Tefillin

Tefillin (from the Hebrew “tefillah”: prayer), or phylacteries, are two small square black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment made of animal skin, attached with leather ribbons, that contain verses from the Torah. Every weekday morning (Sunday through Friday), Jews must wear these boxes during prayer: one tefillin on the forehead and the other tied to the left arm so that it rests against the heart. This practice comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-9: “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.”