tefillin

Tefillin are two small black leather boxes containing scrolls of Torah passages and are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers as a physical reminder of the commandments to love and bind God.

The two boxes are known as shel yad (hand tefillin) and shel rosh (head tefillin). The boxes, or batim, contain parchment scrolls written by a qualified scribe (sofer). The four Torah passages typically enclosed are Exodus 13:1-10, Exodus 13:11-16, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and Deuteronomy 11:13-21. These verses express allegiance to God and the command to remember and teach the mitzvah.

Wearing tefillin is part of the weekday Shacharit service for men in traditional communities. They are not worn on Shabbat or most Jewish holidays. Practices vary by denomination and community, with some allowing women to wear tefillin in egalitarian settings.

Construction and wearing sequence: The shel yad is a box attached to a leather strap that is bound to the weaker arm (for right-handed people, the left arm) with the box resting near the heart and the strap wound around the arm and hand. The shel rosh is placed on the head, the box resting above the hairline, with the strap encircling the head and tying at the back. The knot and strap arrangement may reflect different traditional customs.

Symbolically, tefillin represent obligation to bind God’s commandments on the arm and to focus one’s thoughts and perceptions toward God, echoing the biblical command to bind these signs as a reminder throughout daily life.