When David Pearl and his kalla Rise Cooper came into my office, I could sense how special his neshama is by his the way he described his feelings about the tefillin that he had been using since he was a young soldier in the IDF. Those tefillin accompanied him through his years of army service. They were by his side in tanks and during several wars. He knew when he came to me that it might be time for new tefillin, and indeed that was my recommendation. While what he had received from the IDF certainly appeared to be kosher, I recommended a new set of tefillin because the taggim were not written so clearly and the battim were no longer in good condition. Although David is definitely attached to the tefillin that were with him for so many years, he was ready to upgrade to a set of Netzach tefillin, written by Rabbi Chaim Levison. I recommended this set to him because I felt that he would relate to Rabbi Levison on a personal level, as both of them have a strong commitment to the ideal of service in the IDF. David, who now works as an HVAC expert in Florida went with my suggestion, and I am currently in the process of putting together his new set. I would like to wish David and Rise much success in building a Jewish home together!