1976

It began in the winter of 1976. I was visiting a friend in the brutalist student dorms of the Tel Aviv University in Ramat Aviv.  My late brother's/Brazilian/ex-wife's/sister, introduced me to her friend. 

  

Albert

He was a funny Israeli actor at the beginning of a long and storied career.  Born in Fez in the mid 50's, his family immigrated to Israel in the early 70's, and beneath his menacing stare appearance was a (Moroccan) Louis de Funes who could melt hearts and ice with his mimicry or song.

Being more French than Israeli he was stylish enough to have a unique 'look'.  On his wrist he wore a braided rawhide bracelet that caught my eye, and when I asked him about it he raised his hand and flapped his palm like a bird with a broken wing.  

'What happened?', I asked, and then he told me his story.

He had been wounded during the Yom Kippur War in '73.  He was a crew member in a crowded 3 man tank that came under fire.  It was either Syrian fire in the Golan, or - just as bad - Egyptian fire in Sinai.  A piece of shrapnel lodged in his hand, and after the dust had settled he was sent to hospital for treatment.  While recovering from surgery with an injury that rendered his wounded hand 'useless', using his other hand he fashioned a bracelet that he wore always as a reminder of how lucky he was.

When we met it was 3 years later, and in graphic detail he recounted the event with a lighthearted optimism reserved for the faithful man he had become.  The bracelet he had woven with one hand while recovering from his wound had become a vehicle for his survival, and ultimately it strengthened his faith.

In honor of his heroism, I taught myself to weave a bracelet like his, but the first of many over the years it went missing in the wake of a turbulent life.

Personal style - like fashion - has a way of recycling itself.  Over the past 4 decades - every once in a while, I make a survival bracelet once again, and inevitably it serves its purpose and then disappears into the past.

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​What are/is tefillin?

Tefillin consists of two small black boxes worn daily on the forehead and forearm by practicing religious Jews.   They each contain the Holiest of all Judaic prayers, and for 2 millenia the ritual has been part of the daily Jewish prayer.    Tefillin are not mentioned per se in the bible, but the command is inscribed within the context of several laws outlining a Jew's relationship with God. 

"And you shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children.  Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up.  "Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a frontlet between your eyes"

(Deuteronomy 6:5-8).

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​Is wearing a bracelet from tefillin a strictly Jewish  practice?

Wearing a modern judaica cuff bracelet from inherited tefillin is not a traditional practice.  Wearing a tefillinisin bracelet is a unique and unconventional way to be reminded of one's faith.  Because religious practice is a personal choice; tradition is an evolutionary process, and while some might consider it 'wrong' to create art from 2nd generation tefillin, I don't.  Judaism has survived because of its relevance.  In every generation there are societal changes that test the resiliency and no less the adaptability of Mosaic law.  According to my Chabad Rabbi, the only restriction imaginable for wearing a tefillinisin bracelet is - understandably - in the area of personal hygiene.  Out of reverence for the sanctity of the spiritually imbued leather straps; for the spiritual journey they have been on one should consider removal before attending those needs.  For some, wrapping tefillin for a few minutes every day is a favorite part of the morning prayer.  Personally,  I lack the discipline to perform but a handful of rituals, after all, there are so many.  With that said, I feel the faith in simply wearing my tefillin (disguised as a bracelet). 

Like I said... unconventional.

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Can anyone wear tefillin?

Yes, of course.  In the same way a Jew can be moved by Michelangelo's 'Pieta', a Russian Icon, the beauty of a Mosque.  Faith in G*d is a universal concept without boundaries.

​No one religion has a monopoly on faith.  While wrapping, or laying tefillin is a ritual practiced by Orthodox Jewish men, anyone can draw untold benefit from wearing one of these bracelets imbued in spirituality.

Like an old clock ticking, or a mighty tree that has silently witnessed the passing of time; as a wearable accessory a strip of tefillin has a spiritual DNA that given a lifetime of prayer develops a soul.   Similar to the 10 commandments, the Judaic origin of tefillin has universal relevance, and is appreciated by anyone regardless of religious practice or gender identity. 

 

​Where does the name 'tefillinisin' come from?

Because Etsy requires a shop name without spaces 'tefillinisin' became the most obvious choice.  Tefillin IS 'in'.

Wrapping tefillin is a form of exercise - a spiritual exercise of faith.  When making bracelets offered an escape from the traumatic effects of emergency brain surgery, it was also the necessary pretext to transform Grandpa Jack's (no longer kosher) tefillin into a functional piece of art.   The first strip I used as a hatband - and then - all of the bracelets produced prior to the hatband were remade.   Suddenly they were more than simply 'cool' survival bracelets. 

  

They became a channel to my own faith.​​