Buying Tefillin

Tefillin are assembled from three separate components each painstakingly prepared by

experts. There are the Batim (Housings), the two black leather boxes, and the Retsu-ot, the black leather straps by which the Batim are attached to the arm and to the head. The Batim contain small parchment scrolls on which are written the four passages in the Torah that reference the mitzvah of Tefillin. The parchment for the arm

tefilla has all four passages written on a single strip of parchment, while

the head tefilla has four separate parchments corresponding to its four separate compartments.

The quality of the writing on the parchment is a big price factor in a set of tefillin. Writing small, clear, parchments is difficult to do well and requires a practiced and patient hand.

To be kosher, the letters on the parchment need to be whole and distinct. If the letters are difficult to read, run into each other or are broken, or if the ink has flaked off, the parchment, and thus, the tefillin are not kosher.

A quality set of parchments, wherein the letters are all kosher [proper according to Jewish law] means that the Sofer [scribe] has taken the time necessary for the task. Additionally, some Tefillin are written on parchment which has been treated to make it smoother and easier to write on; these are referred to as Mashuach, however, that treatment also hastens the decay of the ink.

The Batim, the leather boxes can be made in several different ways and this can significantly impact on the cost. The best, most difficult, most time consuming, and most labor-intensive way is to mold one piece of leather into the square shape. Molded leather is stronger, more durable, and consequently, more expensive. These also have levels of quality.

Dakkot are made with a single piece of leather stretched over the base. Gassot are made from better quality hides and parchments. Kosher Batim can also be made by cutting and gluing together leather pieces into the necessary square shape. These are called Peshutim. Peshutim Mehudarim add an additional piece of connective leather.

Another factor in choosing your tefillin is the style of script used in writing the parchments. There are three different fonts used in writing tefillin:

 Beit Yosef is the standard font amongst Ashkenazi Jews.  Arizal font is very similar to Beit Yosef and is preferred by the Hasidic community.

 Sephardic font is bolder and is generally used by Mizrachi and Yemenite Jews. Consider going with the script that corresponds to your heritage.

Ultimately, the time and the effort that goes into producing the Tefillin determine both their quality and their cost. Real quality Tefillin will last many decades. I am still using the Tefillin purchased for me when I became Bar Mitzvah.