TefillinThis morning, my oldest nephew put on Tefillin (תפילין) for the first time. It took place at his elementary day school, the same place I put on Tefillin for the first time. But yes, times have changed a bit since then at that school.

What is Tefillin? The picture above shows what they look like. Wikipedia has a bunch of pictures showing people wearing Tefillin. Orthodox Jewish males above the age of 13 where it every day except for Shabbos and special holidays. We wear them during morning services.

My nephew turns 13 in about a month. He will have his Bar Mitzvah when he is 13 in Israel. Yes, my trip and the SphinnCon Israel event coincide with the Bar Mitzvah for a reason. It is customary for a Jewish boy to put on Tefillin about a month prior to his Bar Mitzvah to learn how to properly wear and hold the responsibilities of the mitzvah.

In any event - they had some dunkin donuts at the end. :)