Tefillin

Tefillin are black leather boxes containing parchment scrolls inscribed with Torah verses. The tefillin are tied around the head and upper arm (facing the heart) every weekday morning during prayers, in fulfillment of the verse, “You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes.”

The tefillin are for men and boys the age of 13 and older.

The word tefillin is related to the word tefillah, prayer, and to the word tofel, to bind, as in the verse Naftulei Elokim niftalti im achoti, “I have been joined in a Divine bond with my sister.” It also has a root of tafel, meaning secondary, the act of setting aside our own desires and feelings to join in a union with G-d. The position of the tefillin, on the head and the upper arm, opposite the heart, represent our ongoing effort to resolve the conflict between mind and heart, between intellect and emotions, and harmonize them both in our service of G-d.