A Jewish man praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

A Jewish man praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. He wears phylacteries that come from a Jewish tradition dating to the second century BC. They were required to be worn at morning prayers and festivals but not on Sabbaths. A phylactery, or frontlet, is a small black leather (or parchment) case containing four OT Scriptures which is attached to a long single leather strap by a loop, forming two long straps on either side of the loop.