Question:
Kavod harav! Is it known what size tefillin Vilna Gaon put on? Harav Shach? Chazon Ish? Steipler Gaon? Harav Ovadiah Yosef? Size of a script? Nusah? When did different traditions separate? IS THERE AN IDEAL SIZE AND SCRIPT? Is there an authority on tefillin in Israel and how to contact him? Sofer everyone respects and knows? Thank you. Reply can be private or public.
Answer:
Hello,
It is wonderful that you are interested in getting the best pair of tefillin that you can. Here are the basics to getting a good pair of tefillin. There are two main parts to the tefillin, the actual boxes, and the parchment scroll that goes inside the boxes. The boxes go through a long process from being a mere piece of animal hide, to being a perfectly formed, square box. There are two boxes, called batim (lit. houses), one called the shel rosh (the one placed on the head), and one called the shel yad, the one placed on the man’s upper arm. When getting a quality pair of tefillin, one chooses to get the batim from a good batim macher, (the craftsman who makes the batim) and a sofer (scribe) who is a G-d fearing Jew, to write the portions of the Torah that are written on the scrolls. The tefillin boxes should be between 2-4 wide, in order for them to fit into the proper places, on the body that are to be affixed. The precise size of the boxes is not as important as the boxes bring made while meeting all of the halachic requirements, and fine points. The same applies to getting good quality scrolls, which means that they meet all of the various halachic requirements.
Regarding which nusach to get depends on your family tradition, if it is Ashkenazi or Sefardi. For example, the scroll of R’ Ovadia Yosef, who was a Sefardi, was using a different type of script, than the Vilna Gaon or Chazon Ish, who were Ashkanzim, and their tradition was different. There is no central authority in Israel for this, however there are many fine batim machers, and many fine sofrim, who you can buy an excellent pair of tefillin. Additionally, if you are in the States, or in other parts of the world, we can put you in contact with local people who can help you out with this. If you would like us to help you, just let us know.
Best wishes
