Tefillin

Tefillin, (Hebrew: תפילין), also called phylacteries, are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with biblical verses. The hand-tefillin, or shel yad, is worn by Jews wrapped around the arm, hand and fingers, while the head-tefillin, or shel rosh, is placed above the forehead. They serve as a "sign" and "remembrance" that God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. According to Jewish Law, they should be worn during weekday morning prayer services.

The sources provided for tefillin in the Torah are from vague verses. The following verse from the shema states: "And you shall bind them as a sign upon your arm, and they shall be as totafot between your eyes" [1]

The verse does not designate what one is obliged to "bind upon your arm” nor is a description given as to what totafot means. It is only by way of the Oral tradition that tefillin exist as we now know them.

The term “to lay tefillin” is often used in English as in this article. The term is derived from the Yiddish, tefillen leygen and a literal translation of Deuteronomy 11:18. It is also correct to use the term "wear" when referring to tefillin.