Simanim 28-31 Taking off the Tefillin
Mishna Berura
Yeshivat Har Etzion
SHIUR #17: Simanim
28-31
Pages 77 -
80
by Rav Yosef Zvi
Rimon
SIMAN 28:
TAKING OFF THE TEFILLIN
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TOUCHING THE TEFILLIN (SE'IF 1):
Menachot 36b:
"Said Rabba bar R. Huna, 'One must touch his tefillin
at all times, and even more so look at them. Regarding the tzitz (the kohen gadol's
forehead-plate) which has in it only one name of God, the Torah says, "It must
be on his forehead at all times," (Shemot 28:38) - i.e., that he not take
his mind off it, how much more so tefillin in which the names of God appears
many times!'"
[You can count up the number of names of God in
tefillin, or alternatively look at the Rambam Hilkhot Tefillin
4:14.]
THE TIME OF TOUCHING: The Beit Yosef in siman 25, citing the
Ran, states that in Talmudic times it was known when the tefillin must be
touched, but nowadays we do not know.
The Bach says that one should simply touch them each time he remembers,
since it is impractical to have one's hand upon them the whole time that they
are worn. See M.B. 28:1 for his
ruling; but see also 28:2 and 44:3
for the times when one need not touch them (and cf. the Machatzit Ha-shekel and
the Levushei Serad in siman 44).
[There are some who have the custom of touching their tefillin at certain
points in the tefilla. See the
Shulchan Arukh here; M.B.
61:39; M.B. 25:13; Ta'amei Ha-minhagim pp. 548-549. And there are those who have the custom
to kiss them while touching them - see the Kitzur Shulchan Arukh
10:17.]
TOUCHING THE SHEL YAD FIRST:
Yoma 33b:
"Said Rava, 'We can learn this from that which Resh
Lakish [who says that one must not pass up a mitzva] said: One should not pass over his tefillin
shel yad. What must he do? Go from the tefillin shel yad to the
tefillin shel rosh.'"
The Rishonim debate the meaning of this gemara. Two of these interpretations were
accepted as halakha - one in se'if 1 and one in se'if 2. The first interpretation is that of the
Rosh (15) and the Mordekhai (12, citing Tosafot): One must not pass over the touching of
the shel yad in order to first touch the shel rosh; rather, he should touch the shel yad
first.
The second interpretation will be discussed below under the heading
"Arranging the tefillin in their bag."
TAKING OFF THE TEFILLIN (SE'IF 2):
Menachot 36b:
"When one takes [them] off, he takes off the shel rosh
and then the shel yad... From where
do we know this? Said Rabba, 'R.
Huna explained it to me: The verse
says,"And they will be totafot between your eyes" - all the while they are
between your eyes they will be two" ["they" implies
two].'"
The procedure is as follows:
Before taking off the shel rosh, one should remove the three loops from
his finger (M.B. 28:5). There is a
Kabbalistic reason behind this (but see Shulchan Arukh Ha-rav 28:6 where a
different minhag is mentioned; and
Peri Megadim, Eshel Avraham. And if
he needs to pass gas he should take off the shel rosh before taking the loops
off his finger (because the prohibition of
passing gas, according to some Rishonim, relates only to the shel
rosh).
The Shulchan Arukh states, "One should take off his tefillin shel rosh
while standing." Ashkenazim take
off their shel yad while standing as well (M.B. 28:6).
Regarding taking tefillin off during kaddish, see M.B. 25:56 and M.B.
56:1.
ARRANGING THE TEFILLIN IN THEIR BAG (SE'IF
2):
This is the second interpretation of the gemara
mentioned above.
Rabbeinu Tam (cited in the Rosh and the Mordekhai) maintains that one may
not put his tefillin shel yad in his bag underneath the shel rosh, since when he
puts them on again, he will come across the shel rosh first. He must, therefore, place his shel yad
over his shel rosh.
According to the Mishna Berura 28:7, the accepted minhag is to place them
side by side - the shel rosh on the left and the shel yad on the right. However, the Ot Chayim (28:3) reverses
this order - putting the shel rosh on the right and the shel yad on the left -
since a right-handed person will naturally stretch his hand out toward the left,
and thus he will reach the shel yad first.
(The Kaf Ha-chayim 28:14 says that the most important thing in this
matter is to be consistent.)
One should be careful not to take off his shel yad until he replaces his
shel rosh in the bag, in order to make sure that each will occupy its proper
place (M.B. 28:8).
SIMAN 29
********
THE BERAKHA UPON REMOVAL OF
TEFILLIN:
The gemara in Nidda (51b and Yerushalmi 2:3) relates that bnei Ma'arava,
upon taking off their tefillin, would recite the berakha". . . who has
sanctified us with His mitzvot and commanded us to keep His laws (lishmor
chukav)." They were of the opinion
that the removal of tefillin constituted a mitzva, since they thought that the
Bible mandates that night is not the time for tefillin and thus one who wears
tefillin at night transgresses a positive commandment, as it is written, "You
will keep this law at its designated time from year to year ["mi-yamim yamima"]"
(Shemot 13:10) - i.e., days and not nights.
However, this opinion is not accepted (Tosafot there, Rambam, and
Shulchan Arukh). We rule that
biblically, tefillin may be worn at night, but the Sages decreed that we not do
so lest one come to pass gas.
Regarding Shabbat, it is a subject of debate whether it is forbidden to
wear tefillin or merely unnecessary, since Shabbat itself is an "ot" - a sign -
and none other is needed (tefillin are also referred to as "ot" in the
Torah). In practice, no berakha is
recited when taking off tefillin even on erev Shabbat, since if one puts on
tefillin on Shabbat not for the sake of the mitzva, all would agree that there
is no prohibition involved (and therefore there is no mitzva in taking them off
erev Shabbat).
SIMAN 30:
THE TIME TO PUT ON TEFILLIN
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MORNING (SE'IF 1):
The gemara in Berakhot 9b, in discussing the beginning time of keriyat
shema in the morning, states, "Others say, 'From when one sees his friend at a
distance of four amot and can recognize him.'" And further on, Abbaye says, "For
tefillin [the halakha is] like 'others'" - meaning that this is the beginning
time for tefillin.
The Yerushalmi in Berakhot 1:2 discusses the "friend" who is to be
identified: "If it is one who is
familiar to him, then even at a great distance he will recognize him, and if it
one who is unfamiliar to him, then even close up he will not recognize him! So, instead, we establish that it is one
who is partially familiar, e.g., one who occasionally stays at an
inn."
The Shulchan Arukh accepts both the statement of Abbaye and the
conclusion of the Yerushalmi as halakha.
When is the time of "recognizing"?
In Sefer Eretz Yisrael (2:4) R. Tukatchinsky writes that the minhag in
NIGHT (SE'IF 2):
Eiruvin 96a:
"It was taught, 'You will keep this law ["chuka"] at its
designated time from year to year ["mi-yamim yamima"]' (Shemot 13:10) - days and
not nights, these are the words of R. Yosi Ha-glili. R. Akiva says, '"Chuka" is said only for
Pesach.'"
In other words, according to R. Yosi Ha-glili the Torah determines that
night is not the time for tefillin, while according to R. Akiva it
is.
Most Rishonim rule that night is indeed an appropriate time for tefillin,
but a rabbinic decree prohibits donning them at night lest one pass gas while
wearing them (Rosh 17, and others).
(The Rambam, while believing that night is biblically not a time for
tefillin, still admits that one need not take them off at night; however, one may not put them on at
night.)
WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN:
Menachot 36a:
"If one took them off to enter the bathroom... and the
sun set, he may not put them on again."
This indicates that one may keep his tefillin on, but may not don them at
night (see the Rambam mentioned above).
The gemara (36b) goes on to relate that Ravina, while in the presence of
R. Ashi, did not take off his tefillin when it got dark. He explained himself by saying that he
was interested in keeping them
safe. Ravina, though, labelled this
a ruse, saying that he could tell that R. Ashi had no intention of guarding his tefillin. In other words, he believed that one may
indeed leave his tefillin on at night, but it falls under the rubric of "halakha
ve-ein morin ken" - though it is halakha, we do not instruct others to act in
this way. It is for this reason
that R. Ashi offered his "excuse."
See the ruling of the Shulchan Arukh in se'if 2.
A PRACTICAL APPLICATION:
Soldiers in the army who know that they will not be able to put on
tefillin during the day should put them on the night before, reciting a berakha
in order to demonstrate the seriousness of their intention to fulfill this
mitzva. However, the Igrot Moshe
(OC, 10) says that a talmid chakham should put on tefillin without a
berakha.
ONE WHO LEAVES HOME EARLY (SE'IF
3):
Menachot 36a:
"One who arises early to set out on his way, and is
afraid lest they get lost - may put them on, and when their time arrives he
should touch them and recite the berakha over them."
What is the reason for this dispensation to put tefillin on while it is
still night? The Rambam (as
discussed in the Beit Yosef) maintains that it is due to extenuating
circumstances. Rabbeinu Peretz,
however, points out that the ban against donning tefillin at night is related to
the possibility of falling asleep and passing gas while wearing them. Here, though, the individual is setting
out on his way and it is therefore unlikely that he will fall asleep. Most Rishonim agree with this reasoning
but go one step further: they omit
the phrase "and is afraid lest they get lost," meaning that even without this
condition one may put his tefillin on before setting out on a journey, since he
will not sleep. This is the
accepted ruling (but the berakha should be recited only when the proper time
arrives).
SIMAN 31: SHABBAT AND YOM TOV
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TEFILLIN ON SHABBAT:
The Mekhilta (Shemot 17) teaches that since Shabbat is referred to as an
"ot" - a sign - and so are tefillin, one should not impose one "ot" upon
another. The Rishonim are divided
on the question of whether there is simply no need to put on tefillin on
Shabbat, or an actual prohibition to do so.
The difference, of course, relates to the question of muktza: are tefillin a "kli she-melakhto
le-issur" or a "kli she-melakhto le-heter"? The Rema (siman 308) rules leniently,
but the Acharonim are stringent in this matter. Consequently, one should not carry
tefillin for no purpose, but if one wishes to remove his tallit or siddur from
the tefillin bag he may do so (as is the case with any kli she-melakhto
le-issur, which may be moved "le-tzorekh gufo" or "le-tzorekh mekomo" - if
either the item or the space which it occupies is needed for a permissible
purpose). [However, the possibility
remains that tefillin are muktza "machmat chesron kis" (due to their great
value), and if so one may not not move them even le-tzorekh gufo or mekomo. But this is outside the scope of our
discussion.]
(This shiur was
translated by Pnina Baumgarten.)