D'varim 6:8

[alon]

8. It is a positive commandment to bind t’fillin (phylacteries) upon one’s hand

9. It is a positive commandment to put t’fillin on the head

Devarim 6:8 (OJB) And thou shalt bind them for an ot upon thine hand, and they shall be as totafos (ornaments [Shemot 13:16, Shabbos 57a]) between thine eyes.

Deuteronomy 6:8 (CJB) Tie them on your hand as a sign, put them at the front of a headband around your forehead,

Deuteronomy 6:8 (ESV) You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

The place to put them is on the biceps, at the raised part ... (&) at the spot where an infant’s skull is soft.

In the t’fillin there are four sections of scripture written [on parchment]: Sh’moth 13:1-10 and 11:16; D’varim 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. For they contain acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of Heaven, the rememberance of the miracles and wonders that the blessed God wrought for our forefathers when He took them out of Egypt, and [the fact that] He brought us near to His service and worship , blessed be His name. In the t’fillin on the hand those four sections are in one [overall] compartment; in the t’fillin of the head they are in four small [narrow] compartments. …

T’fillin require a clean body: which means one must be careful not to emit any flatulence as long as they are on him. … A person has the duty to touch the t’fillin [occasionally] … that he should not take his mind off of them. … as long as the t’fillin are on his arm and his head, he should be humble and God-fearing, and should not be drawn into frivolity or idle talk, nor should he entertain bad thoughts, but should only turn his heart to words of truth. …

[alon]

Ours are made with flat packets, however the scriptures are each rolled up tightly and tied, then inserted one at a time and sewn in. So unlike those traditionally worn by Jewish men, which are box like, ours fit in the hand and hang easily just above and between the eyes. Not to disrespect what the Jews do, however we wanted to make ours like the first cen CE believers would have worn. Messianic Judaism is, as much as anything else, an effort to take our worship back to where the believers of the first cen. were at. We meet in a Messianic synagogue, just as they did. We interpret the scriptures from a Jewish perspective as much as possible. And we bind t'fillin like the ones found at Qumran. These are more likely what Rav Sha'ul and Yeshua Himself would have used. We can't know exactly how they bound them, and each being a rabbi and a sage would possibly have had their own halacha anyhow. We just do the best we can based on the physical evidence, historical writings and religious documents (Talmud) as directed by halacha of our own sect of MJ.

Dan C

edit: I generally wash before donning t'fillin; but holding gas 'till I pop ... not sure where that comes from. I don't write this, I just copy it from my little mitzvoth book ...