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Our objective: to connect between a Jew who wishes to begin wearing Tefillin, and one who has Tefillin that are not in use.
Watch the interview of Rabbi Amichai Eyal presenting
the “Kesher Shel Tefillin” (Tefillin Tie Initiatve) project:
The goal of the Tefillin Tie Initiative is to connect between one who wishes to begin donning Tefillin, and one who is in possession of Tefillin that are not being used. Via this initiative, both of them merit something important: The recipient of the Tefillin merits to fulfill this important mitzvah, and the donor merits to have his Tefillin in use every day.
The Tefillin passages, written on parchment in special writing and with a special quill, are proofread and corrected, in the most stringent Tefillin laboratories.
The Tefillin boxes (known as batim) are renewed, or, if this is not possible, actually replaced with new ones. The straps are also replaced, and new box-cases are also provided, in accordance with the preferences of the person requesting the Tefillin.
The Tefillin are delivered straight to the home of the person who wishes to don them, or to a pick-up point, as agreed in advance.
Tefillin contain four Torah passages that include the most basic tenets of our faith. Most famous among them are Shma Yisrael (“Hear O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One”) and V’ahavta (“You shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might…”). The blessed Creator commanded us to place one Tefillin box on our head, corresponding to the brain and intelligence, and the second Tefillin box on our arm, corresponding to the heart. Mind and heart are the two primary organs that sustain our body and soul, and placing the Tefillin there ensures that our entire lives are based on faith in G-d. Wearing Tefillin thus helps us accept upon ourselves the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is why the mitzvah of Tefillin is one of the only three that the Torah calls a “sign” – the other two are Shabbat and circumcision – because it connects a Jew to his faith in G-d as well as to the Torah and all its mitzvot.
The Talmud teaches, allegorically, that G-d Himself also dons Tefillin, in which is written this verse: “Who is like Your Nation Israel, one people in the land.” From here we learn that the mitzvah of Tefillin represents the concept of unity within Israel: “One people in the land.” Tefillin can connect between one Jew and another, and bring about the fulfillment of mutual responsibility as one person benefits another.
What a great privilege it is to donate Tefillin for another Jew to use and thus fulfill this mitzvah! By bringing benefit and merit to another Jew, he is helping to manifest Jewish unity, and thus “writing,” so to speak, the Tefillin of the Master of the World.
Be a Partner with Us!
Your partnership is important to us! The costs of the Tefillin Tie Initiative are quite substantial, and the project exists thanks to the help of our many partners in this unprecedented method of benefiting the community. We call upon you to donate now, giving you the merit of enabling another Jew to don tefillin!
— Donations are tax-deductible in Israel, the U.S., and Canada. —-
Rabbi Eyal is a resident of Beit El, aged 48, married and the father of eight children. He served as a Ra”m [rabbi/teacher] in Yeshivat Bnei Tzvi and in other yeshivot, and has an M.A. degree in Educational Systems Administration.
In addition to studying Torah, Rabbi Eyal directed the Nehora returnee organization and has been involved in running projects for returnees-to-Torah in various frameworks for over 20 years.
He is the founder, chairman and administrator of the Tefillin Tie Initiative.
The Tefillin project of Ohr Chadash receives many requests from Jews who are beginning to strengthen themselves in observing Torah and mitzvot, yet do not have a pair of Tefillin. They cannot afford the thousands of shekels that a new set costs, but very much want to own their own Tefillin so that they can don them every day. At the same time, other people turn to us with their old, unused Tefillin, which we then renew step-by-step, as follows:
The entire process is carried out by expert, professional, G-d-fearing scribes and artisans with many years of experience in the field.
The renewed Tefillin are then given to people from all over the country, of all ages, who wish to start putting on Tefillin daily, yet don’t have their own.
Our objective is thus two-fold: To enable more Jews to have the privilege and merit of fulfilling the mitzvah of Tefillin, and to “redeem” old pairs of Tefillin laying unused in a closet or attic.
Sure! You can read, in our “Stories” section, about people who have received Tefillin from us over the last few months, including how they came to the decision to start wearing Tefillin and other details. Recipients include IDF soldiers, men who wish to strengthen their Torah observance, Bar Mitzvah boys, the elderly, and more.
As stated, every pair of Tefillin that we receive is checked by an expert Scribe for Halakhic acceptability in all its detail. In many cases, the Tefillin are already kosher, but have to be fixed and improved. In other cases, the boxes are kosher while the passages are not, or vice-versa. Working correctly, it is sometimes possible to take the kosher passages from an otherwise-unkosher set and place them in the kosher boxes of another pair, so that we end up with Tefillin of high-quality kashrut. As such, even if we receive a non-kosher pair of Tefillin, it can often be renewed and rendered kosher, or parts of it can be used for another set. There are, of course, a few pairs that we receive that, sadly, cannot be fixed, renewed, or used in any way.
The costs of running an enterprise involving so many steps – finding and receiving the Tefillin, checking and renewing the various parts of the Tefillin, and distributing them – are significant. A person who requests and receives from us a high-quality, revamped pair of Tefillin is asked to pay the costs of the work, generally totaling about a quarter, or less, of the price of a new pair of Tefillin. In some cases, when the person cannot afford even this amount, he is afforded the option of paying in installments – and if even that is beyond his ability to pay, he is given the Tefillin at no charge.
It is totally understandable and natural to feel a strong sentimental attachment to the Tefillin that your grandfather of blessed memory used to wear. On second thought, however, if these Tefillin can be used to help another Jew who will then fulfill the mitzvah of wearing Tefillin every day, would this not be a wonderful merit for your late grandfather and for the elevation of his soul? Would your grandfather, who wore these Tefillin daily, not want them to continue to be worn and used for the fulfillment of such an important mitzvah, instead of having them simply lay in a closet…? And of course, you too will gain a great merit, in helping another Jew to wear Tefillin.
The Tefillin will have to undergo a thorough examination, and only then can we know if the set is kosher or if it can be brought to a state of high-quality kashrut. However, you can contact us to receive a general idea of the quality of the Tefillin even before we actually examine them.
Sincere kudos to you! You are privileged to want to take part in such an important mitzvah for the sake of other Jews! You can participate by donating to the Tefillin Tie Initiative of Or Chadash via the link below.
Within each of the two Tefillin boxes are four Torah passages that include verses of the most basic tenets of our faith. Most famous among them are Shma Yisrael (“Hear O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One”) and V’ahavta (“You shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might…”). G-d commanded us to place Tefillin on our head, corresponding to the brain and intelligence, and also on our arm, corresponding to the heart. Mind and heart are the two primary organs that give life to our body and soul, and placing the Tefillin there ensures that our entire lives are connected to and based on faith in G-d. The mitzvah of donning Tefillin, therefore, is unparalleled in helping us connect to a life of Torah and mitzvot.
The Talmud teaches, allegorically, that G-d Himself wears Tefillin. R. Nachman bar Yitzchak is recorded as asking, “What is written in G-d’s Tefillin?” R. Chiya bar Avin answers that written there is the verse, “Who is like Your Nation Israel, one people in the land.” From here we learn two fundamental concepts:
First, we see how great is the mitzvah of Tefillin, in that G-d Himself also fulfills it, so to speak – something that we do not find with other mitzvot.
Second, we learn the connection between Tefillin and the idea of Jewish unity, for the verse in G-d’s Tefillin emphasizes “One people in the land.”
There is nothing like this mitzvah to connect, via the Tefillin Tie, between one Jew and another, and effect our mutual national responsibility with one Jew benefiting another. What a great privilege it is to donate Tefillin so that another Jew can fulfill this mitzvah! By bringing benefit and merit to another Jew, we help manifest Jewish unity, and thus write, so to speak, the very Tefillin of the Master of the World.
