What are Tefillin?
Tefillin (also called totafot [in the Bible] or phylacteries [from Greek word]), are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are typically worn on both the arm and forehead of Orthodox-Jewish males over the age of 13 during morning prayer.
Where did this idea come from? There are several places in the Torah where its seems to mention the obligation of tefillin, but they are a bit vague. One verse is Exodus 13:9 - "And it shall be for a sign for you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand did the LORD bring you out of Egypt."
Another is Deuteronomy 11:18 which reads, "You shall put these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall tie them for a sign upon your arm, and they shall be as totafot between your eyes."
Please pray for the Jewish people. Many of the Orthodox seek God daily through prayer and other religious traditions. They are very devoted in their prayers and have so much zeal. Yet, they still do not know Messiah Jesus. Pray the veil will be lifted from their eyes and that in their seeking, they will come to know Yeshua!
Our purpose in sharing these tidbits is not to imply that these traditions have to be followed by believers in Jesus/Messianic Jews, but in order to help others better learn about and understand their Jewish neighbors and friends so that they can better build bridges and connections with them.