Tefillin, is one of the most significant commandments of the Torah and one has that been observed meticulously throughout the Jewish history. In the Book of Deuteronomy, in the Shema Yisrael prayer, we are commanded to “you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes”. It is a commandment that is precious to the hearts of the Jewish People, one that people have sacrificed themselves in the name of. It is also The actual Tefillin consist of two leather boxes which are attached to two leather straps. These straps are used to bind the boxes onto the arm and forehead. In these boxes are four passages from the Bible, taken from Exodus and Deuteronomy. The four sections are: Consecrate to Me every first-born' (Exodus 13:1-10)
'And when the L-rd has brought you' (Exodus 13:11-16)
'Shema Yisrael - Hear, O Israel' (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
'If, then, you obey' (Deuteronomy 11:13-21)
The prayer is handwritten and there are two traditional methods for writing the tefilllot, the prayer, for the tefillin. One method is the Rashi method and the other one is Rabbeinu Tam. Rashi was in fact the grandfather of Rabbeuinu Tam. Today we go by the Rashi method which means that the four passages are placed according to their appearance in the bible. The tefillin is donned for the morning prayer and is worn throughout the morning prayer. It is not worn throughout the day. When wearing the tefillin one must think good and clean thoughts and not let the mind stray or to act in an immature manner. The box is placed on the forehead to show that you think with your head and you are connected to the Jewish people, the tradition and are that you are absorbed in Torah learning. .the box on the hand represents action and implementation of Jewish traditions and commandments.
When a boy turns 13 and celebrates his bar mitzvah, he begins to fulfill the commandment and wears tefillin.Ashkenazi Jews will put them on while standing whilst the Sephardi Jews with generally sit down when putting them on. Overtime the quality of the parchment and verses written can begin to deteriorate and can become unkosher so to speak so it is highly important that every few years one takes them to be checked properly by a stam sofer. They are kept in a bag for protection and there is a custom to keep them in a beautifully designed bag to celebrate the mitzvah. Women are exempt from performing this commandment of tefillin though in recent years it has begun to gain traction amongst the conservative Jews.