Tefillin #1

Tefillin - "You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they should be for a reminder between your eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:8).

Every weekday, the Jew places on his head above the brain, and on his arm opposite his heart, a pair of tefillin--black leather boxes containing small parchment scrolls on which are inscribed the basic tenets of our faith, chief amongst them the proclamation: "Hear O Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is one."

There are many laws and requirements regarding the making of tefillin. A set includes two tefillin -- one for the head and one for the arm. Each consists of three main components: the scrolls, the box, and the strap.

The scrolls are strips of parchment upon which are inscribed four passages from the Torah. These scrolls need an occasional check up by a professional scribe to make sure they are still in excellent shape.

The scrolls are inserted into boxes made of leather that has been painstakingly pressed into the tefillin's perfectly smooth planes and precise geometrical shape, and painted black.

The head tefillin has a raised Hebrew letter shin on each side and has a large, fixed loop to fit the head. The hand tefillin has a smaller, adjustable loop to tie on the upper arm.

The head strap's knot is in the shape of the Hebrew letter daled; the hand tefillin is knotted in the shape of the Hebrew letter yud. Together, shin, daled, yud spell (Sha-da-i) -- one of the names of G-d.

One box is strapped on your head and the other onto your arm next to your heart and you recite the passage Shema Yisrael...

Our sages tell us that G-d, too, dons tefillin. And what is inscribed in G-d's tefillin? "Who are like Your people Israel, one nation on earth." As we attest to the oneness of G-d, G-d attests to the oneness and integrity of His chosen people.