What in the world are 'phylacteries"?

I have always wondered why tefillin are referred to as ‘phylateries’. I found the answer on aish.com.

Tefillin are sometimes referred to as phylacteries. This stems from the ancient Greek phylakterion, which means a safeguard. Apparently, the Greeks misunderstood the Tefillin to be some sort of amulet or charm. Actually, Tefillin serve not as a superstition, but as a bona fide connection to God.

Putting an Eitz Chaim (Wooden Pole) on a Megillah

Although the common minhag is that we don’t attach an eitz chaim (wooden pole) to the megillah, many people ask me to put one one for them. The reason for this seems to be based on a gemara in Baba Basra 13b which says, “One who wishes to attach torah, neviim, and kesuvim into one scroll may do so, providing he leaves enough blank klaf at the beginning to wrap around the amud” Rashi says, “Amud refers to a wooden pole that the scroll is rolled on”. This was the minhag of the Ari and of the Gra. The Mishnas HaSofer writes that it is very appropriate to follow this minhag.

In the pictures you can see me and my son Zerach working on a project for one of my customers. He wanted an eitz chaim for his megillah but he also wanted a megillah case. Since the eitz chaim adds a great deal of height to the megillah, we had to find a huge megillah case. Even with the biggest case I was able to find, we had to modify the eitz chaim by shortening the handles. Actually since a normal eitz chaim has one short handle (for the top) and one long handle (for the bottom, so you can easily grasp it with your hand), we took two sets of eitz chaims, and gave one set two short handles and one set two long handles. Since the diameter of the case was too narrow for the eitz chaim, we sanded about an inch off of the eitz chaim with my Delta sander.

Yes, it was a great deal of work, but what won’t I do for my (paying) customers?

If you would like an eitz chaim for your megillah, or perhaps new ones for your sefer torah, call me at 845-290-2546 or email me at offices@mezuzadepot.com.

Rav Eliashiv: Tefillin Compartments Must Be Separated

March 5, 2009

“All yirei Shomayim who are uncertain whether their tefillin [are constructed] in accordance with halacha, should have them checked to ensure [that the four head compartments] are separate and distinct,” wrote Maran HaRav Eliashiv shlita in a note appended to a letter by HaRav Dovid Morgenstern in response to an inquiry by a US Jew who repairs and refurbishes tefillin.

One year ago an investigative report in the Hebrew-language Yated Ne’eman revealed that thousands of Jews unwittingly use tefillin rendered posul because the slits in the tefillin shel rosh are not constructed properly. According to the report, many tefillin factories make no real effort to uphold the clear halachic requirements of a visible separation between the compartments. They even cover up the faults in their work by making the tefillin look aesthetically pleasing with false slits, while disregarding the primary requirement of ensuring the tefillin are indeed kosher.

According to a follow-up report, among the thousands of Jews who were alerted to the problem and had their tefillin checked, many found that their tefillin were not constructed properly. In Jerusalem’s Bayit Vegan neighborhood alone, hundreds of pairs of tefillin owned by residents and yeshiva students were checked in the past year and nearly 30 percent were found to be invalid; and even larger number were found kosher only bedi’eved.

The reports have led to heightened awareness of the problem both in Israel and the US. In response to the inquiry sent by the above mentioned tefillin worker, HaRav Morgenstern wrote: “I’ve been instructed by [HaRav Eliashiv] shlita to answer that the following points must be clarified: The slits between the shel rosh compartments should be visible from the outside, ideally all the way to the stitching (as the Tur relates in Siman 32) and at the least up to the head of the compartments (as the Shulchan Oruch relates, ibid., based on the ruling in the gemora), meaning that the entire upper side and the top of the sides should have a visible slit. And if the slits are covered with paint, etc., and are not apparent externally, the slits are not considered distinct.

“When lines are etched into the paint or the leather [beyond] the part of the compartments that is actually separated, this does not improve the kashrus of the tefillin at all (and might mar the squareness-ribu’a).

“It makes no difference how close the false lines come to the actual slit. The actual separation between the compartments must be externally visible. Here, too, it makes no difference if the interior walls are separate and extend to the stitching, as explicated in the Mishnah Berurah, 32, 187. If the slits are covered with paint and separate lines are etched on the outside parallel to the separation between the compartments under the paint — but the separation itself is not visible from the outside — and the lines on the outside are just etched into the paint and do not reach the leather so that if all of the thickness of the paint is rubbed off the slit will not be visible at all, then it is considered to have no externally visible slit, as found in the Chayei Odom and the Mishnah Berurah 32, 188 regarding `tit veglantz.’ If the compartments were glued together at the top even with only a slight amount of glue, it does not help that the lower portion is not glued, even if that portion is the majority. Care should be taken not to adhere them together with the paint that penetrates between the compartments or on the outside.

“Since all of the above can be clarified and easily rectified by inserting a knife between the compartments and separating them from one another, it is a mitzvah to do so if one has any concerns.

“However, this should be done with the proper tool by someone experienced, to avoid ruining the compartments. And sofrim should be alerted to this matter because through a lack of attentiveness while painting, this cherished mitzvas aseih can easily be lost. And certainly tefillin production supervisors must oversee this matter so that buyers who are not thoroughly conversant with the details of this requirement and the practical aspects rely on them to supervise the process.”

Maran HaRav Eliashiv also appended a note to the letter reading, “Since according to the above, a minority of tefillin housings are not properly separated in an externally visible manner, any yirei Shomayim who is uncertain should have his tefillin checked to ensure they are distinct and separate.”

(by: Yechiel Sever for Dei’ah veDibur)

This article was coppied from TheYeshivaWorld.com. People who are interested in having their tefillin checked for these issues should contact me at 845-290-2546 or email me at offices@mezuzadepot.com.

What Rooms Require a Mezuzah?

The following room require a mezuzah with a berachah:

1. Entrance into a house
2. Bedroom
3. kitchen
4. dining room
5. living room / den / family room
6. playroom
7. porch
8. office / study
9. attached garage. This includes the large sliding garage door.

The following require a mezuzah without a berachah:

1. storage room
2. walk-in closet (36 sq. ft. or more)
3. doorway to staircase or hallway
4. office used exclusively for business
5. Bais Midrash
6. a room that is in between 36 sq. ft. and 64 sq. ft.
7. a room with out a door.
8. a room with a door post on the right side even if there is no doorpost on the left side.
9. detached garage

Rooms that do not require a mezuzah:

1. bathroom
2. sauna
3. doors that are used for exit only, like emergency exits or fire escapes
4. room without a roof
5. doorway less than 36″ high
6. garbage room
7. door sealed shut

This list was based in part on the list found in ‘The World of Tefillin & Mezuzos’ by Rabbi Zeev Rothschild

Special situtations:

If one is renting a motel room by the month they should put a mezuzah up. This was told to me by Reb Avraham Tzvi Wosner, Posek for the Vaad Mishmeres STaM.