Mazal Tov! Iowa Governor Dons Tefillin for the First Time

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Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad put on tefillin for the very first time, moved by a desire to honor his Jewish mother’s memory and embrace his own Jewish heritage. The pair of tefillin he wore made the experience all the more meaningful.

The tefillin belonged to Shlomo Aryeh Leib Jacobson, brother of Rabbi Yossi Jacobson, the Chabad rabbi of Des Moines, Iowa. Shlomo’s life was marked by extraordinary hardship — he was blind, and serious medical challenges limited much of what he could do from day to day. Yet through years of illness and physical limitation, he never missed a single day of putting on tefillin.

After his passing several years ago, Shlomo’s unwavering dedication to this mitzvah became a lasting source of inspiration, moving many people to don his tefillin in his honor.

Governor Branstad was among those touched by Shlomo’s story to don tefillin for the very first time at age 79.