Placement of the Arm Tefillin
Question
I put on the arm tefillin according to Ashkenazic practice.
My question is: On the one hand, the tefillin need to be on the kiboret facing upward (and not downward), but on the other hand, they need to be tilted toward the heart. 1. How is this possible? If they are placed facing upward, they are necessarily not facing toward the heart. In other words, how much do they really need to face toward the heart? (I am not sure that it is actually tilted more toward the heart, but merely closer to the heart even when moving it slightly toward the heart.) Note: Everything stems from the same question—how exactly do I orient it toward the heart, and how much, while on the other hand ensuring that it is in the correct place, etc.
2. And is what is written—that it must face toward the heart—essential even after the fact?
Answer
Shalom u’verachah.
They are placed on the height of the kiboret, meaning the high point of the arm muscle between the elbow and the armpit, and one should draw them slightly to the right so that they have a slight tilt toward the heart. Thus, the two requirements do not contradict each other.
Yes. This is a din of the Gemara.
