Posul Retzuous

Retzuous must be black. This is a halachah l’Moshe m’sini (a law passed down from Moshe but not written in the Torah). Pictured above is a retzuah that is posel because of the brown line going from one side to the other. The person who was wearing them was completely unaware that his retzuous were posel. He may have been wearing them for years like this. He happens to be a well know rabbi and educator. He is learned, and knowledgeable about the halachos of tefillin. So how could he be wearing retzuous like this? Because the spot wear it is brown was not visable to him unless he turned them over and inspected them. There is an easy solution to this common problem (besides checking your straps from time to time (which you’re  probably not going to do anyway)). You should buy Ultra Double Black Retzuous. They are dyed before they are painted, so even if some of the paint comes off, they will still be black (and kosher).