Menachot 35b — the Talmud in English

And alternatively, wherever, when it is suspended from the knot,

when a person grasps the strap and pulls the tefillin toward himself,

it brings

the tefilla

after it

and it does not tear,

it is new. And the other one

if the tefilla tears,

it is old!

Abaye was sitting before Rav Yosef; his

Abaye's

strap of tefillin was severed. He said to him

Abaye said to Rav Yosef:

What is the ruling concerning tying it

the strap that was torn?

Rav Yosef said to him: “And you shall bind them” is written, indicating that the binding must be “complete,”

and this means beautiful; and a strap that has a knot in it [apart from the knot at its head] is not a beautiful strap 28.

Rav Aḥa, son of Rav Yosef, said to Rav Ashi:

What is the ruling concerning sewing the torn strap

and inserting the stitching inward,

on the inner side of the strap, in a manner that it will not be visible from outside?

He said to him

Rav Ashi:

Go out and see what the people do!

Go and see how people conduct themselves with a strap that was torn: they do not tie it, and you too should not tie it 29.

Rav Pappa said: The worn remnants of straps,

namely, phylactery straps beyond the head-knot [whose required length will be explained below] that were cut, leaving only a small remainder, called “worn remnants,”

Rav Pappa said: The stumps of straps

that is, the straps of the tefillin that are after the knot of the head [the measure of their length is explained below], which were cut and a small remnant remained from them—these are called “stumps” [which is a designation for remnants]—they are

fit,

since initially they had the required measure, therefore even now, when they were cut and less than the required measure remains, they are still suitable for their mitzva, by the law of “stumps of a mitzva,” as with the stumps of tzitzit!

And we reject Rav Pappa's words:

It is not a matter!

For the law of “stumps of a mitzva” does not apply to the straps of tefillin. Proof of this is

from what the sons of Rabbi Hiyya said: The stumps of

threads of

blue wool

of tzitzit,

and the stumps of hyssop

that remained from the stalks of hyssop with which they sprinkle the water of purification [of the ashes of the red cow] upon those being purified from impurity imparted by a corpse—they are

fit even when the measure suitable for the initial performance of the mitzva did not remain in them!

And from the fact that the sons of Rabbi Hiyya did not include the stumps of the straps of tefillin among the things in which stumps are fit, it is proven that the law of stumps was not stated with regard to the straps of tefillin, but was stated only with regard to tzitzit and hyssop

because they are articles used for a mitzva. But here,

the straps of tefillin

are articles used for sacred objects; not [for there is sanctity in the straps of tefillin, unlike tzitzit and hyssop]. Therefore, they must always have the required measure; consequently, the law of stumps does not apply to them. [And see the Ohr Sameach, Laws of Lulav, regarding where the law of stumps applies].

And now we infer precisely: from the fact that the law of stumps is not effective with regard to the straps of tefillin, it is proven

by implication

that

there is

a measure for them.

And we inquire about it:

And how much

is their measure? [According to Rashi, the question concerns the straps of the head tefilla that hang upon the body, after the knot of the head; and according to many early authorities,

as well as the halakha, the problem concerns the measure of the straps of the arm tefilla. The following discussion is explained according to Rashi!].

Rami bar Ḥama said that Reish Lakish said:

The distance between one of the fingers [which one will be explained below]

up to the etzba tzerada,

which is the finger adjacent to the thumb , and which is so called from the expression “distress,” since it is adjacent to the thumb, just as two women married to one husband are called rivals of one another.

Rav Kahana demonstrated [

he was showing

bent! ]

Rav Ashi demonstrated [

he was showing

straight! ]

According to Rav Kahana, the distance must be measured between the middle finger [called the amma] and the etzba tzerada adjacent to the thumb, whereas according to Rav Ashi, the distance must be measured between the thumb and the etzba tzerada adjacent to it. And since the distance between the middle finger and the finger is less than the distance between the thumb and the finger, Rav Kahana therefore showed a bent finger, which is less high than a straight [upright] one.

Rabbah,

when he put on the head tefillin,

tied them,

he would tie them upon his head, and the straps after the knot

he would straighten,

he would straighten them,

and cast them

and they hung upon his shoulders behind him.

Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov tied them and wound them,

he would braid the two straps together and let them hang down [and it was not explained whether before him or behind him].

Mar, son of Ravina, acted as we do,

for he would hang the straps in front, as we practice, and he would not braid them.

Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Shilat, said in the name of Rav: The knot of tefillin

which must be made in the form of the letter dalet [so that the name Shaddai will be in the tefillin: shin in the head tefilla, dalet in the knot of the head straps, and yod in the strap of the arm adjacent to the house of the arm tefilla]—this is

a halakha given to Moses at Sinai!

Rav Naḥman said: And their adornments

of the tefillin [Rashi explained two explanations: a. the letters of the name Shaddai appearing on the tefillin, which are considered their adornment; b. the straps on the side that are smooth and dyed black] must be visible

outside,

on the outside.

Rav Ashi was sitting before Mar Zutra; the strap of tefillin was turned over for him

the inner side of the strap was turned outward, and the outer side, dyed black, was turned inward. [And some explain that the dalet in the knot was turned inward].

He said to him

Mar Zutra said to Rav Ashi: Surely

does the Master not hold

what we learned, that

their adornments

should be

outside,

toward the outside!?

He said to him

Rav Ashi:

It was not in my awareness,

I did not notice, and I was inadvertent!

It is written in the portion of Nitzavim:

“And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they shall fear you.”

It was taught: Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: These are the head tefillin, in which most of the Name of the Lord is found—the letter shin and the letter dalet. 32

It is written in the portion of Ki Tisa: “And I shall remove My palm, and you shall see My back.” Rav Shimon Ḥasida said: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed is He, showed Moses at that time

the knot of tefillin

of the head, which is found behind the neck [and we say in tractate Berakhot [6a] that the Holy One, blessed is He, puts on tefillin, as it is written: “The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength”; and “strength” means only tefillin].

Rav Shmuel bar Bidrei said that Rav said—and some say that Rav Aḥa Arikha said that Rav Huna said, and some say that Rav Menashya said that Shmuel said: Regarding tefillin, from when does one recite a blessing over them? From the time of putting them on,

after he has put them on.

And we raise an objection:

Is that so? But Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: With regard to all the mitzvot, one recites a blessing over them immediately before performing them

before the performance [the expression “immediately before” is in the sense of “before,” Pesachim 7b]?

Abaye and Rava both said:

He recites a blessing over the tefillin

from the time of putting them on until the time of tying them

and since he has not yet tied them, it is immediately before their performance. But before putting them on the arm, one should not recite the blessing, because that would be immediately before the immediately-before moment; one does not advance the blessing so much, but recites it close to the performance of the mitzva, before the performance.

from the time of placing them on the arm until the time of tying them

and since he has not yet tied them, this is still “before performing the mitzva.” One may not recite the blessing before placing them on the arm, because that would be before the time that precedes the act itself; the blessing should be recited immediately before performing the mitzva.