Jewish prisoners in Berlin's central prison will now be able to don tefillin (phylacteries) with a top-of-the-line pair brought specially for their use.
Bringing tefillin into prison grounds requires special approval, which Berlin's Justice Minister Derek Berent granted at the request of Berlin Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, who requested as well the distribution of books on Judaism.
Rabbi Teichtal sat with Berent and explained the special significance of tefillin in Jewish life.
"Countless Jews all over the world place tefillin on their head and arm during the morning prayers, every day," he said.
"Previously, it was forbidden to bring Jewish objects into the prisons, and every time we wanted to do so, we had to lobby for it. This permission to continuously bring a pair of tefillin into the prison is great news for Jews who, unfortunately, were forced to find themselves behind bars."