This is a Bar Mitzva pshetel I wrote for someone but was not used. Anybody who wants can use it for any occasion.
Since I got these really neat tfillin [they offered it in various
colors – I chose black. Black Tefillin Matters!!!] I thought that I would talk
about wearing tfillin at night and on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Why is it that we
don’t wear tfillin at these times???
Jewish knowledge, I learn more and more as I get older, is
never that simple. There are always layers upon layers of meaning to everything
we do. I will share with you just a taste of the complexity of this mitzvah.
The gemara says in Menachos 36b:
דתניא "ושמרת את החוקה הזאת למועדה מימים ימימה" - ימים ולא
לילות. מימים ולא כל ימים פרט לשבתות וימים טובים דברי רבי יוסי הגלילי ר"ע
אומר לא נאמר חוקה זו אלא לפסח בלבד
As it is taught in a braisa with regard to the end of the
passage of the Torah that discusses both the mitzvot of the pesach offering
and tfillin : “And you shall observe this ordinance in its
season from year [miyamim] to year” (Shmos 13:10). This indicates that these mitzvot apply
during the days [yamim] but not during the nights. Furthermore,
the letter mem, meaning from, in the term: “From year [miyamim],” teaches:
These mitzvot apply on some days, but not on all days. This excludes Shabbatot and
Festivals, on which tfillin are not worn. This is the statement of
Rabbi Yosei HaGelili. Rabbi Akiva says: This verse, mentioning an
ordinance, is stated only with regard to the Pesach offering, and it is
not referring to phylacteries at all.
So there is a machlokes between Rebbe Yosi and Rebbi Akiva. R’ Yosi
holds that the pasuk of “vishamarta es hachukah” refers to tfillin and
teaches that the time for tfillin is not at night and on Shabbos and Yom Tov.
R’ Akiva says that this pasuk is talking about korban Pesach and has no bearing
on tfillin. The gemara says further:
דתניא ר' עקיבא אומר יכול יניח אדם תפילין בשבתות ובימים טובים
ת"ל והיה לך לאות על ידך – מי שצריכין אות יצאו שבת וימים טובים שהם עצמם
אות
Rabbi Akiva says: One might have thought that a
person should don tfillin on Shabbatot and Festivals. To counter
this, the verse states: “And it shall be for a sign for you on your arm,
and for a remembrance between your eyes, so that God’s law shall be in
your mouth; for with a strong arm God brought you out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:9). This teaches that
the obligation to don tfillin applies when the Jewish people require a
sign to assert their status as God’s nation, i.e., during the week. This
serves to exclude Shabbatot and Festivals, as they themselves
are signs of the Jewish people’s status as God’s nation and a remembrance
of the exodus from Egypt. Consequently, no further sign is required on these
days.
So according to R’ Akiva the reason tfillin are not worn on Shabbos
and Yom Tov is b/c they are a sign of our specialness and redemption from Egypt
which is not necessary on Shabbos and Yom Tov.
Until now all is cool. Two rabbis argue about how to understand a
pasuk and a halacha. We are used to that. It is beautiful that everybody is
allowed to freely express their opinion. Article 19 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, states that: Everyone has
the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to
hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information
and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
SO TALMUDIC!!! I also note the very first amendment which guarantees
our free speech. Incidentally – this speech is being given for free!!
But then we look at the Rambam and things get thorny!
The Rambam writes:
זְמַן הֲנָחַת הַתְּפִלִּין בַּיּוֹם וְלֹא בַּלַּיְלָה
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יג י) ״מִיָּמִים
יָמִימָה״. (שמות יג י) ״חֻקָּה״
זוֹ הִיא מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין. וְכֵן שַׁבָּתוֹת וְיָמִים טוֹבִים אֵינָן זְמַן
תְּפִלִּין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יג טז) ״וְהָיָה
לְאוֹת״ וְשַׁבָּתוֹת וְיָמִים טוֹבִים הֵן עַצְמָן אוֹת.
The time for wearing tefillin is the day and not the night,
as [Exodus 13:10]
states: "And you shall observe this statute in its appointed time, from
day to day." "This statute" refers to the mitzvah of tefillin.
Similarly, Shabbos and holidays are not days on which tefillin [are
worn], as [Exodus 13:9]
states: "And they shall be a sign for you." Since the Shabbos and the
holidays are themselves signs, [the sign of tefillin is unnecessary].
So when it comes to wearing tfillin at night he paskens like R’ Yosi
and learns from the pasuk of “vishamarta” that only by day we wear tfillin.
But instead of following through and paskening like R’ Yosi when it
comes to Shabbos and Y"T and deriving from that pasuk, he instead paskens like
Rebbe Akiva that those are not times for tfillin b/c we don’t need the
added אות - sign.
So we may ask, why doesn’t he just stick with R’ Yosi and say that we
don’t wear tfillin on Shabbos and Y"T because of the pasuk “vishamarta”?
What makes things even more difficult is that it would seem that
there is a practical difference [in Spanish we say a “nafka minah”] between R’
Yosi and R’ Akiva.
R’ Yosi learns from the pasuk “vishmarta” from which the gemara
learns later that it is FORBIDDEN [ "אסור" in French] to wear
tfillin at night. That would mean that on Shabbos and Y"T are ALSO אסור b/c it is derived from the same
pasuk from where we learn that it is forbidden at night. “Vishamarta” – be careful,
denotes איסור. But according to R’ Akiva one is not OBLIGATED to wear tfillin
on Shabbos and YT b/c it is not necessary [we don’t need two signs] but there
is no איסור. So one is “patur” absolved from wearing tfillin on Shabbos and
Y"T but no issur.
So back to the Rambam! He paskens like two different rabbis who argue
with each other! According to Rav Yosi it is assur to wear tfillin at night and
on Shabbos and YT and the Rambam paskens like him when it comes to night but when it
comes to wearing tfillin on Shabbos and Y"T he paskens like R’ Akiva who holds
that one is patur but there is no issur. Where is the Rambam coming from?
[Spain - but that is not what I mean].
First, we have to know that Rabbeinu Tam in Tosfos [Niddah 51b] says
that one should make a bracha when he removes his tfillin “ברוך את השם ... לשמור חוקיו “ . Since
when do we find a bracha on not doing an aveirah [in this case – wearing
tfillin at night]?
Here is the principle that Rav Soloveitchik ztz”l [the author of
“From Brisk To Boston: Two Dinim and Two Cultures”] used to explain this
Rambam: The reason R’ Yosi says that one may not wear tfillin at night is
because when one is wearing tfillin he must act with extra holiness. Tfillin
are holy and wearing them requires behavior consistent with their
holiness. Night is “mufka” – precluded [a word in Chinese], from this
level of kedusha when it comes to tfillin. That is derived from the pasuk
“ "ושמרת
את החוקה הזאת למועדה מימים ימימה “And you shall observe this ordinance in
its season from year to year, which teaches that one must remove his
tfillin at night and not doing so constitutes a no-no, a prohibition.
The medrash learns from this pasuk that one must check his tfillin
every 12 months even though there is no such obligation when it comes to
mezuzah and sefer Torah. This is b/c the special kedusha of tfillin requires
this special behavior of checking for its kashrus even though there is a
chezkas kashrus – an assumption of being kosher.
Rabbeinu Tam says to make a bracha when we remove our tfillin before
night because that is a fulfillment of the kedusha of the tfillin. Since night
is not the time when one is expected to live up to the kedusha of the tfillin
he is wearing, taking them off is an expression of our concern for their
kedusha and thus a mitzvah which mandates a bracha. R’ Akiva however would say
not to make a bracha when removing tfillin before Shabbos and Y"T because their
removal is not an obligation in order to preserve their kedusha but optional
b/c one is not obligated at that time. An optional removal doesn’t mandate a
bracha. R’ Yosi would hold that one is obligated to remove the tfillin before
Shabbos and Y"T [as derived from the pasuk [ושמרתand leaving them on would be
assur [and thus one should make a bracha upon their removal].
Now we can understand the words of the Rambam, which dance! He
apparently distinguished between wearing tfillin at night and wearing them on
Shabbos and Y"T. He felt that when it comes to night, one MUST remove tfillin
b/c night is “mufka” – precluded, from the sanctity of tfillin. But when it
comes to Shabbos and Y"T is doesn’t make sense to say that these holy days are
precluded from the sanctity of tfillin. So there he elected to go w/ R’ Akiva
who explains that we don’t wear them b/c they are a sign and thus the sign of
tfillin is unnecessary. [If this approach is correct it would require us to
understand R’ Yosi’s logic when he understands the pasuk to be telling us that
in order to preserve the sanctity of the tfillin they must be removed before
Shabbos and Y"T. Shabbos and Y"T are holy days so a great companion to their
holiness would be tfillin! Not so?? Maybe he would hold that the category of
kdushas tfillin is fundamentally different that the category of kdushas Shabbos
and YT and thus inappropriate to mesh the two. Sort of like the concept
of אין מערבין
שמחה בשמחה not to mesh to different types of joyous occasions].
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The parshiyos in the tfillin talk about yetzias mitzraim – our exodus
from Egypt. The tfillin remind us of our freedom. Growing up free, it is hard
to imagine any other type of existence but I know that my great grandparents
lived in a place where they were denied their most basic freedom. On Shabbos
tfillin aren’t necessary. On Shabbos which is זכר ליציאת מצרים - in
memory of the Exodus from Egypt we are supposed to experience true freedom
every minute. Freedom from social media, freedom from homework, freedom from
the many material aspects of life which tend to bring us down. Shabbos is
our אות , our sign of true freedom, where we can learn Torah,
daven, eat delicious food, sleep and relax our souls thereby experiencing a
taste of the world to come . As Rebbi Akiva says – on Shabbos we don’t have to
wear tfillin b/c tfillin is an אות and Shabbos is an אות so the אות of tfillin is superfluous.
May I always merit to live the freedom that tfillin and Shabbos
represent and speedily in our days see the complete geulah which the Rambam
paskens will herald a new period of true freedom.
