Following the Tefillin Controversy: 7 Facts You Didn't Know About the Enchanting Mitzvah

1. It is a positive commandment from the Torah to bind tefillin on the arm and place tefillin on the head, every weekday. According to Jewish law, tefillin are worn during daylight hours on weekdays, but not on Shabbat or holidays. In the past, it was common to wear tefillin throughout the day, but nowadays the custom is to wear them only during the morning prayer (Shacharit). Tefillin consist of two independent units: "tefillin for the arm" and "tefillin for the head."

2. One who wears tefillin must be especially careful not to compromise their sanctity while wearing them. This careful approach led to the custom of beginning to wear tefillin only near the age of Bar Mitzvah, unlike other commandments which children are taught to observe from a young age.

3. The tefillin contain four Torah passages: "Sanctify to Me" (Exodus 13:1-10), "And it shall be when He brings you" (Exodus 13:11-16), "Hear O Israel" (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), and "And it shall come to pass if you listen" (Deuteronomy 11:13-21).

In each of these four passages, the commandment of tefillin is mentioned, and our Sages determined that these passages themselves should be written and placed inside the tefillin (Levush). Additionally, the first two passages ("Sanctify" and "And it shall be when He brings you") discuss the sanctity of Israel and accepting the yoke of Heaven following the Exodus from Egypt. The last two passages ("Hear O Israel" and "And it shall come to pass") deal with the love of Hashem and accepting the yoke of Heaven through understanding that Hashem is our God and He is One, and through Hashem's providence over the world.

4. The Torah states that tefillin are placed on the arm: "For with a strong hand Hashem brought you out of Egypt" (Exodus 13:9). The hand characterizes a person's strength. It can lead a person to feel "my strength and the might of my hand" and disconnect from Hashem.

The tefillin are a sign of Hashem's Torah within us. The tefillin placed on our arms remind us of Hashem's strong hand. In other words, our actions in every generation and in every deed come from Hashem's power.

The head tefillin express that all our spiritual strengths flow from Hashem (see further in Sefer HaChinuch 421-422, and in Shulchan Aruch 25:5).

In the arm tefillin, all passages are written on a single piece of parchment. Each passage is written in seven lines. In the head tefillin, each passage is written on a separate piece of parchment, and each passage is inserted into a separate compartment in this order (from left to right, from the perspective of the wearer): "Sanctify," "And it shall be when He brings you," "And it shall come to pass," "Hear O Israel."

5. Rabbi Yochanan said, whoever wishes to fully accept the yoke of Heaven, should relieve himself, wash his hands, put on tefillin, recite the Shema, and pray. And whoever relieves himself, washes his hands, puts on tefillin, recites the Shema, and prays, Scripture considers it as if he built an altar and offered a sacrifice upon it, as it says: "I will wash my hands in purity and circle Your altar, Hashem" (Tractate Berachot, 14).

The tefillin are a testimony and proof to all nations that the Divine Presence rests upon us, and they fear us, as it is said: "All the peoples of the earth will see that the name of Hashem is called upon you, and they will fear you," and our Sages interpreted (Menachot 35): "These are the tefillin on the head."

6. Our Sages greatly emphasized the reward for one who wears tefillin. It is stated in Tractate Menachot (page 44), Reish Lakish said: Whoever wears tefillin will have long life, as it is said: "Hashem, by these things they live," and Rashi explained: "Those who bear the name of Hashem upon them in tefillin shall live." Rava said, whoever wears tefillin, wraps himself in tzitzit, recites the Shema, and prays, is assured of being worthy of the World to Come. And Abaye said, I guarantee that the fire of Gehinom has no power over him, and Rav Papa said, I guarantee that all his sins are forgiven (Shimmusha Rabba). "Whoever wears tefillin and wraps himself in tzitzit, it is as if he fulfilled all 613 commandments" (Zohar, page 77). "Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says, whoever has tefillin on his head, tefillin on his arm, tzitzit on his garment, and a mezuzah at his doorway, is assured that he will not sin, as it is said (Ecclesiastes 4:12): 'And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.'" (Menachot 43)

7. According to the Kuzari (Third Essay, sections 1-30), tefillin are a means to connect a person's consciousness to the Divine matter, as they contain writings about the unity of Hashem, reward and punishment, and a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt, which is irrefutable evidence of Hashem's connection to His creations, His providence over them, and His knowledge of their deeds. Therefore, tefillin are placed on the head—the place of thought and memory—and on the arm, corresponding to the heart, which is the source of strength.

Maimonides (Laws of Tefillin, Chapter 4) attributes great influence to wearing tefillin on a person's behavior, writing: "The sanctity of tefillin is very great, for as long as the tefillin are on a person's head and on his arm, he is humble and God-fearing, not drawn to frivolity or idle talk, does not contemplate evil thoughts, but directs his heart to matters of truth and righteousness."

According to Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 421), although a person has a soul and intellect, by nature, having a body, he is drawn after desires and impulses. He needs reminders and guardians to help him remember that he has a soul and divine image, and the tefillin bound to the arm and head are part of these reminders. The arm tefillin so that we refrain from wrongdoing with our hands, and the head tefillin, so that we do not stray after our eyes and the desires of our hearts. Priests and Levites during their service in the Temple were exempt from tefillin.

According to the Maharal of Prague (Netzach Yisrael, Chapter 7, pp. 47-48), tefillin are a sacred object whose purpose is to cause a person to cleave to Hashem, by being placed against his centers of vitality—the brain and heart—infusing him with life energy, and affecting a person similar to a purifying mikveh. He further connects sanctity with beauty, suggesting this is why tefillin are called 'glory.'