A RARE PAIR OF POLISH SILVER TEFILLIN CASES. Lomza, Poland, 1883. Decorated on all four sides with checkerboard design The tops are engraved with sun shaped cartouches which are engraved in Hebrew for specific uses “for head” and “for hand” The base is engraved with a Hebrew dedication: “ABRAHAM LEIB SON OF YISROEL TZVI HALEVI ON THE 12TH OF AV 5643 (1883) HERE IN LOMZA” The first Jewish presence in Lomza appears to be in 1494 when the Jewish community owned a cemetery and a synagogue In 1556, King Zygmunt August banned Jews from living in Lomza It is documented that by 1808, Lomza had 157 Jews living there which was 10% of the population By 1822, there were 977 and in 1857 there were 2,608 In 1880, Rabbi Elizer Symcha Rabinowitz was appointed Rabbi of Lomza. 3” long.