My First Pair of Tefillin
By: Peter Century, TJJ Graduate
“Two years later, I still put them on every day because someone trusted in me and believed that I could be better by using them.”
I went on TJJ in 2011 not knowing what Shabbos, kosher, tefillin or tzitzis were. Throughout the summer, I slowly got curious about what these things were. I remember seeing some of the guys in the morning wear a shirt with strings attached to it and wrap leather straps with black boxes around their arm and head. Not knowing what this was, I was very concerned for these people and also very curious to what they were doing. One of my advisors explained the meaning of tefillin to me and I got interested so he helped me put them on throughout the summer.
On the final morning of TJJ, we were on our way to the airport when they stopped the bus at the side of the road on a cliff overlooking Jerusalem. The sun was starting to rise when we all gathered in a circle with Josh Gottesman, our bus director, in the middle. All of a sudden, he started describing someone and instantly, everyone knew it was me. He called me in the middle of the circle to present me with my very own pair of tefillin. It was the first time I got to put on my own tefillin and I’ll never forget overlooking Jerusalem while davening with my new family that I became a part of over that summer.
When I got home, I decided that I was going to put on my tefillin every day and I did just that. I go to public school and there isn’t a synagogue near me so I put on my tefillin either before school or right when I come home. Two years later, I still put them on every day because someone trusted in me and believed that I could be better by using them. I don’t know everything about them yet but I am excited to attend Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh in Israel this coming year so I can continue my growth that started with that pair of tefillin.
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