page_title: Tefillin
section_title: Manufacture and contents
hierarchical_section_title: Tefillin / Manufacture and contents
caption_attribution_description: English: Cylindrical arm-tefillin found in the Cairo genizah.
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: The manufacturing processes of tefillin are intricate and governed by hundreds of detailed rules.
caption: Medieval cylindrical arm-tefillin found in the Cairo genizah. However, in the earliest known archaeological finds, all 29 tefillin cases found were square or rectangular.[31]
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