The sacred craft of making tefillin has been passed down form father to son throughout the centuries far from the public eye. Rabbi Yisrael Klein, the Director of the Psagot Institute for Dayanim (for judges in the religious courts system), on viewing the poor quality of the refilling being sold on the market, decided that this craft should not be kept secret any more.

Thus OTER YISRAEL was founded in Jerusalem, bringing to Jewish communities the world over tefillin gassot of superior quality at reasonable prices. Now the many visitors to OTER YISRAEL are able to see for the first time how tefillin are made according to the strict religious codes of our forefathers.

At OTER YISRAEL the tefillin are made by pious scholars who are experienced craftsmen committed to the meticulous observance of the halachot (religious laws) regarding the making of tefillin. Making use of modern technology has allowed us to reach a higher level of quality and precision. Despite these advances it still takes more than a year for OTER YISRAEL to make each pair of tefillin. Hundreds of OTER YISRAEL tefillin are sold in Israel and throughout the world every month.

On the second floor are our scribes' chamber, dedicated to checking, correcting and repairing old Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot. This year, with the blessed flood of new immigrants from eastern Europe and the world over, OTER YISRAEL has been called upon to answer the many requests to repair old Torah scrolls and texts. They have been brought to Israel form many isolated Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora.

In addition the OTER YISRAEL Torah scribes write new Sifrei Torah. They may be found in many Jewish communities throughout Israel and the Diaspora.

OTER YISRAEL has been praised by many of Israel's' most respected and learned Rabbininc authorities. Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu, Rishon LeZion, Chief Rabbi on Israel after visiting our facility wrote the following "I visited the OTER YISRAEL facility for the production tefillin in Jerusalem and stayed to observe the work in process, the expertise, the precision and the kashrut, and I saw that they are executing their work with faith and righteousness through strict fulfillment of the precepts - in preparing tefillin. The work is done by knowledgeable experts under the illustrious Rabbi Yisrael Klein. It is a difficult task to make tefillin gassot, and the process requires time and expertise in order to be proclaimed strictly kosher. Blessed is their craftsmens share in this holy work. May it be that they will reap good fruits from their labor and prosper and succeed at whatever they do, amen."

OTER YISRAEL invites you to enjoy a fascinating tour of our facilities during your next stay in Jerusalem. You may watch the craftsmen at work, making the tefillin. You may also supervise the insertion of the parshiyot (Torah portions), and hear explanations on the various observances of the laws of tefillin.

OTER YISRAEL is located in the Sapir Center at the entrance to the Har Nof neighborhood in the heart of Jerusalem. We look forward to seeing you during your next visit to Jerusalem.