Moreinu HaRav shlita relates: “At the end of davening, I saw a man removing his tefillin shel yad, and the knot of his tefillin was invalid. The knot of the tefillin shel yad, which is shaped like the letter ‘Yud,’ must have the end of the strap protrude slightly from the knot. If it doesn’t protrude, one does not fulfill the obligation of donning tefillin shel yad.
I emphasized to him how much Hashem loves him, as He arranged for me to daven next to him. That way, I noticed as he was removing his tefillin that the knot was invalid. He was very happy that I brought this to his attention and asked me to fix the knot for him. After I adjusted the knot, he put on the tefillin again with a bracha so that another day would not pass without fulfilling the mitzvah of tefillin properly.
He was overjoyed and, with tears in his eyes, said, ‘I could have continued like this for years, putting on tefillin without fulfilling the mitzvah! I see that Hashem truly loves me and has given me the merit to observe the mitzvah of tefillin according to halacha!’”
Moreinu HaRav concluded the story and said: “There are things that, if one does not know them, they will not fulfill the mitzvah of tefillin (or any other mitzvah). Therefore, it is worthwhile to ask a halachic authority to inspect one’s tefillin from time to time. Similarly, a Jew who knows the halacha should not hesitate to gently and lovingly correct another Jew and give them the merit of fulfilling the mitzvah of tefillin. You do not need to look far to give Jews the merit of tefillin; we have opportunities every day in our own shul. Over the course of my life, I have probably helped hundreds of people fulfill the mitzvah of tefillin through simple but important things. For example, ensuring that the knot is snug against the bayis, that the tefillin shel rosh does not slide even slightly down the forehead, and more.”
