Tefillin

Two leather boxes containing parchment scrolls of biblical passages, worn on the arm and head during weekday morning prayer.

By The Editors

The Fundamentals · 2 minute read

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Summary. Tefillin (the Greek loanword phylacteries) are two leather boxes (battim) containing parchment scrolls (klafim) of four Torah passages (Shemot 13:1–10, 13:11–16; Devarim 6:4–9, 11:13–21). They are bound on the arm (tefillin shel yad) and on the head (tefillin shel rosh) during weekday morning prayer, fulfilling the commandment to bind them “for a sign upon your hand” and “as frontlets between your eyes.” Tefillin are not worn on Shabbat or festivals. Bar Mitzvah age (13) is when a boy first puts them on; the practice is increasingly observed by women in egalitarian communities.

What They Contain

Four Torah passages, written by a sofer (scribe) on parchment from a kosher animal. The shel yad (arm) contains all four on a single scroll; the shel rosh (head) contains each on a separate scroll in four small compartments. The straps (retzu’ot) are likewise of kosher leather, dyed black.

How They Are Put On

The shel yad goes on the biceps of the non-dominant arm (left for a right-handed person; right for a left-handed person), with the box positioned toward the heart. The strap is wrapped seven times around the forearm, then around the hand and middle finger in a pattern that spells one of God’s names. The shel rosh is placed on the head, with the box centered above the hairline (or where the hairline was) between the eyes. The blessings are recited as each is positioned.

When They Are Worn

Weekday mornings only. Not on Shabbat or major festivals (Yom Tov), because those days are themselves a “sign” between God and Israel and an additional sign is therefore unnecessary (the Talmudic logic, Eruvin 96a). The minor festivals (Chol HaMo’ed) of Pesach and Sukkot are subject to community variation — some communities wear tefillin during Chol HaMo’ed, others do not.

Buying Tefillin

Tefillin are a major purchase ($400–$2,500 for kosher tefillin in 2026; cheaper sets exist but should be verified by a trusted sofer or rabbi). The two main scribal traditions are Rashi (the standard) and Rabbeinu Tam (whose ordering of the passages differs). Some particularly observant men wear both pairs daily, though the standard practice is Rashi only. For a New Jew, the Rashi pair is the proper first purchase. Have them inspected (kabbala) periodically — every several years — by a sofer.

Where Denominations Diverge

Orthodox: tefillin are required of men from Bar Mitzvah age. Some Orthodox women historically wore tefillin (Michal bat Shaul, by Talmudic report; Rashi’s daughters by family tradition; Hannah Rachel of Ludomir in the 19th century); the practice was rare and is debated today. Conservative: men required; women increasingly observed in egalitarian Conservative practice. Reform: traditionally absent from Reform practice; current Reform increasingly includes tefillin as an option, with no gender restriction. Reconstructionist: optional, increasingly observed by both men and women.

Sources

Torah: Shemot 13:1–10, 13:11–16; Devarim 6:4–9, 11:13–21.

Talmud Bavli, Menachot 34a–37b; Eruvin 96a; Berachot 6a.

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Tefillin.

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 25–45.