Halacha 1
In what manner are the tefillin [placed on] the head written? [The] four passages are written on four parchments and rolled closed, each as a separate entity. They are placed in four compartments, which are covered by a single piece of leather.
The four passages of [the tefillin placed on] the arm are written on four columns on a single parchment. They should be rolled closed like a Torah scroll from the end to the beginning and placed in a single compartment.
Halacha 2
Care must be taken in writing these passages. If one wrote a passage which should be s'tumah as p'tuchah or a passage which should be p'tuchah as s'tumah, it is invalid.
The first three passages are all p'tuchot, while the final passage, V'hayah im shamo'a, is s'tumah.
Halacha 3
One must be careful regarding [the spelling of the words in these passages] with regard to the short or full form. [The manner in which] these four passages are written [in tefillin] should resemble the manner they are written in a Torah scroll that has been checked [for accuracy in this regard].
When one writes a word which requires a short form using a full form, it is invalid until one erases the extra letter. If one writes a word which requires a full form using a short form, it is invalid and may not be corrected.
These are [the correct spellings of the words that could present difficulties] with regard to the short and full forms in these four passages.
Halacha 4
[In] the first passage, Kadesh li kol b'chor, [the word] b'chor [is written using] the full form; the word zachor [using] the full form; the word b'chozek [using] the short form; the word hotzi [using] the full form; the word yotzi'em without a vav; the word y'viacha [using] the full form; the word v'ha'emori [using] the short form; the word v'hay'vusi [using] the full form; the word la'avotecha without a vav; the word ha'avodah [using] the short form; the word matzot [using] the short form; the word hash'vi'i [using] the full form; the word matzot [using] the full form; the word s'or [using] the short form; the word g'vulecha [using] the short form; the word ba'avur [using] the full form; the word l'ot [using] the full form; the word ul'zikaron [using] the full form; the word einecha [using] the full form; the word torat [using] the full form; the word hotziacha without a yud; the word hachukkah [using] the short form; and the word l'moadah [using] the full form.
Halacha 5
[In] the second passage, V'hayah ki y'viacha, [the word] y'viacha [is written] without a yud; the word chamor [using] the short form; the word b'chor [using] the full form; the word b'chozek [using] the short form; the word hotzianu [using] the full form; the word vayaharog [using] the short form; the word b'chor [using] the full form; the word mib'chor [using] the short form; the words v'ad b'chor [using] the full form; the word zove'ach without a vav; the word b'chor in v'chol b'chor [using] the full form; the word l'ot [using] the full form; the word yadecha is written with a hey; the word ul'totafot without the final vav; the word einecha [using] the full form; the word b'chozek [using] the short form; and the word hotzianu [using] the full form.
Halacha 6
[In] the third passage, Shema, the ayin of [the word] Shema and the dalet of [the word] echad are enlarged.
The word m'odecha [is written using] the short form; the word l'vanecha [using] the full form; the wordb'vetecha without a second yud; the word uv'kumecha [using] the full form; the word l'ot [using] the full form; the word yadecha [using] the short form; the word l'totafot without both vavim; the word einecha [using] the full form; the word mezuzot without the first vav; the word beitecha without a second yud; the word uvish'arecha [using] the full form.
Halacha 7
[In] the fourth passage, V'hayah im shamo'a, [the word] shamo'a [is written using] the short form; the word mitzvotai with only one vav; the word yoreh [using] the full form; the word umalkosh [using] the full form; the word v'tiroshcha without a vav; the word v'hishtachavitem [using] the full form; the word y'vulah [using] the full form; the word hatovah [using] the short form; the word notein [using] the short form; the word otam [using] the short form; the word l'ot [using] the full form; the word l'totafot lacking the second vav; the word einechem [using] the full form; the word otam [using] the short form; the wordb'vetecha without a second yud; the word uv'kumecha [using] the full form; the word mezuzot [using] the full form; the word beitecha without a second yud; the word uvish'arecha [using] the full form; the word la'avoteichem without a vav.
Halacha 8
Care must be taken regarding the placement of crowns on the letters. They are formed like [small] zeiynin on the [tops of the] letters which possess crowns as in a Torah scroll. These are the letters which possess crowns in these four passages.
Halacha 9
There is only one letter [with a crown] in the first passage: the final mem of miyamim. There are three zeiynin upon it. In the second passage, there are five letters [with crowns]. Each of these is a heh, and four zeiynin are placed on each of them. They are: the heh of un'tanah, the first and final heh in the word hikshah, the heh of vayaharog, and the heh of yadecha.
In the third passage, there are five letters [with crowns.] They are: the kof of uv'kumecha; it has three zeiynin; the kof of uk'shartam; it has three zeiynin; the two tetim and the pei of l'totafot; each of these letters has four zeiynin.
In the fourth passage, there are five letters [with crowns.] They are: the peh of v'asafta; it has three zeiynin; the tov of v'asafta has one zayin; the two tetim and the peh of l'totafot; each of these letters has four zeiynin.
There are a total of sixteen letters which require crowns. If one did not place crowns above them, added other crowns, or reduced the number of zeiynin, the passages are not invalid.
Halacha 10
A person who purchases tefillin from a person who is not an expert is required to inspect them. If he purchased 100 tefillin, he should inspect three, either two head tefillin and one arm tefillin, or two arm tefillin and one head tefillin. If he finds them acceptable, [from this time onward,] he can assume the scribe [to be proficient]. Thus, they are all considered to be acceptable and need not be checked.
If, however, one purchases them in different packages, they must all be checked, because it can be presumed that each package was purchased from a different scribe.
Halacha 11
After a person writes tefillin himself, purchases them from an expert, or purchases them from another person and has them inspected, and places them in their leather [compartments], they need not ever be checked again.
As long as their compartments are intact, they are assumed to be acceptable even though several years have passed. We do not suspect that a letter has faded out or been perforated. Hillel the elder stated: "These [tefillin] are from my maternal grandfather."
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ASK THE RABBI
In what manner are the tefillin [placed on] the head written? [The] four passages - mentioned in Chapter 1, Halachah 1: Kadesh Li (Exodus 13:1-10), V'hayah ki y'viacha (Exodus 13:11-16), Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-8), and V'hayah im shamo'a (Deuteronomy 11:13-21).
are written on four parchments - Menachot 34b explains that the word totafot, with which the Torah refers to the head tefillin, is a combination of the Carthaginian and African terms for two. Since two and two equals four, the word thus means "a four-sectioned ornament."
and rolled closed - more precisely, folded closed. Though in this halachah, the Rambam mentions only the tefillin of the arm, the parchments in the tefillin of the head are also folded from the end to the beginning, so that when they are opened, one begins reading at the beginning (Chapter 3, Halachah 7).
each as a separate entity. They are placed in four compartments, which are covered by a single piece of leather. - See Chapter 3, Halachah 2, for a description of how these tefillin are made.
Menachot, loc. cit., derives this concept from the fact that Exodus 13:9 refers to the head tefillin as "a remembrance," using a singular form of the word. This teaches that all four passages must appear as a single entity, "one remembrance."
In his Commentary on the Mishnah (Keilim 18:8), the Rambam also mentions tefillin of the head in which four separate compartments are sewn together. Shulchan Aruch HaRav 32:58 and the Mishnah Berurah 32:172 write that tefillin made in this manner or by gluing the four compartments together are acceptable. They nevertheless suggest that it is preferable to purchase tefillin that are made from a single piece of leather.
[At present, frequently, tefillin which are made from four compartments that are either sewn or glued together are referred to as peshutot and sold for a substantially lower price than tefillin made from a single piece of leather. The difficulty in purchasing them extends beyond one's willingness to opt for the more lenient opinion mentioned in the above sources. Since most halachic authorities advise accepting the more stringent view, most careful scribes do not use these peshutot. Thus, it is likely that they will have other problems as well.]
The four passages of [the tefillin placed on] the arm are written on four columns on a single parchment. - They may, however, be written on four separate parchments, which are later glued together (Menachot, loc. cit.).
They should be rolled closed like a Torah scroll from the end to the beginning and placed in a single compartment. - Menachot, loc. cit., derives this concept from the exegesis of Exodus, loc. cit.: "And they shall be a sign for you on your hand." The verse implies that just as the tefillin's external appearance is as a single sign, so too, internally, they should be a single entity.