A beautiful axiom of Jewish tradition is that one mitzvah will beget another.
Nowhere is this wisdom more clearly displayed than in the workings of the incredibly innovative Kesher Tefillin Project (KTP).
Conceived by Noah Greenberg of Tzfat, the project has set out as its ambitious goal touching every Jewish neshama (soul), using tefillin as the means and touchstone for making the connection.
How? By teaching student participants how to create their very own set of kosher tefillin.
KTP is not just innovative in its aspiration. Its very existence owes itself to ingenious creativity. For you see, Noah Greenberg is the only person in recorded history to be awarded a US patent for the manufacture of tefillin.
How is that possible you say? How can anyone own a patent on tefillin? Well, Rav Greenberg has patented the one piece template that is laser cut and brilliantly shaped. When fully assembled, the result is tefillin that have received multiple letters of kashrut from rabbinical authorities.
Not only is the template for assembly ingenious, but also it uniquely lends itself to be being properly assembled by young people, given coaching and some assistance.
The result has been that Rav Greenberg has recognized not just the importance of teaching about tefillin, but also the great conduit that tefillin provide to a whole world of important Jewish concepts: kedushah (holiness), responsibility, devotion, dedication and connectedness, to name just a few.
The game changing epiphany that comes from making one’s own real life, kosher, durable, and yes, beautiful tefillin carries through to every aspect of a Jew’s life.
There are literally thousands of young Jews around the world who have undertaken the special task of assembling their own set of tefillin, while simultaneously learning from Rav Greenberg about the laws and traditions surrounding one of Judaism’s most revered religious objects.
Now Rav Greenberg has been setting his sights on bringing tefillin and its inspiration to Israeli youth. The ground here is fertile, as some 80% of Jewish boys get tefillin for their Bar Mitzvahs.
He recognizes an opportunity to engage Jews of all stripes: secular, traditional, religious Sephardi and Ashkenazi. In other words, this is an endeavor for all Jews to experience.
His initial results have been nothing short of transformative. Kids who usually have to be pried away from their smartphones have embraced, enjoyed and savored the undertaking of making their own tefillin.
Teary eyed parents have come to the closing ceremonies celebrating the achievement, and it is apparent that the impact of the program extends far beyond just its direct participants.
Part of the great success of the program is of course the big reward of making one’s own set of tefillin. But less obvious, though equally important is the tactile encounter with our tradition.
Students are brought into close contact with the ideas of prayer, of reverence for our tradition, of the love of learning. They also have the opportunity to learn from an engaged, energetic and inspired Hareidi artisan/rabbi who, with his sons who assist him, shows the students that creativity is not just to be found on social media.
Rav Greenberg has no agenda other than the desire to expose any young Jew who is so inclined to the power and the majesty of tefillin. He knows that the rest will be up to the individual, but surely it helps for each of us to get a loving start.
Speaking personally, I am proud to say that I have had the pleasure of being Noah Greenberg’s friend and chavruta (study partner) for many years. I have seen firsthand the engagement and inspiration of so many young Jews who have had the opportunity to see their own tefillin emerge from their own efforts.
At a time when our People is torn and rife with dissent, the Kesher Tefillin Project stands as a modest and humble testimony to the idea that through the study and the observance of tefillin, societal bridges can be and are being built, and that acceptance and respect can be shared by each and all of us.
Douglas Altabef is the Chairman of the Board of Im Tirtzu and a Director of the Israel Independence Fund