tefillin

1 9.9

Two small black leather boxes with prayer scrolls worn by Jewish men during weekday morning prayers

noun
/təˈfɪlɪn/

Jargon

: tefilín

The whole bit—the tefillin in the morning, davening three times a day, two sets of dishes, timers on all the lights for Sabbath, b'ruchas like they were going out of style.
tefillin strap
wear tefillin

Examples

Before the service started, he took out his tefillin and placed it gently on the table.
Do you know what the purpose of praying with tefillin is?

Simchas and Sorrows (2022)
Each morning, before he went to school, Lebowitz put on tefillin.

Blog text (32)
"So tell me, Shmulik," the rabbi said, "when was the last time you put on tefillin since your bar mitzvah?"

Fiction book (1995)
Rather than reciting some nature-related Psalms, I removed my tefillin and joined my community.

Blog text (27)
During the morning prayers, Jewish men traditionally wear tefillin on their forehead and left arm.
He carefully wrapped the tefillin strap around his arm before beginning his prayers.

Synonyms

phylactery

vstefillin

1 9.9

Small leather boxes holding parts of the Hebrew Bible, worn on the forehead and arm during morning prayers

is the same ritual items but gives color and weekday morning use

Surface Forms

tefillin singular

tefillins plural

Etymology

Tefillin comes from Hebrew and is related to the word tefillah, which means 'prayer'. A helpful way to remember tefillin is 'prayer boxes' because they are small leather boxes worn on the forehead and arm during weekday morning prayers.