Tefillin are biblical in origin, and are commanded within the context of several laws outlining a Jew's relationship to God. "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a frontlet between your eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:5-8).

Putting on Tefillin

Aharon's Jewish Books and Judaica

• Mezuzah - Tefillin - Tallit
• Jewish Jewelry - Music - Kitchen Utensils - Judaica - Kippot

600 South Holly Street Suite 103
Denver, Colorado
303-322-7345
800-830-8660

Aharon's also is Denver Only Kosher Cafe severing Kosher Coffee and Tea.

Tefillin

Tefillin (Hebrew: תפלין), also called phylacteries, are two boxes containing Biblical verses and the leather straps attached to them which are used in traditional Jewish prayer. They are an essential part of morning prayer services, and are worn on a daily basis (except the Sabbath and festivals) by religious Jewish men above the age of 13 years, and by Jewish law, is not worn by Jewish women. In this article the term “to lay tefillin” (from Yiddish tefillen leygen) will be used throughout but it is still correct to use "wear".

Tefillin stems from the traditional interpretation of passages found in the Torah (five books of Moses), in Deuteronomy 6:8, 11:18; Exodus 13:9, 16. Tefillin are described extensively in the Rabbinical literature including the Mishnah and the Talmud (see Menahoth 34b; Zevahim 37b; Sanhedrin 4b).

The Scrolls

The scrolls are strips of parchment upon which are inscribed four passages from the Torah:

1) Kadesh (Exodus 13:1-10)

2) VeHayah Ki Yeviacha (Exodus 13:11-16)

3) The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

4) VeHayah Im Shamoa (Deuteronomy 11:13-21)

In the arm tefillin, the four passages are written on a single scroll. In the head tefillin, they're on four separate scrolls.

The Boxes

The scrolls are inserted into boxes made of leather that has been painstakingly pressed into the tefillin's perfectly smooth planes and precise geometrical shape, and painted black.

The upper part of the tefillin box is a perfect cube; the lower part is a flatter box that is wider than the upper part. On one side, the lower part extends further than the other sides and has a slit through which the tefillin strap is threaded.

The hand tefillin has one large compartment, in which a single scroll inscribed with the four portions is inserted. The head tefillin has four compartments, for its four scrolls, and has a raised Hebrew letter shin on each side.

The Straps

The straps are made of leather painted black on one side. They are threaded through the lower part of the boxes and knotted.

The head tefillin has a large, fixed loop to fit the head. The hand tefillin has a smaller, adjustable loop to tie on the upper arm.

The head strap's knot is in the shape of the Hebrew letter daled; the hand tefillin is knotted in the shape of the Hebrew letter yud. (Together, shin, daled, yud spell Sha-da-i -- one of the names of G-d.)