Editing Tefillin (section)

{{Short description|Leather boxes containing parchment with Torah verses}}
{{Infobox Halacha
|image=[[File:A set of Tefillin.jpg|280px]]
|caption=''A set of tefillin includes the arm-tefillah (left) and the head-tefillah''
|verse={{Unbulleted list
 | {{bibleverse||Exodus|13:9|HE}}
 | {{bibleverse||Exodus|13:16|HE}}
 | {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|6:8|HE}}
 | {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|11:18|HE}}
 }}
|talmud={{Unbulleted list
 | Zevachim 37b
 | Sanhedrin 4b
 | Menachot 34b
 | Kiddushin 36a
 }}
|mishnah=[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/b/h/h52.htm Menachot 3:7]
|rambam = [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/2301.htm ''Tefillin, Mezuzah, veSefer Torah'' ch 5-6]
|sa = [[Orach Chayim]] [https://archive.today/20130416005106/http://www.torah.org/advanced/shulchan-aruch/classes/orachchayim/chapter3a.html 25-48]}}
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar}}
'''Tefillin''' ([[Modern Hebrew language|Israeli Hebrew]]: {{script/Hebrew|תְּפִלִּין}} / {{script/Hebrew|תְּפִילִּין}}; <small>[[Ashkenazim|Ashkenazic]] pronunciation:</small> {{IPA|yi|tfiˈlin|}}; <small>[[Modern Israeli Hebrew|Modern Hebrew]] pronunciation:</small> {{IPA|he|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 Judaism|Orthodox]] and traditional communities, they are worn solely by men, while some [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative (Masorti)]] communities allow them to be worn by Jewish adults regardless of gender.  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 them from fulfilling this commandment.<ref>Rama OC 38:3 and commentaries there.</ref>

Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form (the singular being "tefillah"), it is often used as a singular as well.<ref>{{Cite book
| author-link=Sol Steinmetz
| last = Steinmetz
| first = Sol
| title = Dictionary of Jewish usage: a guide to the use of Jewish terms
| publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
| year = 2005
| page = 165
| isbn = 978-0-7425-4387-4}}</ref> The arm-tefillah (or ''shel yad'' [literally "of the hand"]) is placed on the upper (non-dominant) arm, and the strap wrapped around the forelimb, hand and middle finger; while the head-tefillah (or ''shel rosh'' [literally "of the head"]) is placed between the eyes at the boundary of the forehead and hair.  They are intended to fulfill the [[Torah]]'s instructions to maintain a continuous "sign" and "remembrance" of [[the Exodus]] from Egypt. While historically men used to wear tefillin all day,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-04 |title=407. Times to Wear (and Not Wear) Tefillin - HaShoneh Halachos 2: Mishneh Torah |url=https://outorah.org/p/30968/ |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=OU Torah}}</ref> this is no longer common. The general practice today is to remove them following services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cowen |first=Alexander |title=Some Laws of Tefillin |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/81815/jewish/Some-Laws-of-Tefillin.htm}}</ref>

The biblical verses often cited as referring to tefillin are obscure. [[Deuteronomy]] {{bibleverse-nb|Deuteronomy|11:18|HE}}, for instance, does not designate explicitly what specifically to "bind upon your arm", and the definition of "''totafot'' between your eyes" is not obvious. These details are delineated in the [[Oral Torah]].  At least as early as the {{CE|1st century|link=y}}, many Jews understood the verses literally and wore physical tefillin, as shown by archaeological finds at [[Qumran]]<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/nine-tiny-new-dead-sea-scrolls-come-to-light/ Uncovered in Jerusalem, 9 tiny unopened Dead Sea Scrolls]</ref> and a reference in [[Matthew 23]] of the Christian [[New Testament]]. However, [[Karaite Judaism]] understands the verses to be [[metaphor]]ical.

[[File:Tefillin worn by a man at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|Man wearing arm- and head-tefillin at the [[Western Wall]] in 2009]] <!-- Here we want a high quality non-controversial picture of a person wearing tefillin. Women and Israeli soldiers wearing tefillin, as pictured below, are two "controversial". This picture is maybe not ideal because of the busy background and man's untraditional dress, but it's the best I could find for now -->