5794 —הדרכה על הנחת תפילין דרבינו תם וכתיבתם

B"H, 11 Tishrei, 5718. Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In your question about whether to put on Rabbeinu Tam tefillin: Certainly you should strive as much as possible that your prayer be in purity, and as is known the holiness of tefillin in general—and all the more so compared to the tzitz (forehead plate of the Kohen Gadol), as our Sages famously said—therefore it is proper to put them on.

Regarding what you wrote that one who does not put on Rabbeinu Tam tefillin should not write them: this has already been debated ^[1], and even the conclusion is that this is not what our Sages meant when they said "anyone who is not involved in binding should not be involved in writing" (and certainly if it is out of desire, see Shulchan Aruch 39), nevertheless, at least ideally it is obvious that it is good and proper for those who put on these tefillin to write them (the opinions on this are collected in Maasef Lechol HaMachanot and in Sefer Shulchan Melachim on Kitzur Shulchan Aruch).

Certainly you are keeping the three daily lessons in Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya in addition to the lessons set by the yeshiva schedule, and may Hashem grant you success.

Blessings,

In the name of the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita

Summary

The Rebbe encourages striving for purity when donning Rabbeinu Tam tefillin and says it is best for those who wear them to also write them. He emphasizes maintaining regular Torah study alongside yeshiva obligations.