Putting on tefillin Print

Tefillin (Israeli Hebrew: תְּפִלִּין‎ / תְּפִילִּין‎; Ashkenazic pronunciation: [tfiˈlin]; Modern Hebrew pronunciation: [tefiˈlin]), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews during weekday and Sunday morning prayers. In Orthodox and traditional communities, they are worn solely by men, while some Reform and Conservative (Masorti) communities allow them to be worn by either sex. In Jewish law (halacha), women are exempt from most time-dependent positive commandments, which include tefillin, and unlike other time-dependent positive commandments, most halachic authorities prohibit from fulfilling this commandment.