Menachos 35 - Cycle 14
Summary
- Today's שיעור on מסכת מנחות דף ל״ה begins on דף ל״ד עמוד ב׳ and presents practical הלכות of מזוזה and תפילין, especially how incorrect placement or ordering of פרשיות affects כשרות, and which features of תפילין are הלכה למשה מסיני. The גמרא and later sources define the *tittura*, *ma’avarta*, the ש and its forms, the requirement that batim and רצועות be black, the need for recognizable separations between batim, and standards for the קלף and כתיבה תמה. The שיעור also brings major פוסקים and later discussions about gluing a formed ש, dyeing items, the minimum שיעור and repair of רצועות, and how תפילין שבראש fulfill וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה׳ נקרא עליך ויראו ממך, illustrated by stories about the בעל התניא and the גר״א and framed by the לשם יחוד.
- Rav Ḥananel says in the name of Rav that if one “חלף פרשיותיה,” the מזוזה is פסולה. Abaye says this applies when a פרשה that belongs on the inside is placed outside or an outside פרשה is placed inside, but if one merely reverses the two inner פרשיות or reverses the outer פרשיות, “לית לן בה.” Rashi explains this as an error in placement, while others say the פסול focuses on writing the פרשיות out of order rather than where they are placed. Rava challenges Abaye by reasoning that the פסול depends on whether a פרשה that must face “אווירא” is facing correctly, and he argues that this logic should make any reversal equally פסול, concluding “לא שנא” that all such cases should invalidate.
- Rav Ḥananel says in the name of Rav that the *tittura* of תפילין is formed from the leather extending from the batim, with three sides folded in and the longer fourth side forming the base called the חתותרא. The שיעור explains that this description fits תפילין made from *or eḥad*, but when תפילין are not made from a single piece of leather the base must be made differently, since the folded structure assumes one עור.
- Abaye states that the *ma’avarta* of תפילין, the passage through which the רצועה is pulled so it can be tightened and adjusted, is הלכה למשה מסיני.
- Abaye states that the ש of תפילין is הלכה למשה מסיני. The Beit Yosef quotes Sefer Orchot Ḥayyim that the ש, whose numerical value is 300, represents 300 days in the year when תפילין are worn excluding שבת ויום טוב. Tosafot quoting Sefer Shimushah Rabbah says the right-side ש of תפילין של ראש has three branches and the left-side ש has four branches, and that reversing them remains כשר; the Rosh and Mordechai define “right” and “left” as the wearer’s sides, while Rabbeinu Yehonatan defines them as the observer’s sides. The Beit Yosef quotes the סמ״ג that the three-branched ש matches the usual ספר תורה ש while the לוחות had a four-branched form, so תפילין bear both types.
- The responsa of R’ Akiva Eiger סימן י״א records a new מנהג in his time to form a ש on קלף and glue it onto the בית, and he writes “אני בעניי איני נמנה בזה ההיתר,” rejecting it and distinguishing it from the earlier ברייתא that permits gluing four כתובים for תפילין של יד. The משנה ברורה in סימן ל״ב סעיף קטן קצ״ב rules that attaching the ש this way renders the תפילין פסול, while others challenge this strictness by comparing it to תפילין made from more than one עור. The גמרא adds “וצריך שיגיע חריץ” that the separations in תפילין של ראש must reach the מקום התפר, while Rav Dimi of Nehardea says once they are recognizable “לא צריך,” and some ראשונים extend this to require that the ש itself reach down to the base.
- Abaye says the קלף of תפילין must be examined in case it has a defect, because the writing must be “כתיבה תמה.” Rav Dimi of Nehardea says inspection is unnecessary because writing itself will reveal a defect that prevents smooth writing. The פוסקים infer that the requirement does not demand checking for microscopic holes and that holding the parchment up to the sun is another possible method, while still not required beyond obvious defects. The Beit Meir and Beit HaLevi ask how writing tests for holes around letters when letters must be מוקף גויל, and they conclude that מוקף גויל primarily prevents letters from connecting, so an imperfect surrounding space due to a crack is not necessarily a disqualification if the letters are not joined.
- Rav Yitzḥak states that black רצועות are הלכה למשה מסיני, but a ברייתא allows straps to be green, black, or white and forbids red due to “מפני גנאי” and “דבר אחר,” associating red with bleeding or forbidden relations while wearing תפילין. The גמרא resolves the contradiction by distinguishing between the visible outside, which must be black, and the inside, which may be other colors, yet red remains problematic because straps can flip. The משנה ברורה in סימן לג סעיף קטן יט quoting Sefer Barukh She’amar requires blackness like a raven, and the ביאור הלכה cites the רמ״א that repeated painting achieves this, while בדיעבד simple black is sufficient.
- Tosafot infers the requirement applies to רצועות and not necessarily batim, while the Rosh and Rambam say it is נוי לתפילין that both batim and straps be black. The Mordechai includes the batim’s blackness in the הלכה למשה מסיני, but the Shulḥan Arukh rules “מצוה לעשות את הבתים שחורים” yet “אין זה מעכב.” The ביאור הלכה says the portion of the רצועה inside the *ma’avarta* technically need not be black, but it should be black because it can become visible when pulled.
- The Rambam implies both sides of the strap should be black, while the Beit Yosef quotes him and says “לא נהגו כן.” The Darkei Moshe quotes the Or Zaru’a for a מנהג to blacken both sides, and Sefer Ot Ḥayyim VeShalom from the Minḥat Elazar quotes Arizal supporting it, while the Minḥat Elazar argues strongly that the גמרא requires black only on the visible side; the Levushei Mordechai challenges his stance and Nimukei Oraḥ Ḥayyim concludes some follow the practice and some do not, echoed by the Ben Ish Ḥai. R’ Moshe Sternbuch in תשובות והנהגות חלק ב סימן כב quotes the Brisker Rav that blackening the other side might be a חציצה, while R’ Wosner says it is not a חציצה but was not the מנהג, and the שיעור notes that the sides of the straps should be black even when only one face is black.
- The Shevut Yaakov uses the sugya of dyeing straps to argue dyeing a lulav green is not בל תוסיף, while the Sha’arei Teshuvah cites him and warns of מקח טעות if the buyer is misled, and adds that whitening can indicate יבש and פסול, so dyeing must not conceal invalidity.
- A ברייתא teaches that תפילין must be מרובעות and this is הלכה למשה מסיני, and Rav Pappa says this applies “בתפרן” and “באלכסון” with the diagonal ratio described by the ראשונים. Another ברייתא says if one makes תפילין round it is סכנה and “אין בה מצוה,” with Rashi explaining danger as physical injury and Tosafot explaining loss of protective זכות when improperly made. Rav Pappa says that ברייתא is not proof for perfect squareness because it refers to תפילין made sharp like an egg.
- Rav Huna rules that as long as the outer פני טבלא remain intact the תפילין are כשרות even if inner separations tear. Rav Ḥisda says if two walls tear it is כשר but if three tear it is פסול, and Rava limits the leniency to tears not opposite each other, while consecutive tears are פסול. The גמרא distinguishes new תפילין, where such tearing shows poor leather, from old תפילין where “לית לן בה,” and Rav Yosef defines “עתיקתא” by elasticity when stretched and returns, with an alternate sign involving how securely the straps lift the batim.
- When Abaye’s רצועה tore he asks Rav Yosef if he may knot it, and Rav Yosef answers from וקשרתם that there must be “קשירה תמה,” so an extra knot is improper. Rav Aḥa asks Rav Ashi about stitching and hiding the repair inside, such as within the *ma’avarta*, and Rav Ashi answers “פוק חזי מאי עמא דבר,” which Rashi interprets as rejecting it because people do not do this, while Tosafot in the name of Rabbeinu Tam interprets it as permitting based on common practice. The Rosh distinguishes between תפילין של ראש where visibility demands stringency and תפילין של יד where leniency may apply.
- Rav Pappa proposes that if the front hanging straps (*kedomi retzuot*) tear and little remains they are כשרות, but the גמרא rejects this by distinguishing between *tashmishei mitzvah* like תכלת and אזוב and *tashmishei kedushah* like תפילין. The sugya infers straps have a required שיעור and gives “עד אצבע צרדא,” explained by Rashi as the span between thumb and index finger, with alternative demonstrations by Rav Kahana and Rav Ashi. The gmarra describes practice where Rav Ashi lets straps go behind and Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov wraps them, and Rav bar Rav Idi says the halakhic placement is that they come to the front.
- Yehudah son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat says in the name of Rav that the knot of תפילין is הלכה למשה מסיני. Rav Naḥman says its נוי requires the recognizable דלת to face outward, and the שיעור notes two מנהגים, one with a דלת shape and another with a box-like form for a double דלת effect. Rav Ashi observes Mar Zutra’s strap flipped so the דלת was not visible and challenges him with “ונויהן לבר,” and Mar Zutra answers “לאו אדעתאי.”
- A תניא records Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol that וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה׳ נקרא עליך ויראו ממך refers to תפילין and specifically “אלו תפילין שבראש.” Rav Ḥana bar Gevizna says in the name of Rav Shimon Ḥasida that Hashem showed Moshe Rabbeinu “קשר של תפילין” in the scene of “וראית את אחורי,” teaching the קשר of Hashem’s תפילין and the relationship it represents, where Hashem’s תפילין declare the specialness of Israel. Rav Yehudah teaches the knot should be higher to symbolize ישראל למעלה and should face inward to symbolize ישראל לפנים.
- The שיעור relates a story that the בעל התניא wore תפילין at a window and attackers fled, and he explained this through the pasuk and the phrase תפילין שבראש, distinguishing it from תפילין שעל הראש by insisting the message must enter the mind. It brings the pasuk איש על דגלו באותות לבית אבותם as explained by Sefer Alufei Yehudah that תפילין are the אות protecting Israel in the מדבר, and Rav Aharon Kotler reports a similar account about the גר״א relying on the protection of תפילין while imprisoned. It ties this to the נוסח לשם יחוד that places תפילין שבראש כנגד המוח so that the נשמה with all faculties are משועבדים לעבודתו יתברך שמו, and it concludes that תפילין’s power corresponds to Hashem’s תפילין where it says מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ and brings protection in the זכות of תפילין.
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