Mishnah
Mishnah

Responsa for Megillah 1:8

אֵין בֵּין סְפָרִים לִתְפִלִּין וּמְזוּזוֹת אֶלָּא שֶׁהַסְּפָרִים נִכְתָּבִין בְּכָל לָשׁוֹן, וּתְפִלִּין וּמְזוּזוֹת אֵינָן נִכְתָּבוֹת אֶלָּא אַשּׁוּרִית. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, אַף בַּסְּפָרִים לֹא הִתִּירוּ שֶׁיִּכָּתְבוּ אֶלָּא יְוָנִית:

There is no difference between scrolls (of Scripture) and tefillin and mezuzoth, but that scrolls may be written in all languages [i.e., in the script and tongue of all languages], but tefillin and mezuzoth must be written only ashurith (the holy script and tongue). R. Shimon b. Gamliel says: Even with scrolls, they permitted them to be written (aside from ashurith) only in Greek. [The reason for permitting Greek above all other languages is (Genesis 9:27): "G-d will beautify Yefeth and it will dwell in the tents of Shem": The most beautiful of Yefeth; that is, the most beautiful tongue of all the sons of Yefeth, will dwell in the tents of Shem (Israel.) And there is no tongue among all the sons of Yefeth more beautiful than the Greek tongue. And the halachah is in accordance with R. Shimon b. Gamliel. However, that Greek tongue has already been lost and has become corrupted, for which reason, nowadays, we write scrolls only in the holy script and tongue.]

Noda BiYhudah I

We also learned in a Mishna in tractate Megilla (1:8) “There is no difference between sefarim [books of the Tanach written in holiness, on parchment, and used for personal or public study, or for reading aloud in public. Sometimes the intent is specifically Torah scrolls] and tefillin…”179…..and mezuzot except that sefarim may be written in any language, while tefillin and mezuzot may only be written in ashurit [in the Hebrew language using a particular set of glyphs]. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says, "Even concerning sefarim, they only permitted them to be written in Greek” If that is so, then we learned in a Mishna that Tefillin cannot be written on anything but hide. One cannot deduce, as Rav Yosaif that it means only ritually pure.
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