A Sign Upon Your Arm

“And you shall bind them as a sign on your arm, and let them be frontlets between your eyes” Deuteronomy 6:8. This is the verse from which we derive the commandment of Tefillin.

In Hebrew both “between the eyes” and “on the arm” are very broad descriptions. Between the eyes can be anywhere from directly between the eyes to the top of the forehead, centered between the eyes, and on the arm can be anywhere from the hand to the bicep. So, according to Rambam, we know where to bind them based on an oral tradition. The head tefillin go on the head, just above the hair line, and the arm tefillin are bound on the bicep (Mishneh Torah). The sages also tell us to touch the tefillin and kiss our fingers when we mention the tefillin during the Shema (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandments 9).

I’m not going to go into detail about how they are made or why they are made that way, since I doubt any of us have the ability to make them ourselves. The portions contained in the tefillin are the four portions that contain the commandment to wear tefillin (Exodus 13:1-10, 11-16. Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21). Because of the sanctity of this commandment, we should treat them with the utmost respect. Our minds should stay focused on God and prayer, rather than ordinary things (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandment 8-9). Even though the Scriptural commandment does not set a specific time for binding tefillin, because of the sanctity of thought and action that it requires, the sages ruled that a person has fulfilled the command if he wears them during morning prayers. It is, however, permitted to wear them throughout the day (The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandment 9)

Nearly every halachic source emphasizes the importance of wearing tefilling during the Shema, that we treat them with respect (we don’t wear them while dressed immodestly, or while in the presence of immodesty, or in a restroom, etc). cf BT Berachot 14; Hilchot Tefillin; The Concise Book of Mitzvoth, Positive Commandments 8-9; Orach Chaim, Siman 32.

R. Yeshua also mentions an important point regarding tefillin in Matthew 23:5. Indirectly, he tells us not to make our tefillin (also known as phylacteries) broad. Their purpose is not to be shown off. In Deuteronomy 6:8 we are told that their purpose is to be a “sign,” a marker of the covenant between God and Israel. We should not mistake this for a sign to people, it is a sign between God and Israel, and it is only important that God knows about our practice of tefillin.