Daf HaYomi B'Halacha Daily Email

What type of hair should be used to tie the parshios?

Each of the parshios of tefillin should be rolled up and tied with a hair from a kosher animal. This action--which must be done lishmah--is necessary; if one failed to do so, the tefillin are pasul. Some Rishonim say that the ends of the hair should be knotted together. Others say that it should be wrapped in a way that it will stay put even without a knot. A small amount of this hair needs to protrude from the bayis. The custom is to extend the hair from the parsha of V’hayo Im Shamoa towards the parsha of Kadeish. The hair should ideally come from a young calf, as a remembrance and atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf.

[סעיף מד וס"ק רח, רי, ריא ו־ריב; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו 244-243]

How should the parshios be wrapped?

Rambam rules that aside from being tied with a hair, the parshios must also be wrapped in a blank piece of parchment from a kosher animal. Other Rishonim disagree with this ruling. Although Shulchon Aruch rules like the Rambam, a person who only has tefillin without this wrapping can rely on the other opinions and recite a brocha on the tefillin. The Achronim disagree about whether the parchment should be on top of the hair or vice versa. To satisfy both views, Rema says that the parshios should first be tied, then wrapped in parchment, and finally tied with the hair.

סעיף מד, ס"ק רה, רו, רז ו־רט, וביה"ל ד"ה וכורכם; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 247]

Where should the shins be placed on the shel rosh?

The shins which are formed on the bayis should be displayed on the outside of the bayis. If the bottom of the shin reached to the titura (the base of the tefillin), it is kosher if it is still recognizable as a shin. If it is no longer recognizable, it may be pasul. The base of the branches of the three-letter shin should reach the bottom of the bayis. According to some poskim, the four-letter shin should not reach the bottom. Others do not differentiate.

[סעיף מג, ס"ק קצח-ר, וביה"ל ד"ה וכן, ד"ה צריך וד"ה שגם]

There is a halacha l’Moshe m’Sinai that the bayis of the shel rosh should be made with the raised letter shin on both of its sides. The shin on the right side should have three branches and the one on the left should have four branches. If this is reversed, the bayis is still kosher.

The proper way to form the shin is by pressing a protruding form against the leather. Since the stamping must conform with the halachos of writing Sta”m, the letter cannot be constructed by depressing or removing the leather from around it. This would be considered chok tochos.

L’chatchilah, the dimensions of the titura (the base of the bayis) should be the equivalent of two fingers by two fingers. B’dieved, it is still kosher if it is smaller, as long as each dimension is at least the width of a finger. Ideally, they should be between two and four fingers’ worth.

How should the parshios be placed in the batim?

Can the parshios of the shel rosh be written on one piece of klaf?

How is the sinew made into a thread?

PLEASE NOTE: The information in this email is for learning purposes only. Please review the Mishna Berura and Biurim U'Musafim before making a halachic decision. Hebrew words are occasionally transliterated to enable a smoother reading of the text. Common Ashkenazi pronunciation is generally used in these cases.