Q&A: De Facto Design
De Facto Design
Question
Hello Michi,
Is the commandment of tefillin—given that the Sages uprooted its nighttime applicability because of the dignity of tefillin—a possible example of what Tosafot write in Berakhot (11a), that it is possible for the Sages, in order to reinforce their ordinance, to determine that someone who violated their words loses fulfillment even on the Torah level as well? (In the Rabbi’s wording: "de facto design," regarding a case where one’s head and most of one’s body are in the sukkah but one’s table is inside the house, according to Beit Shammai.)
Answer
The question is whether there is an obligation to put them on at night, or whether it is merely permitted. If it is merely permitted, then nothing has been uprooted here. There is also no discussion here about what happens if someone went ahead and put them on at night—whether he has fulfilled the Torah-level commandment or not. Of course, one could apply that here as well.