The Proper Spot to Place Tefillin

Regarding the Mitzvah of Tefillin, it is written in the Torah: “You shall bind them as a sign upon your arm and they shall be frontlets between your eyes.”Our sages learned from these verses that Tefillin should be bound to the arm opposite the heart, and on the head corresponding to the brain.

Tefillin shel Yad
In another verse dealing with Tefillin, the words “your hand” are written like this ידכה – rather than the more familiar ידך . Due to this unusual transcription, our rabbis deduced that this refers to the יד כהה , the weaker hand. The weaker hand is usually the left hand, and that is why the Tefillin are placed on the left arm and hand by right-handed and ambidextrous people. One who is left-handed would put Tefillin on his right hand.
We determine which hand is considered the weaker one by the hand used for writing. Even if one does many activities with both hands, but writes with the left hand, he is considered to be left-handed, and would put Tefillin on his right hand. The Tefillin are placed on the bicep towards the heart.

Tefillin shel Rosh
Our sages learned from the phrase “they shall be frontlets between your eyes” that the Tefillin should be placed over the forehead (right above the hairline) directly over the spot between the eyes.

The knot of the Tefillin shel Rosh should be placed on the center of the base of the head, upon the bone over the indentation where the head ends and the neck begins

Intervening Objects (Hatzitza)
The Tefillin cases should be placed directly touching the body (the head or the arm) without any object intervening. For this reason, Tefillin should not be placed on top of clothing or a hat. There are different opinions in reference to Hatzitza regarding the Retzuot, therefore some are careful to remove a wristwatch before winding the Retzuah of Tefillin shel Yad around the hand.  Others permit leaving the wristwatch in its place.

Uncovering Tefillin
The Tefillin shel Rosh are called “glory”, and it is proper to show them in all their glory when they are being worn, and not to cover them up. This Halacha refers only to the Tefillin shel Rosh; one may cover the Tefillin shel Yad with the sleeve.

Do you need additional explanations regarding Tefillin? We, at Tefillin Hebron, will provide with guidance in all the details. You may visit our factory outlet as well, and practice putting on Tefillin properly with the help of our expert staff.