391. Crowns on the Letters in Tefillin

Tefillin, Mezuzah v’Sefer Torah 2:8

One must be careful regarding the crowns on the letters, which are like little letters zayin on top of letters that have crowns as in a sefer Torah. Following are the letters that have crowns in the four sections of tefillin.

Tefillin, Mezuzah v’Sefer Torah 2:9

Only one letter in the first section has a crown: the final mem of the word “miyamim,” which has three zayins on it. In the second secion, five letters have crowns; each of them is a hei and they each have four zayins on them. They are the hei of “un’sana,” the first and last heis in “hikshah,” the hei of “vayaharog” and the hei of “yadecha.” In the third section, five letters have crowns: the kuf of “u’v’kumecha,” which has three zayins; the kuf of “u’k’shartam,” which has three zayins, and the two letters tes and the fei of “l’totafos,” each of which has four zayins. In the fourth section, five letters have crowns: the fei of “v’asafta,” which has three zayins, the taf of “v’asafta," which has one zayin; and the two letters tes and the fei of “l’totafos,” each of which has four zayins. In total, 16 letters require crowns. If one did not place crowns above the letters, or if he increased or decreased their number, the sections are nevertheless valid.