Must one burn tefillin written by an idol worshipper?

Sta”m written by an apostate who has become a follower of a different religion must be burnt. It is assumed that he had his foreign deity in mind when writing the sacred names. A minority view holds that this halacha only applies to a Sefer Torah. Since idol worshippers are often familiar with the Torah, it can be assumed that they had avodah zorah in mind when writing the names of Hashem. Since idol worshippers have no need for tefillin and mezuzos, however, they may not have attributed anything to these items. It is conceivable that they wrote them with the proper intentions to sell to Jews. Because the situation is unclear, these items must be buried but they may not be burned. The halacha follows the first opinion.

What should be done with tefillin written by a denier of the words of Chazal?

Sta”m written by a person who does not believe in the words of Chazal must be buried. It can be assumed that he was not careful to write the Sta”m in accordance with the dictates of Chazal. Even if he was supervised while he was writing and the onlooker verified that the writing was done properly, the Sta”m may still be pasul. Since he does not believe in the words of Chazal, he may also come to desecrate Shabbos publicly and be classified as a mumar. As we have learned, this type of mumar is disqualified from writing tefillin.

Can a woman tie tzitzis?

A person who is exempt from tefillin (e.g. a woman or child) may not write tefillin. According to the opinion of Rabeinu Tam, this rule applies to other mitzvos as well. In his view, a woman may not tie tzizis to a garment. Many Rishonim disagree with his ruling and the halacha follows their opinion. Nonetheless, the Rema rules that one should be stringent and follow Rabeinu Tam’s opinion. There is a Gemara which discusses a chest which was buried in the depths of the sea. When people tried to raise it up, a bas kol rang out saying that this is the chest of Rabi Chanina Ben Dosa’s wife, who will prepare the talisos for the tzadikim in olam habah. The Rishonim prove from this story that a woman may prepare tzitzis.