Menachot 35b (לה:) — the Talmud in English

Alternatively, wherever, when one hangs from it on the strap,

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

it brings

the prayer

after it

and it does not tear,

it is new. And the other one—

if the prayer tears,

it is old!

Abaye was sitting before Rav Yosef when

Abaye's

tefillin strap broke. He said to him,

Abaye said to Rav Yosef:

What is the law with regard to tying it

the torn strap?

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

that is, attractive, and a strap that has a knot in it [in addition to the knot at the head] is not an attractive strap 28 .

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

What is the law with regard to sewing the torn strap

and placing the stitching on the inside,

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

He said to him,

Rav Ashi said:

Go out and see what the people are doing!

Go and observe how people treat a torn strap: they do not tie it, and you too should not tie it 29 .

Rav Pappa said: The remnants of straps,

that is, the tefillin straps beyond the knot of the head-tefillin [the required length of which will be explained below] that were cut, leaving only a small remainder, which is called “remnants,”

are fit,

since initially they had the required measure, and even now, after being cut and left shorter than the required measure, they remain suitable for their mitzva, by virtue of the law of remnants of a mitzva, as with the remnants of tzitzit!

We reject Rav Pappa's statement:

It is not a valid matter!

The law of “remnants of a mitzva” does not apply to tefillin straps. Proof of this is

from what the sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya said: The remnants of

threads of

techelet

of tzitzit

and the remnants of hyssop

that remain from the stalks of hyssop with which the waters of the red heifer [made from the ashes of the red heifer] are sprinkled upon those being purified from corpse impurity

are fit

even when they do not retain the measure required for the initial performance of the mitzva!

From the fact that the sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya did not include remnants of tefillin straps among the things in which remnants are fit, it is evident that the law of remnants does not apply to tefillin straps; it applies only to tzitzit and hyssop

because they are accessories of a mitzva. But here,

tefillin straps

are accessories of sacred objects; they are not

[for tefillin straps possess sanctity, unlike tzitzit and hyssop]. Therefore, they must always retain the required measure, and consequently the law of remnants does not apply to them. [See the Or Sameaḥ, Laws of Lulav, regarding the cases in which the law of remnants applies.]

We now infer: From the fact that the law of remnants is ineffective with regard to tefillin straps, it is evident

by implication

that

they do

have a required measure.

We inquire:

How much

is their required measure?

According to Rashi, the question concerns the straps of the head-tefillin that hang down over the body after the knot of the head-tefillin; according to many early authorities , and this is the halakha, the issue concerns the required measure of the straps of the arm-tefillin. The following discussion is explained according to Rashi!].

Rami bar Ḥama said that Reish Lakish said:

A distance equal to that between one of the fingers [which one will be explained below]

up to the finger of tzerada,

which is the finger adjacent to the thumb , and is so called from the term “distress,” because it is adjacent to the thumb, just as two women married to the same husband are called tzarot, rivals to one another.

Rav Kahana indicated

[he demonstrated]

bent!

Rav Ashi indicated

[he demonstrated]

straight!

According to Rav Kahana, one measures the distance between the middle finger [called the amma] and the finger of tzerada adjacent to the thumb. According to Rav Ashi, one measures the distance between the thumb and the finger of tzerada adjacent to it. Since the distance between the middle finger and the other finger is less than the distance between the thumb and the finger, Rav Kahana demonstrated with a bent finger, which is not as high as a straightened finger [upright].

Rabba,

when he put on the head-tefillin,

tied them,

he would tie them on his head, and the straps beyond the knot

he would extend,

he would stretch them out,

and cast them

hanging over his shoulders behind him.

Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov tied them and tripled them,

he would braid the two straps together and let them hang down [it is not explained whether in front of him or behind him].

Mar, son of Ravina, acted in accordance with our practice,

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

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

that must be made in the shape of the letter dalet [so that the name Shaddai will be represented in the tefillin: the letter shin in the head-tefillin, the dalet in the knot of the head straps, and the yod in the arm strap adjacent to the arm-tefillin housing] is

a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai!

Rav Naḥman said: And their beauty

of the tefillin [Rashi explained this in two ways: 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 when his tefillin strap turned over,

so that the inner side of the strap turned outward, while the outer side, dyed black, turned inward. [Some explain that the dalet in the knot turned inward.]

He said to him,

Mar Zutra said to Rav Ashi: Surely

does the Master not hold

the teaching that

their beauty

must be

outside,

facing outward!?

He said to him,

Rav Ashi said:

I was unaware of it;

I did not notice, and I was acting inadvertently!

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 in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: These are the head-tefillin, in which most of the Name 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

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

at that time

the knot of the head-tefillin

located behind the nape of the neck [and we say in tractate Berakhot [6a] that the Holy One, blessed be 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 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: With regard to tefillin, from when does one recite the blessing over them? From the time one puts them on,

after he has put them on.

We raise an objection:

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

before the performance [the term “immediately before” has the meaning of “before,” as in Pesaḥim 7b]?

Abaye and Rava both say:

One recites the 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 still immediately before their performance. One may not recite the blessing before placing them on the arm, because that would be before the time immediately preceding their performance, and the blessing should not be recited so far in advance; rather, one recites it close to the mitzva, before its performance.