Tefillin

Tefillin ( תפילין təfilin, singular Hebrew תפילה təfila " prayer " ), German phylacteries, sometimes also called phylacteries, are a pair of black fitted with leather belts small leather phylacteries, which, on parchment handwritten scrolls with texts from the Torah, the five books of Moses included. Tefillin are of religious Jewish men - worn on weekdays at morning prayer ( Shacharit Hebrew ), - in Reform Judaism partly by women. The hand part (Hebrew tefillin shel yad ) is located on the upper arm and the straps are wrapped around the arm, hand, and fingers, the head part (Hebrew tefillin shel rosh ) is worn over the forehead. The application of tefillin serves as a reminder to observe the commandments of God. Their shape, the way you wear them and the content of phylacteries is defined in the Talmud.

The Tefillin

Tefillin, consisting of the head part (Hebrew tefillin shel rosh ) and the handle (Hebrew tefillin shel yad ), each a black leather case, have (Hebrew Bayit, pl. Batim ) with the hand-written on parchment Torah sections 2 Book Genesis 13:8-10 and from 13.11 to 16, and 5th Book of Moses 6:4-9 and from 11.13 to 21, to apply to the provision (Heb. Mitzvah ), tefillin, goes back and black leather straps (Heb. retzu'ot ). Both the leather like the parchment must come from ritually pure animals. The phylacteries of hand and head Tefillin differ in that in the hand - tefillin, the four sections, written in the order in which they appear in the Bible on a parchment are housed in a chamber while the leather housing of the head Tefillin is divided into four chambers into which the Torah portions are inserted divided into four rolls of parchment, since the Middle Ages usually also in the biblical order. The Hebrew script is the same as that which is used for Torah scrolls.

The Shema, the Jewish creed, and fifth book of Genesis 11.13-21 ELB include the call to bind " these words " as a sign on your hand and forehead, and also in two other places in the second book of Exodus 13, 1-10 ELB ELB 13.11-16 and let them serve as signs on the hand and forehead.

" Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates "

This call was literally, not understood by the vast majority of the Jewish Bible commentators figuratively. The Talmud is largely enshrined how, when and where tefillin must be worn or stored, in the rabbinic literature, the designs were partially developed, which resulted in minor regional differences have developed.

The wearing of tefillin is attested since antiquity. Since the modern era tefillin are worn only by adult men ( aged 13 years ), now mostly only by observant Jews of the orthodox and conservative directions. In antiquity and the Middle Ages, possibly even in modern times, women placed sporadically tefillin, a tradition which was resumed in the 20th century by women who belong to the egalitarian Reform Judaism.

Kabbalists believe that the tefillin are placed on the head to the forehead to symbolize the spiritual union of the soul with the Creator. In the Tree of Life is the Kether (Crown). The wrapping of each passive hand stand for the side of the ego and selfishness which are to be fettered by the tefillin so that the good side can rise to God.

The Tefillin is prescribed by the Torah

Donning the Tefillin

• The hand - tefillin are applied so that the prayer capsule is at the biceps, and the straps are placed seven times around the " weaker" arm and then around the hand. Right-handed bear the tefillin on the left arm, left hand on the right arm.
• The head tefillin are held with a leather strap over the forehead and fastened at the back with a knot; the two ends of the belt to be worn over the shoulder hanging forward.

The prayer capsule of the head tefillin bears the Hebrew letter shin ( ש ), for " Shaddai (Hebrew שדי ) ," German Almighty, in the hand - tefillin, the word שדי ( Shaddai ) is formed from the belt.