Rabbeinu Tam's Tefillin

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Hebrew

אַשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְיָ לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם
לָתֵת לָהֶם, כִּימֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם
עַל הָאָרֶץ:

Sephardi

asher nishba Adonai la'avoteichem
latet lahem, kimei hashamayim
al ha'aretz:

English

remember God, and the head-tefillin should be put on your head, above the area between your eyes. You should teach the words of Torah to your children, so that they speak about them and continually discuss them: when you sit in your house, when you go on the way, when you lie down at night, and when you get up in the morning. You should write these words of the Shema on mezuzot, which you should put up on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. You should keep all of these commandments in order to increase the number of days that you and your children will live on the land—the Land of Israel—which the Lord promised to give to your fathers for as long as the days that the heavens are above the earth, which is forever.

Tzitzit

Hebrew

וַיֹּאמֶר יְיָ אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם וְעָשׂוּ לָהֶם
צִיצִת עַל כַּנְפֵי בִגְדֵיהֶם
לְדֹרֹתָם, וְנָתְנוּ עַל צִיצִת
הַכָּנָף | פְּתִיל תְּכֵלֶת: וְהָיָה
לָכֶם לְצִיצִת, וּרְאִיתֶם | אֹתוֹ,
וּזְכַרְתֶּם | אֶת כָּל מִצְוֹת
יְיָ, וַעֲשִׂיתֶם | אֹתָם, וְלֹא
תָתֻרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם וְאַחֲרֵי
עֵינֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם זֹנִים
אַחֲרֵיהֶם: לְמַעַן תִּזְכְּרוּ
וַעֲשִׂיתֶם | אֶת כָּל מִצְוֹתָי,
וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים לֵאלֹהֵיכֶם:

Sephardi

Vayomer Adonai el Moshe leimor:
Daber el b'nei Yisrael
v'amarta aleihem v'asu lahem
tzitzit al kanfei vigdeihem
l'dorotam, v'natnu al tzitzit
hakanaf | petil techelet: Vehayah
lachem l'tzitzit, ur'item | oto,
uzchartem | et kol mitzvot
Adonai, va'asitem | otam, v'lo
taturu acharei l'vavchem v'acharei
eineichem asher atem zonim
achareihem: lema'an tizkeru
va'asitem | et kol mitzvotai,
vihyitem k'doshim leiloheichem:

English

The Lord spoke to Moses and gave him instructions to tell the Jewish Nation. God said: Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them that they should make tzitzit for themselves, which they should hang on the four corners of their garments. This is something that should be done at all times; it is a commandment for all their generations. They should attach a blue string to the tzitzit on each corner. All the threads hanging together will be tzitzit for you. Tzitzit are worn as a reminder, and when you will look at these tzitzit, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord. This is because the numerical value of the Hebrew word tzitzit is 600. Adding the 8 threads and 5 knots, found on each corner, totals 613—the number of commandments in the Torah. Remembering the commandments will cause you to fulfill them. Then you will not wander after the desires of your hearts and the temptations your eyes see. Wandering after your desires causes you to stray from the path of Torah. Look at the tzitzit, so that you will remember and do all of My commandments. Through this, you will be holy to your God.

Exodus from Egypt

Hebrew

אֲנִי יְיָ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר
הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם | מֵאֶרֶץ
מִצְרַיִם לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים,
אֲנִי יְיָ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: אֱמֶת.

Sephardi

Ani Adonai Eloheichem asher
hotzeti etchem | mei'eretz
Mitzrayim lihyot lachem leilohim,
Ani Adonai Eloheichem: Emet.

English

I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt in order to be a God for you, and in order that you should accept Me as your God by keeping My commandments. I am the Lord, your God. That which we have just said in the Shema is true.

In the following paragraph, touch the hand-tefillin while saying וְהָיָה לְךָ לְאוֹת עַל יָדְךָ, touch the head-tefillin while saying וּלְזִכָּרוֹן בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ, and kiss the fingertips.

Touch the hand-tefillin again while saying וְהָיָה לְאוֹת עַל יָדְכָה, touch the head-tefillin while saying וּלְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ, and kiss the fingertips.

Redeeming firstborns and wearing tefillin to remember the Exodus from Egypt

Hebrew

וַיְדַבֵּר יְיָ אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
קַדֶּשׁ לִי כָל בְּכוֹר
פֶּטֶר כָּל רֶחֶם בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
בָּאָדָם וּבַבְּהֵמָה לִי הוּא:
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל הָעָם זָכוֹר
אֶת הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר יְצָאתֶם
מִמִּצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים כִּי
בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיא יְיָ אֶתְכֶם
מִזֶּה וְלֹא יֵאָכֵל חָמֵץ: הַיּוֹם
אַתֶּם יֹצְאִים בְּחֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב:
וְהָיָה כִּי יְבִיאֲךָ יְיָ אֶל אֶרֶץ
הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַחִתִּי וְהָאֱמֹרִי וְהַחִוִּי
וְהַיְבוּסִי אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ
לָתֵת לְךָ אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ
וְעָבַדְתָּ אֶת הָעֲבֹדָה הַזֹּאת
בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה: שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
תֹּאכַל מַצֹּת וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי
חַג לַייָ: מַצּוֹת יֵאָכֵל אֵת
שִׁבְעַת הַיָּמִים וְלֹא יֵרָאֶה לְךָ
חָמֵץ וְלֹא יֵרָאֶה לְךָ שְׂאֹר בְּכָל
גְּבֻלֶךָ: וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם
הַהוּא לֵאמֹר בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה
יְיָ לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם: וְהָיָה
לְךָ לְאוֹת עַל יָדְךָ וּלְזִכָּרוֹן בֵּין

Sephardi

Vaydaber Adonai el Moshe leimor:
Qadesh li kol bechor
peter kol rechem bivnei Yisrael
ba'adam uvabeheimah li hu:
Vayomer Moshe el ha'am zakhor
et hayom hazeh asher yetzatem
miMitzrayim mibeit avadim ki
bechozek yad hotzi Adonai etchem
mizeh v'lo yei'achel chametz: hayom
atem yotz'im b'chodesh ha'aviv:
Vehayah ki yevi'akha Adonai el eretz
hakena'ani vehachiti veha'emori vehachivi
vehayevusi asher nishba la'avotecha
latet lecha eretz zavat chalav ud'vash
ve'avadta et ha'avodah hazot
bachodesh hazeh: shiv'at yamim
tochal matzot uvayom hashevi'i
chag la-adonai: matzot yei'achel et
shiv'at hayamim v'lo yera'eh lecha
chametz v'lo yera'eh lecha se'or bechol
gevulekha: vehigadeta levinkha bayom
hahu leimor ba'avur zeh asah
Adonai li betzeiti miMitzrayim: vehayah
lecha le'ot al yad'cha ul'zikaron bein

English

The Lord spoke to Moses after the Plague of the Firstborns in Egypt and gave him instructions to tell the Jewish Nation: Make every firstborn—every human and animal that opens its mother's womb among the Children of Israel—holy for Me; the firstborn belongs to Me. Moses said to the Jewish Nation, on the day they left Egypt: Remember this day on which you went out of Egypt from the house of slavery; for with a mighty hand, the Lord took you out from here. Leavened foods should not be eaten during Pesach. Today you are going out, in the month of Nissan, which occurs in the spring, when the weather is good for traveling. It will be that when the Lord brings you to the Land of Israel—the land of the Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Hivite, and Jebusite nations, which God promised your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to you, a land flowing with the milk of goats and the honey of dates and figs—at that time, you should perform this service—you should keep the laws of Pesach—in this month: For seven days you should eat matzot, and on the seventh day there will be a festival for the Lord. Matzot should be eaten throughout the seven days. Leavened foods or yeast should not be seen with you in all of your property. And you should tell your son the story of the Exodus from Egypt on that first day of Pesach. Say to him: The Lord performed miracles for me when I left Egypt, in order that I keep His commandments, such as these commandments of the Pesach-offering and eating matzah and bitter herbs. The story of the Exodus from Egypt should be written in tefillin, as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder between