If you have heard someone mention a second pair of tefillin, you have met the difference between Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam. Both are kosher and both hold the same four Torah passages; the difference is the order the passages sit inside the batim.
This guide explains what Rabbeinu Tam tefillin are, which pair is worn every day, and who wears both.
The Four Passages and Their Order
Every pair of tefillin contains four passages: Kadesh Li, Vehaya Ki Yeviacha, Shema, and Vehaya Im Shamoa. Rashi and his grandson Rabbeinu Tam disagreed about the sequence in which they are placed in the shel rosh. In Rashi tefillin they follow the order they appear in the Torah; in Rabbeinu Tam tefillin the last two are switched.
Because the parshiyot must be written in order, the two arrangements are separate scrolls and cannot be swapped between boxes. The way both are written by hand is covered in how tefillin are made.
Which Pair Is Worn?
The accepted practice is that Rashi tefillin are the primary pair, worn every weekday, and the pair a Bar Mitzvah boy receives. Some men also don a Rabbeinu Tam pair after the Rashi pair to fulfill both opinions at the highest level of hiddur. Rabbeinu Tam is always the additional pair, never a replacement; if this is new to you, our guide to what is tefillin covers the basics.
Whether to wear it is a matter of established custom. A person follows the practice of his father and community, and the differences track the same traditions behind Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Chabad tefillin.
Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam in Chabad
In Chabad, wearing Rabbeinu Tam from Bar Mitzvah is widespread, and both pairs are written in ktav Alter Rebbe. The batim, straps, and checking are identical; only the internal order differs. Our primary Alter Rebbe tefillin are the everyday pair.
Those who keep both add the matching Rabbeinu Tam tefillin. Compare the full range in our kosher tefillin collection.
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