What is Tefillin?

Joshua Perez

2/28/2025

As more and more Christians are coming to the truth of keeping Torah, a common question asked is, “what is tefillin, and where can it be found in scripture?”. In this article I hope to answer this question, and show how it relates to the lives of God’s people. 

What is Tefillin?

“Tefillin” (תְּפִלִּין) in Hebrew comes from the root word “tefillah” (תְּפִלָּה), which means “prayer”. Tefillin (also known as phylacteries in English) are small leather boxes containing a parchment scroll with specific verses from the Torah written on them. The leather boxes themselves contain parchments with the four passages in scripture tefillin is commanded to the children of Israel, and are tied/wrapped around the body using leather straps:

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.' Moses said to the people, 'Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. On this day in March, you are about to go forth, in the month of Abib. It shall be when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall observe this rite in this month. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. You shall tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.' And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year" (Exodus 13:1–10 NASB1995)

"When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord. But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. It shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' then you shall say to him, 'With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. It happened, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.' So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt" (Exodus 13:11–16 NASB1995)

"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NASB1995)

"It shall come about if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, that I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you. You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth" (Deuteronomy 11:13–21 NASB1995)

How is Tefillin Made?

Kosher tefillin is made according to an extremely high standard of Jewish law. For example, the parchment scrolls and leather must be from a kosher animal, the ink must be kosher, and every parchment must be hand written by a sofer (Jewish scribe). There are a total of 1594 Hebrew characters in each tefillin box, if even one letter is missing, the tefillin cannot be kosher [1]. The head-tefillin is made of four separate compartments, each one containing a scroll with one of the four Torah selections; while the hand-tefillin has just one chamber, with all selections written on a single scroll. The head tefillin also has the Hebrew letter Shin (ש) on both sides, one with three branches, and the other with four [2], which is constructed on it by a craftsman known as a batim macher.

When is Tefillin Worn?

Tefillin is worn by Jewish men thirteen years and older. They are allowed to be worn anytime during the day, however the modern practice is to only wear them for the morning prayer, Shacharis [3]. They are not worn during the Sabbath, or any of the other high festivals; meaning they are only worn during weekdays. 

How do I Wear Tefillin?

The head Tefillin is worn like a crown on the head, just above the hairline. The arm tefillin is worn on the non-dominant arm, with the box placed on the bicep, facing the heart. The leather strap is wound upon the arm seven times going down toward the middle finger (as it is the farthest point away from the body) [4]. 

What does Tefillin Represent?

Tefillin is a “sign” between God and Israel that he has established his covenant with them forever. Tefillin can be seen as “the wedding band” for the symbolic marriage between God and his people. The wrapping of it around the body represents a binding of yourself to God, and your commitment to following his mitzvot (commandments). They also serve as a constant reminder that we are connected to our creator, in both mind and heart. Donning Tefillin every morning is a beautiful way to honor Hashem with our bodies as a sign of submission to his will.

Is Tefillin Actually Biblical?

Tefillin is certainly a Biblical commandment, and it finds grounds in Exodus 13:1–10, Exodus 13:11–16, Deuteronomy 6:4–9, and Deuteronomy 11:13–21. The Hebrew word for “sign”, as in, “you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand”, is ot. The Brown-Driver-Briggs defines the word as:

“Signs, memorials…signs on hands, etc., Exodus 13:9, 16; Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 11:18”

99% of the time ot is used in Scripture, it is in reference to something that is visible. Furthermore, the Hebrew word for “frontlets”, as in, “let them be frontlets between your eyes” is totapot. Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon defines the word as:

 “bands, fillets, especially those worn by the Jews at prayers, i.e. scrolls of parchments with sentences written on them”

The Hebrew text highly suggests that the commandment is in reference to a physical practice, and not just a symbolic “binding” (as in simply keeping God’s law in our mind and actions). Now, this is not to say that the original commandment doesn’t also imply to keep God’s law in our mind and actions; however, a spiritual application does not negate the physical practice. To give an example, Paul emphasizes that circumcision of the heart is more important to God than being physically circumcised (the spirit over the letter) [5]. 

“28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” (Romans 2:28-29)

Despite this, Paul is in no way implying that physical circumcision is irrelevant or is no longer a commandment to be followed. 

“25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law…” (Romans 2:25)

“1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect…” (Romans 3:1)

Likewise, while the spiritual application of Tefillin is certainly to keep God’s word in our mind and actions, physically wrapping Tefillin is still part of obedience to Hashem. The letter is not inherently bad, it only becomes bad if you are also neglecting the spirit. This is the exact issue Yeshua had with his Pharisee contemporaries.

“1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries (phylakteria) broad and enlarge the tassels of their garments (kraspeda)” (Matthew 23:1-5)

In Matthew 23, Yeshua in fact affirms the authority of the Pharisees, telling his disciples to observe everything they say to do. However, he also says not to follow their works, as they were hypocrites. One specific thing he rebuked them for was “broadening their phylacteries (tefillin) and enlarging the tassels of their garments (tzitzits)”. Tzitzits are another thing God explicitly commands us to wear [6]; and evidently, Yeshua is not telling us not to wear tzitzits. He is merely calling out the way these Pharisees were wearing them (to be seen by men, and not by God). Seeing as Yeshua groups tzitzits with tefillin in this verse, it is logical to conclude he considered them both to be commandments of God, and endorsed the practice of them so long as they are not being done to be seen by men. 

[1] Mishnah Menachot 3:7

[2] b.Menachot 34b-35b; Orach Chayim 32-39

[3] Orach Chayim 37:2

[4] Menachot 37b

[5] Romans 2:25-29; Coll. 2:11

[6] Numbers 15:37-41; Deuteronomy 22:12