Menachos 35
Summary
- An עוז מנחות דף ל״ה session begins with sponsorship לעילוי נשמת מרת מרים שרה בת יעקב משה הערניש. The sugya presents multiple details of תפילין as הלכה למשה מסיני, including the תיתורא, the מעברתא, the ש of תפילין, black רצועות on the outward-facing side, and the squareness of תפילין. The text records disputes about how far the חריץ must extend, whether קלף needs prior בדיקה, and when damage to inner partitions invalidates תפילין, and it sets rules for repairing and measuring רצועות, the form and placement of the קשר, and the requirement that the attractive side faces outward. The פסוק וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה' נקרא עליך ויראו ממך is applied by רבי אליעזר הגדול to תפילין שבראש, and another דרשה teaches that הקדוש ברוך הוא showed משה קשר של תפילין.
- Shalom to all introduces עוז מנחות דף ל״ה, starting about the ninth line with אמר רב חנא אמר רב. The דף is sponsored לעילוי נשמת מרת מרים שרה בת יעקב משה הערניש, and her נשמה should have an עליה.
- Ameir Rav Chana in the name of Rav states that תיתורא דתפילין is הלכה למשה מסיני. Rashi translates *titeora* as a bridge and explains that after the פרשיות are inserted into the four compartments of תפילין של ראש made from one piece of leather and trimmed, the remaining hide is folded to create a base and to seal the compartments, and it is called a *titeora* because it is like a long narrow plank of a footbridge, while the speaker notes that modern batim have a wide base about an inch high and associates that with פירש״י and תוספות. Abaye states that מעברתא דתפילין is הלכה למשה מסיני, defined as the extension from the base through which the רצועות are threaded, using לשון מעביר to pass through. Abaye also states that the ש של תפילין is הלכה למשה מסיני, and Rashi describes thin creases made inside the leather of תפילין של ראש that appear like a ש.
- The text states וצריך שיגיע חריץ למקום התפר, requiring the groove that separates the compartments of תפילין של ראש to reach the stitching at the bottom of the upper housing. Rav Dimi of Nehardea says that since the separation is recognizable, it does not need to reach all the way down as long as it is clear there are four separate compartments.
- Abaye says the קלף of תפילין needs בדיקה in case there is a ריסא, meaning a defect such as a hole, because the requirement is כתיבה תמה and a letter written over a hole is not whole. Rav Dimi of Nehardea says prior checking is unnecessary because the קולמוסא of the scribe checks it as he writes, since the pen will pass over the hole and he will feel it.
- Rav Yitzchak states רצועות שחורות are הלכה למשה מסיני. A ברייתא states תפילין are tied only ממינן, requiring straps of the same type, interpreted as leather, while allowing straps to be green, black, or white, and forbidding red straps because of גנאי and דבר אחר, with גנאי explained as people suspecting scabs and bleeding scratches and דבר אחר as suspicion of intercourse with a נדה. רבי יהודה reports a story of a student of רבי עקיבא who tied his תפילין with a tongue of תכלת and was not rebuked, and the response is that רבי עקיבא did not see it and would not have allowed it. A similar story is told of הורקנוס son of רבי אליעזר בן הורקנוס tying תפילין with a tongue of ארגמן, and the response again is that his father did not see it and would not have allowed it, maintaining that straps must be ממינן.
- The apparent contradiction between the ברייתא permitting colors and Rav Yitzchak requiring black is resolved with כאן מבפנים כאן מבחוץ, distinguishing inside from outside. The outside-facing side must be black as הלכה למשה מסיני, while the inside may be other colors. The challenge is raised that if only the inside differs then the concern of גנאי and דבר אחר for red does not apply, and the answer is זימנין דמתהפכא ליה because the strap can flip and expose the color.
- A ברייתא states תפילין מרובעות are הלכה למשה מסיני. Rav Papa explains this applies בתפורן ובאלכסונן, requiring squareness in the stitching and in the diagonal proportions, and he warns that pulling stitching too tight can distort the shape. A proposed proof from the משנה that round תפילין are סכנה and אין בה מצוה is rejected by Rav Papa, who says the משנה can refer to תפילין shaped like a nut, dangerously pointed so that an impact could penetrate the brain, making the issue primarily סכנה.
- Rav Huna says תפילין are כשרות as long as פני טבלא exists, meaning the exterior remains intact even if the internal leather partitions between compartments are damaged. Rav Chisda says if two internal partitions are broken the תפילין are כשרות, but if three are broken they are פסולות. Rava limits the case of two being כשרות to damage that is זה שלא כנגד זה, but if it is זה כנגד זה then they are פסולות, and he says this disqualification applies only to *chadata* (new) because it indicates defective leather from the outset, while for *atikta* (old) there is no issue.
- Abaye asks Rav Yosef how to define *chadata* and *atikta*. One definition says that if stretching the leather causes it to spring back, it is *atikta*, and otherwise it is *chadata*. An alternative definition says that if pulling the strap brings the תפילין toward him it is *chadata*, and if it breaks it is *atikta*. The note ל״מ ע״ב on top is preserved.
- A story records that Abaye’s רצועה snapped while he sat before Rav Yosef, and he asks if it may be tied, and Rav Yosef answers no because וקשרתם is read as קשירה תמה, requiring a perfect tie without a knot in the strap. Rav Acha son of Rav Yosef asks Rav Ashi whether sewing is permitted if the seam is placed on the back so the front appears as one clean black strap, and the answer is פוק חזי מאי עמא דבר, and since people do not do it, it is not done.
- Rav Papa says גרדומי רצועות are כשרות, meaning the remaining stubs of straps after being cut still work. The Gemara says ולאו מילתא היא, deriving from the statement of the sons of רבי חייא that גרדומי תכלת and גרדומי אזוב are כשרים, and it distinguishes that case as תשמישי מצוה, while רצועות are תשמישי קדושה and therefore are not treated the same. The text infers from this that straps must have a שיעור, and it asks how much the שיעור is.
- Rav Yitzchak in the name of Reish Lakish gives the שיעור of the straps after the knot of the של ראש as עד אצבע צרדה. Rav Kahana indicates the measure כפוף and Rav Ashi indicates פשוט, with כפוף explained as the distance between the index and middle fingers when spread apart, and פשוט as the distance between the thumb and index finger. Rava ties the extra straps, straightens them, and throws them behind him down his back, while Rav Acha bar Yaakov braids the extra straps, and Mar the son of Rabana does like common practice by placing the extra straps in front.
- Rav Yehuda son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat in the name of Rav states that the קשר של תפילין is הלכה למשה מסיני, describing the knot of the תפילין של ראש as shaped like a ד and connecting it with the ש on the head-tefillin and a י in the knot as forming ה's name. Rav Nachman states ונוייהן לבר, requiring the attractive side outward, understood either as the knot facing outward or as the smooth black side of the strap facing outward. A story relates that Rav Ashi sat before Mar Zutra and his strap flipped, and Mar Zutra rebuked him for not following ונוייהן לבר, and Rav Ashi answers לאו אדעתי.
- The פסוק וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה' נקרא עליך ויראו ממך is cited, and a ברייתא records רבי אליעזר הגדול saying this refers to אלו תפילין שבראש, and wearing תפילין שבראש creates fear upon the nations. Another פסוק is cited from the episode where משה asks to see ה', and the phrase והסירותי את כפי וראית את אחורי is interpreted by Rav Chana bar Bizna in the name of רבי שמעון חסידא to teach that הקדוש ברוך הוא showed משה קשר של תפילין, identified as being at the back of the head.
- Rav Yehuda states the קשר of תפילין must be למעלה, positioned slightly higher at the base of the skull, כדי שיהיו ישראל למעלה ולא למטה. Rav Yehuda also states it must be כלפי פנים, centered toward the face rather than on the side, כדי שיהיו ישראל לפנים ולא לאחור. The session ends with a plan to continue discussing תפילין the next day.
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