Tefillin
G-d Connection
Mivtza 1 of 10
Jewish men and boys aged 13 and up are encouraged to put on tefillin every weekday. Tefillin are small black boxes with Torah verses that are placed on the arm and head, helping a person focus their mind and heart toward G-d each day.
A deeper look
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 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 upper arm, opposite the heart, represents 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.
