How to Do Knots With Tefillin
Laying (or wearing) tefillin (scroll-filled leather boxes) is a positive ("you shall," as opposed to negative, "you shall not") commandment (mitzvah) in Judaism to be carried out by observant males over bar-mitzvah age, although many women are also now taking on this mitzvah. This commandment is fulfilled in accordance with biblical verses that speak of keeping the words of the Torah on one's person (on the arm and between the eyes).
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Instructions
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Laying Tefillin
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1
Roll up your sleeve. Remove the tefillin shel yad (arm tefillin, the simpler looking of the two) from its container. Slide the tefillin onto your weaker arm (left for right-handed people, right for left-handed people), placing the box around your bicep, roughly across from your heart.
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2
Recite the blessing for tefillin. It reads: "Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech ha-olam, Asheir k'dishanu b'mitzvotav, Vitzivanu l'haniach tefillin." The blessing should be said in Hebrew, but can be recited in any other language if you cannot understand or read Hebrew. One English translation is: "Blessed are you, O God, our Lord, Ruler of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to lay tefillin."
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3
Tighten the arm strap such that the knot remains in contact with the box. Now wrap the strap twice around your bicep (to form the letter shin, which looks like a W with no down-strokes). Next, bring the strap down and wrap it seven times around your arm. The strap should be rather tight, and you should not be able to freely bend your arm. Now wrap the strap once around the palm of your hand.
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4
Take out the tefillin shel rosh (head tefillin). Place the tefillin on your head; center it between your eyes and slightly above your hairline. The knot in the back, shaped like the letter daled, should be resting along the base of your skull.
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5
Wrap the strap left over from Step 3 three times around your middle finger, once around the base, once above the first knuckle, then once again around the base. Tuck the remainder of this strap into the strap already around your palm.
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6
Say the Shema (see Resources below), a prayer that affirms the oneness of God. This can be found in your siddur (prayerbook) or on a placard at your synagogue.
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Tips & Warnings
When laying tefillin, try to keep your mind on the task at hand. Somewhat like the Sabbath and other rituals, laying tefillin is a sacred time that should be elevated over your everyday life.
These instructions are from the Ashkenazic, Chasidic tradition and are only for the basic fulfillment of the mitzvah. If you follow a different custom (for instance, Sephardic), consult with your local rabbi. Tefillin should be donned with clean hands and should never be worn in unclean places, such as a bathroom.
