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Why do Jews wear Tefillin?

The putting on of Tefillin is a mitzvah ordained by the Torah and mentioned, among other passages, in the Shema Yisrael itself. Tefillin consist of two small leather boxes containing parchments with four passages from the Torah. One is placed on the arm, directed towards the heart, and the other on the head, above the forehead. According to our Sages, this arrangement has a profound meaning: the Tefillin on the head are associated with the intellect, while those on the arm, placed towards the heart, are linked to emotions. The straps that extend along the arm and hand also symbolize the passage from thoughts and feelings to action. By putting on Tefillin, a person expresses the desire to dedicate their mind, heart, and actions to the service of God. Thus, putting on Tefillin is not only fulfilling a commandment of the Torah. It is also establishing a daily spiritual bond with God, seeking to direct thoughts, feelings, and actions to His will.

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Curiosities

Inside the Tefillin are four passages from the Torah. They deal with some of the foundations of Judaism: the Exodus from Egypt, the transmission of the Torah to future generations, the oneness of God proclaimed in the Shema Yisrael, and the responsibility of the Jewish people before the Creator. However, there is a surprising difference between the two sets of Tefillin. In the Tefillin worn on the arm, the four passages are written on a single parchment. The Tefillin worn on the head, on the other hand, have four separate compartments, each containing its own parchment with one of the four passages. In this way, the Tefillin unite physical and spiritual elements: small sets of Tefillin and parchments made according to extremely precise rules become instruments for fulfilling a mitzvah of the Torah and strengthening the connection between the person and God.

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Today in History

12/8/1998 – Swiss banks agree to pay $1,25 billion to the ...

Swiss banks agree to pay $1,25 billion to Holocaust survivors to settle claims over their assets. The banks had held money belonging to Jews who died in the Holocaust and accounts of Nazis who had enriched themselves by seizing Jewish possessions.

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Brazil

Symposium brings together researchers from Brazil, Israel, and the United States...

The meeting, promoted by Unibes Cultural in partnership with CEJ/USP, CEJA, and the Association of Friends of Bar-Ilan University, will address the history, literature, memory, and artistic expressions of Sephardic communities. On August 19th and 20th, Unibes Cultural will host the symposium "The Sephardic Legacy: Memory, Literature, and Artistic Expressions," a meeting that brings together Brazilian and international researchers to discuss different aspects of the history, culture, and intellectual production of Sephardic communities. The initiative is conceived by the Association of Friends of Bar-Ilan University, the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of São Paulo (CEJ/USP), and the Center for Jewish Studies of the Amazon (CEJA). Over two days, the symposium offers an interdisciplinary overview of the Sephardic presence in the world and in Brazil, addressing topics such as memory, literature, historiography, cultural heritage, the Ladino language, and artistic expressions. The program includes conferences, panel discussions, and book launches, promoting dialogue between researchers, students, and the public interested in Jewish studies and the history of migration. Among the guests are Dov Cohen, professor at Bar-Ilan University and one of the leading experts on Sephardic literature and culture; historian Daniela Levy, PhD in Social History from USP; researcher Adriana Abuhab Bialski, PhD candidate in Foreign Languages ​​and Translation at USP and associate researcher at the Center for Jewish Studies at USP (CEJ/USP); historian Elias Salgado, director of the Center for Jewish Studies of the Amazon (CEJA); and researcher Olivio Guedes, postdoctoral fellow in History and Art Criticism at USP.  The program also includes the launch of the anthology from the III International Congress of Sephardic Studies, held in 2025 at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon, and the novel Almalih, the audacious Sephardic, by Elias Salgado, followed by a book signing session. Descendants of the Jewish communities that lived on the Iberian Peninsula until the end of the 15th century, the Sephardic Jews preserved, after their dispersal, religious traditions, cultural practices, artistic expressions, and the Ladino language, constituting a heritage that remains alive in different parts of the world and also forms part of Brazilian cultural formation. The symposium seeks to broaden the debate on this legacy and bring academic research closer to the public interested in Jewish history, literature, and culture. Check out the full schedule on the Unibes Cultural website.  Event: Symposium The Sephardic Legacy: Memory, Literature and Artistic Expressions Dates: August 19th and 20th, from 18 PM to 21 PM Location: Unibes Cultural Address: Rua Oscar Freire, 2500 | São Paulo - SP | 80 m from Sumaré metro station (Line 2 – Green) Age rating: 16 years old Free admission Tickets: https://tickets.oneboxtds.com/unibescultural Contacts: comunicacao@unibescultural.org.br | Phone: 11-99429-5111

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