1,000 Tefillin or Bust: Yeshiva Takes on a Tall Tefillin Task

Routine tefillin wrapping sessions commonly seen in the touristy areas of the holy city of Tsfat took a turn over the past week beyond the usual enthusiastic approach as Yeshiva Temimei Darech took to the streets to wrap 1,000 men during the yeshiva’s three-week bein hazmanim break.

Led by the yeshiva’s Torah Learning Program Director, Rabbi Shmuel Kopel with the help of three bochurim and heartily backed by Rabbi Shalom Pasternak, the yeshiva’s founder and director, the crew set out last Friday, the 10th of Menachem Av, the day after the Tisha B’Av fast, to make their mark.

At regular intervals throughout the campaign, each of the team members could be seen in different locales breaking out into circle dance and song upon the landing of a karkafta (a talmudic term referring to one who has never before donned tefillin).

By Wednesday, day 5 of the campaign, upon wrapping the 250th man and 17th karkafta, Kopel exclaimed: “Making a resolution with clear goals is an essential aspect of being a Chassid and that is exactly what we did. This is the first time I have done this with mivtza tefillin and the results are speaking for themselves. How many people can say they witnessed 250 tefillin wraps in less than a week.”

The 15-year-old institution, the only Chabad yeshiva for men in northern Israel serving a mix of English-speaking baalei teshuva and more experienced bochurim, offered their ranks to volunteer for either the tefillin marathon or staff a local Gan Yisroel camp operated by a mashpia at the yeshiva, Rabbi Shamai Gozlan.

“Most of them took it upon themselves to make use of their break for one of the two special projects, a sign we must be doing something right in our educational approach,” Pasternak said. “We are hoping publishing the activities will inspire others around the globe to take on similar projects, expanding the reach of our efforts.”

A fundraising campaign was launched in connection with the tefillin marathon with the goal of recruiting a donor for every person who wrapped. Proceeds are earmarked for student scholarships in what Pasternak described as a “win, win” for everyone involved.

Go to https://tzfatyeshiva.org/tefillin/ to participate.