Pair of Tefillin (or phylacteries as they are termed in English) comprising two square black leather boxes with straps. Tefillin are worn by Jewish men for morning prayers. One box (the "Head Tefillin") is placed upon the head above the forehead, so as to rest upon the cerebrum. The other ("Hand Tefillin") is tied on the left arm so that it rests against the heart, and the strap is wound around the left hand and middle finger. Inside the boxes are four sets of biblical verses (Parshiot) on consecrated parchment (Batim), witten by a Scribe (Sofer). These Tefillin were found among the possessions of David Rodinsky, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants who lived for many years in a room above the Princelet Street Synagogue in Spitalfiels. In 1969 he mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind most of his belongings.
