51), then passes the רצועה and makes the knot in the shape of a ד (head) and a י (arm), to complete with the שי״ן the letters of the Name שד״י (seif 52). It is here that the tefilin connects to siman 33 (the black of the בתים and the straps).
What these seifim say (37-52):
The family in one sentence: the parchments are lodged upright in square בתים adorned with the שי״ן, sewn with the tendons of a pure animal and closed by the רצועה whose knot completes the Name שד״י.

Practical cases

Case 1 — Buying « כשרים » tefilin from a certified sofer

Situation: one wishes to acquire a pair of tefilin. What does it mean for tefilin to be "kosher," and to whom should one turn?
Conduct: one buys from a certified sofer (מוסמך) of trust, who guarantees the כתיבה לשמה — the declaration of intention at the start and at each divine Name (seif 19) — a קלף tanned לשמה (seif 7-8), the writing in כתב אשורי with each letter מוקף גויל (seif 4-6), and an attested בדיקה. « כשרים » does not mean merely "well written": it means that the whole chain, from the leather to the knot, was made according to the נ״ב סעיפים.

Case 2 — The periodic בדיקה of the tefilin

Situation: one has worn the same tefilin for years. Should they be checked, and why?
Conduct: with time and humidity, a letter can break, stick to its neighbor or lose its "blank around" — and a single letter invalidates (seif 15-16). One therefore periodically entrusts the tefilin to a sofer for a בדיקה; the common usage is to have them checked from time to time (and, according to the views, before certain occasions). For the exact frequency and the conduct in case of doubt, one refers to the sofer and to the ruling of the Rav.

Case 3 — Why are kosher tefilin expensive?

Situation: one is surprised at the price of a fine pair of tefilin. Where does this cost come from?
Explanation: the price reflects an immense scribal labor. The קלף is tanned for the sake (עיבוד לשמה), then each parcha is written by hand, letter by letter, in כתב אשורי, each מוקף גויל, with the declaration לשמה renewed at each divine Name — all without a single error (חסרות ויתרות, שלא כסדרן, חק תוכות) coming to invalidate everything, then re-read and checked (הגהה / בדיקה). To this are added square בתים of a single piece, the שי״ן, the תיתורא and the sewing with tendons. Kosher tefilin are not "too" expensive: they are the fruit of dozens of hours of a demanding and sacred art.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. What are the four parashiot of the tefilin, and why does the order matter (שינה → פסול)?
  2. What does מוקף גויל mean, and why can a single letter in color or stuck invalidate everything?
  3. What is the קלף, and what does the עיבוד לשמה mean?
  4. What does the כתיבה לשמה consist of, and why do the האזכרות (divine Names) have a separate status?
  5. What is חק תוכות, and why does one never correct a divine Name?
  6. What is the role of the תינוק in the בדיקה of a doubtful letter?
  7. Why are kosher tefilin expensive?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 33 →
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן ל״ב · נ״ב סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
♥ Support DAAT
📖Join the khavroutha