THE MAKING OF TEFILLIN

 

The Tefillin are two small black boxes attached to long black leather straps and are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. One box is placed on the left upper arm and its attached strap is wrapped around the arm, hand and fingers while the other box is placed above the forehead. The Torah commands that Tefillin should be worn to serve as a sign and remembrance that God liberated the children of Israel out of Egypt. The making of the Tefillin set is unique and comprises of many different stages and craftsmen. Some craftsmen are responsible for the making of the leather straps – processing and softening the leather, tanning it black and cutting it using special methods and tools in a spiral way to the end result. Other craftsmen are responsible for the preparation of the scripts: processing a very thin leather, marking the guiding lines and eventually hand-writing the verses accurately with zero mistakes. Finally, there are the craftsmen who are responsible for making the boxes themselves by cutting the stiff pieces of the leather, shaping it to symmetrical cubes, coloring it black and inserting the tiny scripts, eventually sewing and sealing it closed. All those dealing with the Tefillin have to follow many harsh requirements, resulting from the Torah commandments. For example, every stage has to be completed using only the craftsmen natural force with no help of external energy force such as engines. Every stage is closely scrutinized by supervisors to avoid errors which will immediately disqualify the set in the making and render it useless.