Tefillin

Discover something you did not know about this central mitzvah.

Analysis of Rashi’s (seemingly superfluous) elucidation of the verse on Tefillin, quickly leads into broader exploration presenting a profound understanding of this foundational mitzvah. Discover defining differences between the hand and head set; and a f...

The Talmud says that the verse (Deut. 28:10) "All the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you" refers to wearing the head tefillin. How does the head tefillin cause G-d's name to be "called upon" the one who wears them?

Archeologist, Yonatan Adler, tackles a medieval rabbinic debate about the proper arrangement of the parchments within tefillin by comparing these opinions to actual 2,000-year-old phylacteries found in Qumran.

How to bind the head and arm phylacteries in preparation for prayer.

This lecture surveys some of the laws and customs on the mitzvah for men to don “teffilin” on the arm and head.

“When was the last time you put on tefillin?” I asked. He smiled and proudly said, “72 years ago!” He held out his arm to show me the fading tattooed numbers. “1938. It was the day of Kristallnacht. Do you know what Kristallnacht is?”

You mumble the words and even shake back and forth a bit to make it seem sincere. You have no clue what you're saying or why you're saying it. Whatever. You finish. You take off the leather and boxes, carefully unwrapping them...

I had always been fascinated with tefillin (phylacteries), the two black leather boxes with Torah verses of parchment inside, worn on the head and wrapped around the arm. The basic explanation is that it is a way of connecting to our Creator and it is the...

Larry Goldstein calls the Tefillin Customer Support line, G-fish answers, and, of course, hilarity ensues.