Tefillin are small, black leather boxes containing parchment inscribed with specific passages from the Torah. They are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers as a reminder of God’s commandments and the Exodus from Egypt. The commandment to wear tefillin is found in the Torah in several places, including Exodus 13:1-10 and Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
There are two types of tefillin: shel yad (for the arm) and shel rosh (for the head). The tefillin shel yad are placed on the upper arm, just below the elbow, and the tefillin shel rosh are placed on the forehead, just above the hairline. Both sets of tefillin are held in place by leather straps.
