Q&A: The Decree of Hand-Impurity
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Decree of Hand-Impurity
Question
How did they decree regarding tefillin that they render the hands impure? After all, it’s impossible to avoid that, unlike the other sacred writings, which can be touched by means of a cloth.
Answer
Why do you need to touch them with a cloth? It is permitted to touch something that imparts impurity. The problem they came to prevent applies only to cases where terumah was being stored near the sacred books, which led to mice coming there.
From what I learned, at first they decreed impurity only on the books, so that people would not store terumah there. Afterward they also decreed impurity on hands because of a book, in order to reinforce the decree—so that even hands that touched a book would become impure, and that way people would really keep terumah away from them. According to this, I don’t understand the point of decreeing this regarding tefillin, since one is obligated to place them on the hands.