Daf HaYomi B'Halacha Daily Email

Do the tefillin have to be flush against the body?

Many Rishonim hold that both the tefillin shel yad and shel rosh must be fully on the body; there cannot be a chatzitza beneath any part of their surface. Although the tefillin do not directly touch all points around the curve of the head, a chatzitza is not permitted in that area either. Other Rishonim are not concerned with a chatzitza beneath the tefillin. Although they agree that the tefillin shel yad should not be worn on top of one’s shirt, their reason for this is different; they hold that the tefillin should not be visible to others and should be covered by a jacket, sleeve, or the like. The halacha follows the first opinion.

ה. [שו"ע כז, ד, ומשנ"ב יג, יד, יז ו]

Can one wear a watch with his tefillin?

The issue of chatzitza primarily pertains to the batim of the tefillin . However, one should also be stringent in avoiding a chatzitza where the retzuos tighten the bayis to the head. When necessary (e.g. if one has a wound and the area is bandaged), the retzuos may be placed over a bandage. The poskim are generally lenient with the wrapping of the rest of the retzuos and allow a chatzitza beneath the straps. Some are stringent and say that there should not be chatzitzos at all. In their view, one must remove his watch before laying his shel yad.

ד]. שו"ע כז, ד, ומשנ"ב טז; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו ]

Can tefillin be laid on a bandage?

A person whose head must remain bandaged may lay his tefillin on top of the bandage. A brocha should not be recited in this case. Likewise, one whose arm is bandaged in the place of his tefillin shel yad should lay tefillin on the bandage and only recite the brochos on the shel rosh . If possible, the bandages should be removed just for the time required to lay tefillin and recite Shema and Shemoneh Esrei . Contemporary poskim disagree about whether a cast is similar to a bandage and whether there is any point in laying tefillin on top of a cast. Some say that it is like clothing and there is no benefit in laying tefillin on it.

Each of the tefillin are made up of two parts: 1) the bayis--the square section which contains the parshios of tefillin and 2) the mavarta--the flat surface behind the bayis which has a space for the retzuos (straps). On the tefillin shel yad, at the point where the retzuos come out of the mavarta, the straps should be knotted in a way that looks like the letter yud.

To fasten the tefillin shel yad to the arm, a loop is formed at the point where the retzuah comes out of the mavarta. The straps are then pulled through the loop to fasten the bayis around the arm. Some Rishonim hold that the loop should be on the right side of the bayis, next to the kesher.

A person whose left arm is completely amputated is exempt from tefillin. Some say that he should put the tefillin on his right arm without a brocha. If a part of the upper arm remains, he should put on his shel yad without a brocha. .

Why does a lefty lay tefillin on his right hand?

Does writing play a role in determining who is a lefty?

Can one change his dominant hand?

PLEASE NOTE: The information in this email is for learning purposes only. Please review the Mishna Berura and Biurim U'Musafim before making a halachic decision. Hebrew words are occasionally transliterated to enable a smoother reading of the text. Common Ashkenazi pronunciation is generally used in these cases.