Tefillin Bag

When Jews say their morning prayers they follow the Shema's instructions to 'Hold fast to them as a sign upon your hand, and let them be as reminders before your eyes. ' While they are praying they wear 2 special leather boxes called tefillin.

Each box has 4 prayers - the 3 paragraphs of the Shema and another paragraph from the bible which has the same theme -written inside. One box is strapped onto the left arm (the one on the side nearest the heart). Its straps are wound around the arm and hand so that it makes the shape of the Hebrew letter shin on the back of the hand. The other box is worn on the head so that it is resting on the person's forehead. These boxes are called TEFILLIN.

The 2 boxes are slightly different. The box for the arm has the prayers written on a single scroll of parchment. The one for the head has them written on 4 separate pieces of parchment. Each prayer has its own compartment in the box. The box for the arm has one long strap. The box for the head has two straps which are meant to hang down in front of the man's shoulders, one on each side.