Tfilin - Tefilin

Tfilin (תפלין) are Jewish prayer thongs with two small black leather boxes that contain parchment scrolls with verses from the Torah, namely from the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Both the boxes and the thongs must be made from the skin of a kosher animal. Tfilin are used during weekday morning services, when adult Jews fasten them on their arms and heads. This mitzvah is based on the biblical verse, "You shall bind them [these words that I command you today] as a sign on your hand and wear them as a band on your forehead between your eyes," which we recall twice a day during the Shema prayer. First, the tfilin is fastened on the arm at the level of the heart (tfilin went yad), with the straps wrapped around the arm in the prescribed manner. Then a second one is fastened on the head (tfilin went rosh). There is a special blessing for each one. When the tfilin are not in use, they are kept in a case and decorative mostly velvet pouch. The name is derived from the word tfila, meaning prayer.