Menachot 36a — the Talmud in English

Rav Hisda said: If he spoke between

the placing of the

tefilla

of the arm and the placing of the

tefilla

of the head, he

returns and recites the blessing

over the one of the head!

And we infer precisely:

“If he spoke”—yes,

he must recite a blessing over the one of the head; but if he

did not speak, he does not

recite a blessing over the one of the head.

And this is difficult:

“But Rav Hiyya, the son of Rav Huna, sent in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Over the tefilla of the arm he says: ‘Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to place tefillin’; over the tefillin of the head he says: ‘Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the mitzva of tefillin.’”

And it is proven from the words of Rav Hiyya that whether he spoke or whether he did not speak, he recites two blessings, one over the one of the arm and one over the one of the head? And we answer:

Abaye and Rava both said

to explain that if he

did not speak

between the placing of the tefilla of the arm and the tefilla of the head, he

recites one

blessing, only over the one of the arm, and with this blessing he exempts also the one of the head; and only if he

spoke

between the placing of the tefilla of the arm and the one of the head, he

recites two

—that is, he recites over the one of the head the blessing “Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning the mitzva of tefillin,” in addition to the blessing that he recited over the one of the arm. And this is what Rav Hiyya sent: that in this circumstance, in which he spoke, he should recite two.

A tanna taught: If he spoke between

the placing of the

tefilla

of the arm

and

the placing of the

tefilla

of the head, and did not recite a blessing over the one of the head,

there is a transgression in his hand

for he became obligated to recite a blessing over the one of the head, and it turns out that he places the tefillin of the head without a blessing ;

and he returns because of it

because of this transgression

from the battle array

as explained in tractate Sotah [page 44], concerning the verse, “Who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him return to his house”—this is one who is fearful because of transgressions in his hand; and this transgression of placing the tefilla of the head without a blessing is also considered a transgression with regard to returning because of it to his house.

A tanna taught:

When he places tefillin, he

places

the

one of the arm

first,

and afterward he places

the

one of the head. And when he removes

the tefillin, he

removes

the

one of the head

first,

and afterward he removes

the tefillin

of the arm.

And we raise the matter:

Granted

that what they say,

“When he places them, he places the one of the arm and afterward he places the one of the head,”

we learn this from

as it is written

in the verse:

“And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes,”

for Scripture clarified for us the order of placing tefillin: the one of the arm first and afterward the one of the head.

But

this law,

“When he removes them, he removes the one of the head and afterward he removes the one of the arm”—from where do we know it?

Rabba said: Rav Huna explained it to me

—that we learn the order of removing the tefillin from this, that

the verse says:

“And they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.” As long as they are between your eyes, let there be two!

And if he removes the one of the arm first, he will remain with only one tefilla between his eyes.

The Sages taught: Tefillin

that he placed before dawn while the time for tefillin had not yet arrived—

from when does he recite a blessing over them? From the time of their placing!

From the time that the time arrives when it is possible to place them, namely, from when he can recognize his fellow who is somewhat accustomed to being with him at a distance of four cubits.

How so? He rose early to go out on the road

before the time for placing tefillin,

and feared that they might be lost

if he carried the tefillin in his hand,

he places them

on his head without a blessing.

And when their time arrives, he feels them and recites a blessing over them.

For the feeling of them is like placing them.

And until when may he place them? Until sunset. Rabbi Yaakov says: Until the foot has ceased from the marketplace

after dark [half an hour, as we say in tractate Shabbat, page 21, concerning the Hanukka lamp]

And the Sages say: Until bedtime

—until he goes to sleep he may leave them upon himself.

And the Sages and Rabbi Yaakov agree that if he removed them in order to go to the lavatory or to enter the bathhouse, and the sun set, he does not return

after sunset

and place them

because night is not the time for tefillin. [And he need not remove them, for even according to the one who says that night is not the time for tefillin, the prohibition at night applies only to placing them, and if they are already placed upon him he does not transgress a prohibition; see the book Taharat HaKodesh here, and the explanation of the Gaon of Vilna, section 30, subsection 2].

Rav Nahman said: The halakha is according to Rabbi Yaakov, who said:

One places tefillin until the time when the foot has ceased from the marketplace; and a proof of the matter that this is the halakha is that Rav Hisda and Rabba bar Rav Huna would pray with them

—they prayed while wearing tefillin—

in the evening

—the evening prayer.

Some say: Rav Nahman said: The halakha is not according to Rabbi Yaakov.