By COLlive reporter
It began five years ago with a little manual.
The Shluchim office, as part of their Tefillin Bank project, approached Rabbi DovBer Pinson with the request to write a guide for those who are putting tefillin on for the first time.
Complete with illustrations and instructions, the Tefillin guide would come with the pair of tefillin provided by the ‘bank’ and would assist the first time user in putting on tefillin.
Over time, this little guide, with its short but fascinating explanations of tefillin, started gaining popularity, individual of the tefillin bank, and the requests for the guide themselves started pouring in to the Rosh Yeshiva of the IYYUN Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Along with the request for the tefillin guide, was the urgent request for a book that would comprehensively address this important mitzvah in a way that would both introduce tefillin to a ‘newcomer’ to the mitzvah and offer a new, deeper perspective to those who may have been putting on tefillin for years already.
Rabbi Pinson, a prolific author and lecturer, realized that there was a great need for this book, and began expanding the little manual into a full book about the mitzvah of Tefillin.
“Tefillin: Wrapped in Majesty” was finally finished in time for Rabbi Pinson’s oldest son’s bar mitzvah before Pesach, and was published in his honor and given as a gift to the guests at the simcha. Its version in Hebrew is titled “Chosmo Shel Melech – Sod HaTefillin.”
In them, Rabbi Pinson weaves together all dimensions of Torah; Peshat, literal observation, to Remez, the allegorical; Derush, the homiletic, to Sod, hidden Kabbalistic, into one wonderful tapestry.
In reaching for the underlying unity within all wellsprings of Torah, he uncovers the hidden profound mystery of the Tefillin and offers fascinating commentary and insights through the English book’s 180 pages.
“This is an absolutely essential guide for anyone seeking to understand this vital observance,” wrote one online reviewer.
“The book covers both a basic down to earth understanding of Tefillin and also delves into some of the deepest sources in Kabbalah and explains them in simple easy to understand english.
“The Kabbalistic sources DovBer Pinson draws upon are unknown to many and even amongst those very few scholars who are in the know, very few can explain them so clearly.”
Another reviewer wrote: “As with all of Rabbi Pinson’s books, his ability to convey the loftiest ideas in such a way that everyone can understand the deepest kabbalistic teachings, is amazing. This book too, is deep, insightful and gives the reader a whole new perspective of this beautiful mitzvah.
I would highly recommend giving this as your next bar mitzvah gift.”
“Tefillin: Wrapped in Majesty” is available as a hardcover and also electronically as a Kindle book on Amazon.com.
The Hebrew version is being sold in Jewish Bookstores everywhere.
I ordered a hard copy, but couldn’t wait and bought in Amazon the electronic version, have glanced the download copy and has incredible information and details, thanks very much.
Thank you Rabbi Pinson. This daily Mitzvah now has so much more meaning. As usual it is so hard to put your book down, the words & ideas literally jump off the page. Thank you for undertaking to provide this greatly needed resource. cant wait to see whats next!
an excellent and most informative book.Should be read and absorbed by all.A fantastic gift for anyone who dons Tephilin and those who will don Tephilin
Im buying these for bar mitzvah gifts!
I enjoy all his wonderful books; they are very deep, brilliant, yet very clearly written. A true pleasure to read.
A one time student of yours from the St Petersberg days
the book can be bought online at amazon.com and the sefer can be bought in any bookstore in crown heights!
So important and of course an incredible book like all of them. And beautiful design by the amazing Rochie Pinson!!!
Where can it be purchased in crown heights?
Great cover design!