Tefillin are a pair of black leather boxes containing handwritten Torah passages on kosher parchment. One is worn on the arm and one on the head during weekday morning prayer. In English, tefillin are sometimes called phylacteries, though most Jewish communities simply use the Hebrew word tefillin.
The mitzvah comes from the Torah's command to bind its words as a sign on the arm and place them as a reminder between the eyes. Tefillin are not decorative or symbolic jewelry: their kosher status depends on the batim, the handwritten parshiyot inside, the retzuot, and many details of construction and placement.
What Does Tefillin Mean?
The word tefillin is the Hebrew name for this mitzvah. The two parts are the tefillah shel yad, the arm tefillin, and the tefillah shel rosh, the head tefillin. The older English term phylacteries appears in translations, but "tefillin" is the clearer and more accurate word. Every set is handwritten by a certified sofer STaM, the same scribe who writes a mezuzah scroll.
What Are Tefillin Used For?
Tefillin are worn to fulfill a Torah commandment and to bring the words of the Shema into daily action. The shel yad is placed on the upper arm facing the heart, and the shel rosh above the forehead. They are worn during weekday morning prayer, and not on Shabbat or Yom Tov. Learning how to put on tefillin and the tefillin prayer is part of preparing for the mitzvah.
The Two Parts of a Tefillin Set
The shel yad is the arm tefillin, worn on the upper arm opposite the heart, its strap wrapped around the arm and hand. A right-handed person wears it on the left arm, a left-handed person on the right.
The shel rosh is the head tefillin, centered above the forehead and resting above the hairline, with four compartments and a raised Shin on both sides. To see how both boxes are built, read how tefillin are made.
What Is Inside Tefillin?
Inside are four Torah passages, handwritten on klaf (parchment): Kadesh Li, Vehaya Ki Yeviacha, Shema, and Vehaya Im Shamoa. The shel yad holds them in one compartment; the shel rosh in four. A single malformed or missing letter makes the pair not kosher, which is why every set is examined; our guide to tefillin checking explains how.
Who Wears Tefillin?
Boys begin learning to wear tefillin before Bar Mitzvah so they can perform the mitzvah properly once obligated, and adult Jewish men continue on weekdays. Anyone learning for the first time should be shown the correct placement by a rabbi or teacher, and given a set matching his custom, such as our Chabad tefillin in ktav Alter Rebbe.
Choosing a Kosher Tefillin Set
A set should match the wearer's minhag, script, and handedness. Our kosher tefillin are handwritten in Israel, each available in a Basic build or a premium gassot tefillin build.
Choose Sephardic tefillin written in Vellish, or Ashkenaz tefillin written in Beis Yosef, prepared for the correct custom.
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