Safrus Programs, Lectures, and Events

Rabbi Michaels is available to speak about tefillin and mezuzos in a classroom setting or for adult education classes in your shul. He brings along an interesting assortment of displays that he has collected over the years. His goal is to make the mitzvos of tefillin and mezuza come alive for the group. He has spoken to both young children and adults across the religious spectrum. Rabbi Michaels can be contacted at 845-290-2546 or by email at offices@mezuzadepot.com.

Used Mezuzos For Sale 845-290-2546

Purchasing Used Mezuzos

Used Mezuzos are a great option when you need inexpensive mezuzos and you don’t need top of the line. For example, you are going to be living somewhere for a few months (and I don’t have enough mezuzos in my gemach to help you), and you don’t want to spend a fortune buying mezuzos which you won’t need after you move out. Or maybe you are moving out of your current home and you need to leave mezuzos but you don’t want to leave your good mezuzos. I sell used mezuzos in two price categories: $22.00 and $28.00. They are all checked by me and found to be free of problems. The $28.00 mezuzos are nicer and neater than the $22.00 mezuzos but I usually have less of them in stock. Call me up and tell me how many you need. 845-290-2546. I can almost always send them out right away!

Used Tefillin For Sale 845-290-2546

Purchasing Certified Used Tefillin

Purchasing  a used set tefillin can be  an excellent way to acquire a good set of tefillin at  substantial savings.   From time to time I come across a set of used tefillin which I feel is a good investment for somebody who would like to own a good set of tefillin but isn’t in a financial situation to buy new. Are there any drawbacks to used tefillin? Yes, there is one thing you need to understand: I can’t guarantee  that the sofer who wrote the parshios has s’michah, or if he understands the halachot of writing tefillin. In other words, when I check a set of tefillin I check what I see in front of me. I can’t know if the sofer did everything correctly while he was writing them. For example, tefillin must be written in order. You can’t add a letter that you forgot to put in after the tefillin are written.  When I sell new sets of tefillin I check out the soferim and I make sure they know the halachos thoroughly. You’ll notice that the title of this post is ‘Certified Used Tefillin’. I am certifying that everything that I can see is kosher and properly made. Most sets of used tefillin do not meet my standards and I will not offer them for sale! I reject any used tefillin and mezuzos that I am not completely comfortable with. That being said, you may decide that a used set is what you are looking for. I will lists sets that I have available and that I consider a good buy. Everything that I offer will be checked by me and I will provide as much information (including photos upon request) as you need in order to make the best decision possible.

5/26/09 Used Gassos Tefillin For Sale

I have a used set of Gassos Tefillin. This means that the battim are strong and thick. The parshios are good, and thoroughly checked by me as well as computer scanned. I just painted the retzuous (straps) with a nice new coat of shiny black paint. They are looking quite good. If you are interested in this set but you want brand new retzuous I can add them in for $30.00 (which is a $20 discount). This is a set that will last for decades and decades (provided you take care of them, of course (like no scuba diving with them on)). This is a great way to get Gassos, and save about $200. I have checked out the battim very carefully, and certify them to be kosher. $650.00 Contact me for more info.

6/1/09 Used Peshutos Tefillin Not For Sale

Today I was checking a set of used tefillin parshios that looked as if they had very good potential to be an inexpensive set for somebody. Unfortunately during my examination several problems turned up. Even though one of the problems was not that serious, when taken in the context of not just one problem, I concluded that this would not be an appropriate set of tefillin even as a last resort for those lacking funds. So the bottom line is these Used Peshutos Tefillin are Not For Sale. How much would they have been for sale for? About $180. If this sounds like what you are looking for, contact me and as soon as I have something available I will let you know.

Upside Down Mezuzos

Today I did a Mezuzah HouseCall and found seven upside down mezuzos! An upside down mezuzah doesn’t fulfill the mitzvah. I often see a single upside down mezuzah, but seven? How could this happen? The homeowner told me that he bought all of them in Eretz Yisroel from the same person. In addition to being only barely acceptable as far as kashrus goes, the person who sold them didn’t even know how to put them into the case! I hope the conclusion that you draw from this will be, “Just because it comes from Israel doesn’t mean it is kosher”. So many people have this idea in their head that if it comes from Israel it must be good. Not true. I will say that a large percentage of the tefillin and mezuzos that I sell do come Israel, but they are coming from people that I know and trust. I’ll tell you another thing this person told me. His son who is presently in Israel lost his tefillin. He instructed his son to go buy a new set. His son went to Meah Sh’arim and bought a new set. The total price was $300.00. I told him he should  definitely get them checked as soon as possible. Since he had just purchased a new set for another son and spent three times as much, he very much agreed with me that they need to be checked.

Let me know what you think: Do they need to be checked right away or not?

By the way, here is a good tip for making sure your mezuzos are right side up: When you are ready to put up your mezuzos, place all the cases on the table in front of you with the tops away from you. Next, place all the mezuzos on the table with the tops away from you. Now double check that all the tops of all the cases and all the mezuzos are away from you. If you place all the mezuzos into the cases when every thing is set up like this, it is almost impossible for you to make a mistake.

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.

Megillah For Sale, Free Shipping

I have an unbelievable selection of Megillos. If you are planing to buy a megillah this year please give me a call. Just to give you an idea of the price range, a very inexpensive megillah would be about $650. A middle range megillah would be about $1000 and for a really nice megillah plan to spend between $1600 and $1700. If you are looking for top of the line, that would be between $2500 and $3500. If you are looking for a present for somebody special and you want to impress him, a $1400 to $1700 megillah will do the trick. If you are not local I can often email you a photograph of the megillah so you can see what you are getting.

You really should call me so we can discuss exactly what you need. 845-290-2546.

The story of the Sefer Torah part one.

The story of the Sefer Torah part two.

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