Q&A: Tefillin
Tefillin
Question
Hello Rabbi, and many thanks for the enlightening answers,
In tractate Kiddushin, in the Talmudic passage discussing women’s exemption from positive commandments that are time-bound, the Talmud assumes that tefillin is a positive commandment that is time-bound, either because night is not a time for tefillin or because tefillin are not worn on the Sabbath. Now, seemingly, in my humble opinion, the reason tefillin are not worn at night is a rabbinic decree lest one fall asleep while wearing them; and regarding the Sabbath, there is, as is well known, the beautiful explanation that on the Sabbath there is no need for the sign of tefillin, because the Sabbath itself is a sign, as is circumcision. But the question is: what is the source of this reason? Is this a Torah-level law? Or perhaps this is a reason that the Sages gave, and therefore they established that tefillin should not be worn on the Sabbath.
All the best,
Eyal
Answer
I didn’t understand. You’re answering the question yourself. If the Sages say that this is a time-bound positive commandment, they apparently understood that the exemption is Torah-level.
Also regarding night, see Menachot 36b, where sources from verses are brought.
Discussion on Answer
To shed some light: according to the Jerusalem Talmud (Berakhot 2:3; see A. Amit, “Every word that is not clear is supported from many places: the value of pikrin and the value of pikayliyeh,” Tarbiz 74), all these derivations are in the category of asmachta. And according to the Mekhilta and the Jerusalem Talmud, women’s exemption from tefillin stems from women’s exemption from Torah study, whose reason is “and you shall teach them to your sons.” From this derivation the Babylonian Talmud learned (Kiddushin 34a) that women are exempt from positive commandments that are time-bound.
I saw in the Schottenstein commentary on the above passage in Kiddushin that the reason tefillin are not worn at night is a rabbinic decree lest one fall asleep while wearing them, and that is why I asked my question.
I have not yet had a chance to study the passage in Menachot.
Many thanks, and have a good holiday