What do you need to know about the tefillin?
Each consists of three main components: the scrolls, the box and the strap. The Torah commands Jewish men to bind tefillin onto their head and upper arm every weekday, in fulfillment of the verse ( Deut. 6:8), “You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes.” (More on what this means below.)
What does the Torah say about the tefillin?
It has been observed and treasured for thousands of years, right down to the present day. The Torah mentions it more than once, but most explicitly in Deut. 6:8 “And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes.”
How many scrolls are in a set of tefillin?
A set includes two—one for the head and one for the arm. Each consists of three main components: the scrolls, the box and the strap.
What happens if one letter is wrong on a tefillin?
If one letter is extra, missing, or even incorrectly written, the tefillin are invalid. The boxes and straps are also made of leather from a kosher animal. The head-tefillin is made of four separate compartments, each one containing a scroll with one of the four Torah selections.
What does the Talmud say about laying tefillin?
Maimonides counts the commandment of laying the arm-tefillin and head-tefillin as two separate positive mitzvot. The Talmud cites Rav Sheshet, who said that by neglecting the precept, one transgresses eight positive commandments. A report of widespread laxity in its observance is reported by Moses of Coucy in 13th-century Spain.
Where do you put the tefillin on your arm?
The tefillin consist of two black leather boxes and straps to hold them on. One is worn on the biceps, and its strap, which is tied with a special knot, is wound by the wearer seven times around the forearm and hand—on the left arm for right-handed people and on the right for those who are left-handed.
