Tefillin on tallit (illustrative)
Tefillin on tallit (illustrative)iStock

Rabbis in London's Golders Green neighborhood met this weekend after receiving reports of invalid tefillin (phylacteries) being sold at a local market for large sums of money.

"It's strange, because if we would find non-kosher meat in a store, there would be a huge uproar, but when invalid tefillin or mezuzas are sold, no one says anything or makes any nose," Rabbi Shlomo Frishwasser said.

Rabbi David Singer of Ilford, who has spent decades working in the field of tefillin and mezuzas, was sent to verify the reports and returned emphasizing how terrible the situation is. "Unfortunately, all of the obstacles stem from enthusiastically running after money," he added.

He also said that he had found several pairs of invalid tefillin on the market.

"It's time to make some order," he said. "There is basically no supervision of the market, and we all have a holy obligation to change this situation."