page_title: Tefillin
section_title: Use
hierarchical_section_title: Tefillin / Use
caption_attribution_description: English: Tefillin shel yad on the left hand, as posted on en:Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
context_page_description: Tefillin or phylacteries, is a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin is worn by observant adult Jews during weekday morning prayers. In Orthodox communities, it is only worn by men, while in non-Orthodox communities, it may be worn by men and women.
  Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form, it is often used as a singular as well. The arm-tefillah is placed on the upper arm, and the strap wrapped around the arm, hand and fingers; while the head-tefillah is placed above the forehead. It is intended to fulfill the Torah's instructions to keep as a "sign" and "remembrance" of the Exodus, signifying that God brought the children of Israel out of Ancient Egypt.
  The biblical verses often cited as referring to tefillin are obscure. Deuteronomy 11:18, for instance, does not designate explicitly what specifically to "bind upon your arm", and the definition of "totafot between your eyes" is not obvious. At least as early as the 1st century CE, many Jews understood the verses literally and wore physical tefillin, as shown by archaeological finds at Qumran and a reference in the New Testament.
context_section_description: Originally tefillin were worn all day, but not during the night. Nowadays the prevailing custom is to wear them only during the weekday morning service, although some individuals wear them at other times during the day as well.
  Tefillin are not donned on Shabbat and the major festivals because these holy days are themselves considered "signs" which render the need of the "sign" of tefillin superfluous.
  On the fast day of Tisha B'Av, tefillin are not worn in the morning, as tefillin are considered an "adornment", symbols of beauty, which is deemed inappropriate for a day of mourning. They are worn instead at the afternoon Mincha service. There are those however who have a custom (Jews from Aleppo, Syria) on Tisha B'Av to privately put on tefillin at home and pray privately, say the Amidah and take off the tefillin and go to synagogue to finish the prayers.
caption: Arm-tefillin with ש (shin) pattern, according to one of the Ashkenazi opinions
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