You don’t have to be much of a theologian to see how different tefillin are from most of the other signposts traditional Jews erect to identify themselves: A beautiful bit of hardware, it requires deed first and only then contemplation. The prayer, the meditation, come second; first come the leather straps.
Liel Leibovitz, “Tefillin the Love”, Tablet (30 December 2015) [http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/196231/tefillin-the-love]