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Tefillin (phylacteries) are two small square boxes made out of leather from a kosher animal. Inside are parchments with four biblical passages: Shema, Ve-haya Im Shamo’a (both of which are in a mezuza), “Consecrate to Me every first born” (Exodus 13:1-10), and “When the Lord has brought you into the Land” (ibid. 11-17). These passages cover several fundamentals of faith: the exodus from Egypt, the value of the Land of Israel, and the reward for observing the commandments. The scribe should write the passages with a quill on parchment while having the holy purpose in mind (“for the holiness of tefillin”).
One of the two tefillin boxes is placed on the arm and is called the shel yad (“of the arm”). In this box, the four passages are written on one parchment. The second box is placed on the head and is called the shel rosh (“of the head”). It has four individual compartments, one for each passage written on its own parchment. Attached to the boxes are black leather straps, used to bind (tighten) the boxes on the arm or head.
Tefillin are called a sign, because binding them reminds us we are bound to God, both as children and as servants. (Tefillin are not worn on Shabbat and holidays, because the sanctity of the day already serves as a sign we are bound to God.) They are also a type of crown of glory revealing God’s holiness to the world. Similar to the mezuza, tefillin too are written on parchment made of animal skin, to show that sanctity and the spiritual aspects of life are also connected to the material aspects.
