What to be Cautious of When Buying Tefillin
A central element of Jewish life is the almost daily mitzvah of tefillin. It should be clear that the halachos involved in producing a kosher pair of tefillin are intricate and numerous. If someone is not well-versed in these halachos, he will not be able to ensure that the tefillin he buys, or sells, are kosher. A socher (broker) who lacks fluency in these halachos will undoubtedly – and maybe even frequently – come to sell unkosher sta”m (sifrei Torah, tefillin and mezuzos).
And even if someone is thoroughly versed in the halachos, he will not always know if the tefillin he buys are of the quality that he anticipated. Knowledge of the halachos does not guarantee a knowledge of the practical side of tefillin production and sales.
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Tefillin and specialization
Historically, the sofer did everything involved in making tefillin. Besides writing the parshiyos, he also made the klaf, the ink, the giddim (threads made of sinews and tendons used for sewing sta”m), the battim, and the retzuos. So, in the past, buying tefillin from a God-fearing sofer could guarantee high- quality tefillin.
But nowadays, each part of the tefillin is often produced by separate people who are often unfamiliar with the other parts. Even for the battim alone, there are often five different people involved! (The bulka macher,1 the battim-macher, the merabea,2 the painter, and the machnis.3)
And unfortunately, even the sochrim, the people selling sta”m, are often not so knowledgeable about the sta”m they are selling, or even about sta”m in general. Therefore, they may not know themselves whether or not an item they are selling is of the standard they claim it to be.
Furthermore, even if the seller is an expert in one area, such as parshiyos, he may be ignorant regarding battim. Or even if he is expert in parshiyos and battim, he may know nothing about retzuos, etc. Or even if a person buys parshiyos directly from an expert and God-fearing sofer, he might not get a top-quality pair of tefillin, since the sofer might not be knowledgeable in the halachos of battim and retzuos. Likewise, a person might ask the battim-macher to provide the parshiyos for him. This may get him ideal battim, but with subpar parshiyos placed inside.
The following story illustrates how specialization can lead to serious problems:
The Ben Ish Chai writes4 that his father and grandfather had served as the Rav in Baghdad. In his grandfather’s time, a certain talmid chacham came to Baghdad and observed that the people’s battim were not square; the local battim-machers did not know how to make them properly. This talmid chacham told the Rav what he observed. The Rav looked into the matter and found it to be true. He immediately announced in the main shul that, from that day forward, nobody in Baghdad should make a berachah on their tefillin until this talmid chacham taught the local battim-machers how to make tefillin properly.
The Ben Ish Chai writes that fifteen years later, when his father was the Rav, they suddenly realized that the method used by the battim-machers to make the retzuos was halachically problematic. His father immediately announced in the main shul that everyone must change their retzuos and may not make a berachah on their tefillin until they do so.
This problem is not only true for tefillin, but for all sta”m items. For example, if one sells a Sefer Torah with many hiddurim, but the giddim used to sew it together are problematic, it puts the whole Sefer Torah on a lower level.
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The sta”m market and lack of regulation
Another serious problem is that the sta”m market, throughout history, has not been regulated – people can be producing or selling sta”m who are not qualified to do so. Consequently, there could be a lot of sta”m on the market being sold as high-quality, but it might not even be kosher.
Indeed, from as early as the 1600s until today, gedolim such as the Sefer Hazichronos,5 the Chasam Sofer,6 the Klausenberger Rebbe,7 and R’ Wosner8, have all written that sofrim and sochrim selling sta”m have no chezkas kashrus – we cannot assume that their merchandise is kosher. Furthermore, the Chasam Sofer says there never was a time when sofrim had a chezkas kashrus.
Rav Moshe Feinstein wrote9 that most of the tefillin parshiyos and mezuzos on the market have obvious problems – ones you can see with your eyes – that make them passul. And that’s not even counting all the other problems there could be, such as the parshiyos not being written lishmah,10 chak tochos,11 shelo k’sidran,12 and the klaf itself could even be passul. Rav Moshe wrote in a teshuvah13 that he could not find a sofer in America who wrote tefillin which he was pleased with. Therefore, he ordered Rashi tefillin from Eretz Yisroel and didn’t make extra effort to acquire Rabbeinu Tam tefillin (which he had worn in Russia).
Today there is the Vaad Mishmeres Sta”m which has greatly improved things, but the situation is still far from perfect. Expert magihim who check Sifrei Torah, tefillin and mezuzos every day report that most of the sta”m they check have halachic problems. This should be enough to cause one to recognize the need for due diligence.
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Beware of “a good deal”
You might hear of people who say they have a friend in Eretz Yisrael who gets them a “good deal” on tefillin. While it is true that sta”m purchased in Eretz Yisrael is often less expensive than the same item sold in the Diaspora, it is usually because the sta”m has gone through less hands. Otherwise, like most everything in life, you generally get what you pay for.
There are indeed many excellent sofrim, battim-machers and magihim, but they are more expensive. Since most people are not willing to pay such high prices, most sta”m being sold is of a sub-par halachic standard.
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Buying directly from the sofer
Some people think that if they buy directly from the sofer, instead of through a socher, they’ll save money. There are a few things to know regarding this:
- It’s often not the case. Generally, the sofer will sell to a private customer for a higher price than he will sell to a socher.
- When the socher is reliable, he will check the sofer’s work to make sure the parshiyos meet the highest standards. When you eliminate the socher, you lose that quality control, as well. When the sofer sells to a private customer, he might not go to the same lengths to check the quality of his work, and he might also be more lenient with various hiddurim.
So, when paying through a socher, the customer may actually get a lower price and higher quality.
- As we mentioned earlier, when one asks the sofer to take care of everything for him, including the battim and retzuos, the sofer often knows nothing more about battim than the customer. It is not uncommon for a sofer to put his beautiful mehudar parshiyos into a sub-par pair of battim. A reliable socher, on the other hand, would be knowledgeable about battim as well and make sure they are also mehudar.
How can one tell if a socher is reliable?
One can never know for sure, but the following tips can dramatically improve one’s chances of finding a reliable socher and buying quality sta”m.
- Learn as much as you can
Today there is plenty of material in Hebrew and English discussing these halachos and the practical applications of them. An educated customer is much harder to deceive.
- Ask the experts who the reliable sochrim are
Most of us are familiar with such people who make it their business to learn who is truly reliable – and who isn’t.
- Ask if the sofer and magiah have certification
There are a number of recognized organizations who give certification stating that the sofer is qualified to write sta”m, or that a magiah is qualified to check sta”m. The tests for sofrim and magihim are not the same; separate certification is required.
Be aware that certification has an expiration date. If the expiration date has passed, the certification isn’t worth very much.
- Ask him a couple of halachah questions
For instance, one can ask if the klaf is megurad or lo megurad,14 whether the sofer was machmir not to write even part of a letter out of order (chetzi ois shelo kesidran)15 or whether the sofer is machmir with the chumra of panim chadashos.16 Whether the consumer is actually interested in these hiddurim or not is largely irrelevant. The point is to see whether the sofer or socher is knowledgeable about the product they are selling.
- Ask him who he asks his shailas to (and how often he asks shailas)
There are thousands of shailas which can come up in the sta”m world. It is unheard of for one to be involved in sta”m and not have shailas from time to time. It is absolutely imperative that a sofer, magiah or socher have a recognized sta”m authority with whom he has a relationship and asks his shailas to.17
Although you may have never heard of the Rav he mentions, the fact that he can answer the question, without hemming and hawing, is a good indication. One should never purchase sta”m from a socher or sofer who doesn’t have a clear reply to this question.
- Ask him if you can bring the parshiyos to your own magiah
If the socher is unwilling to consider this, it may be wise to find a different one. Understandably, the socher might ask the customer to take full responsibility for the item in the meantime.
1 Who creates the initial shape of the battim.
2 Who makes the battim perfectly square.
3 Who inserts the parshiyos into the battim and then sews and seals them.
4 Rav Pe’alim, Orach Chaim IV:2.
5 Zichron 9, Chapter 3. Sefer Hazichronos was authored by Rav Shmuel Abuhav (1610-1694), Chief Rabbi of Venice, Italy.
6 Chasam Sofer VI:83. Also see the Chasam Sofer’s approbation to the sefer Keses HaSofer of Rav Shlomo Ganzfreid as well as Chasam Sofer, Orach Chaim, VI ד"ה ובכל.
7 Divrei Yatziv, Orach Chaim 38:2.
8 Shevet Halevi VII:165.
9 In his approbation to the sefer Yalkut Tzuras Ha’osios.
10 Shulchan Aruch 32:19 and Mishnah Berurah 92.
11 Shulchan Aruch 32:17-18.
12 Shulchan Aruch 32:23.
13 Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim IV:9.
14 See Shulchan Aruch 32:7, Beiur Halachah, ד"ה לתקנו ולהחליקו; see also Page 514 below.
15 As per the ruling of Avnei Nezer, Orach Chaim 9.
16 As per the ruling of Chasam Sofer, V:189.
17 Aside for the obvious reason to ask this question, there is an additional benefit. Different Rabbanim follow different traditions in how they pasken. Hence, if the Rav this socher asks his shailas to follows different traditions than the consumer, he may prefer to purchase from a different socher.