Shulchan Arukh Orach Chayim · Siman 25

Shulchan Arukh Orach Chayim 25 — English translation

Translation: Sefaria Community Translation. Section numbers match the Hebrew text above.

1. 1The Laws of Tefillin in Detail. Containing 13 Se'ifim: After putting on one's tallit with tzitzit [on it], one should put on tefillin because [we do mitzvot] in ascending order of holiness. And those who put their tefillin and tallit bags [together] into one bag must take care not to place the tefillin bag on top so that they won't encounter them first and [subsequently] have to put them on before the tallit in order not to skip mitzvot. Rem"a: However, if one has the tefillin ready but does not have a tallit, he does not have to wait for a tallit, rather he puts on the tefillin. When they bring him a tallit, he puts it on [his (the Rem"a's) opinion].
2. 2One who is scrupulous [to wear] a Tallit Katan should wear it and don his tefillin at home and walk to the synagogue wearing the tzitzit and crowned with tefillin where he will put on the large tallit. Rem"a: Common practice is to even wrap oneself in the large tallit before walking to synagogue and to make the blessing on it, and then put on tefillin and go to synagogue
3. 3The Ro"sh would recite [all] the morning blessings until "...Who crowns Israel with glory", then he would don his tefillin and then recite that blessing.
4. 4One's tefillin must be upon him during the Shema and Amidah.
5. 5One should have in mind, when putting them on, that God commanded us to place these four passages - which contain the Unity of His Name and the Exodus - on the arm opposite the heart and the head opposite the brain, so that we may remember the miracles and wonders that He did for us which indicate His Unity and that He is omnipotent in heaven and on earth to do with them as He wills. And [also in order] to subjugate, to God, one's soul which resides in the brain, as well as his heart which houses one's main physical desires and thoughts. Through this he will remember his Creator and moderate his pleasure[-seeking]. He should put on the arm-tefillin first and recite the blessing "... to place tefillin" and afterwards put on the head tefillin. He should only recite [that] one blessing for both of them. Rem"a: Some say to recite [the following] blessing on the head tefillin "...on the mitzvah of tefillin" even if one did not make an interruption between them (ie. the arm and head tefillin) [The Ro"sh in the Laws of Tefillin]. [This is the widespread Ashkenazic custom, to make 2 blessings]. It is good to always recite after the second blessing: "Blessed is the Name of His glorious Kingdom forever and ever" [Mahar"i ben Chabib Agur, Siman 38]
6. 6If he touched the head tefillin first, he must skip that mitzvah and put the arm tefillin on first, and afterwards the head tefillin.
7. 7The brachah is pronounced "l' - HUH - knee - ach" with a kamatz under the [letter] Hey, and not with a patach or a dagesh.
8. 8[For] all Mitzvot, one blesses on them "over l'asiyatan" [ Meaning "before/preceding". [As in the words of the verse] "And he passed (va'yaavor) the Cushite", whose interpretation is that he ran and preceded/passed before him ]. Therefore one must make the blessing on the arm-tefillin after he places it on his bicep, before he tightens it. For the tightening is it's "doing" [Rem"a: Similarly, [the blessing] on the head-tefillin [must be made just] before tightening it on the head. Tur.]
9. 9It is forbidden to make an interruption with speaking between [putting on] the arm tefillin and the head tefillin, and if he spoke, he must recite the blessing on the head tefillin: "...on the Mitzvah of Tefillin". Rem"a: And for us [Ashkenazim] that have the custom to make the two blessings even if one did not speak in between, he must go back and make both blessings on the head tefillin [his (ie. the Rema's) own opinion]
10. 10If one spoke something necessary for [putting on] the tefillin he does not have to go back and recite a [new] blessing. If one heard Kaddish or Kedushah in between putting on his arm tefillin and head tefillin, he should not stop to answer with them, rather he should remain quiet, listen, and pay attention to what they are saying.
11. 11After tying the arm tefillin to the arm, one should put on the head tefillin before winding the strap around the arm. There is an opinion who forbids removing the head-tefillin from the bag before putting on the arm-tefillin. Rem"a: Even if they are both already in front of him, outside of the bag, one should not unwrap the head tefillin until after the arm tefillin is on [Mahari"a and Mahar"i ben Chabib]. There is an opinion who says to put on the arm-tefillin sitting and the head tefillin standing [Agur in the name of the Zohar, siman 84] but in our countries, this is not the custom, rather we do both standing.
12. 12If one puts on tefillin multiple times in one day, he must recite the blessing on them each time. If they moved from their place [on his head or arm] and he adjusted them to return them to their proper place, he must recite the blessing. (Rem"a: If he returned [only] one of them [back to their proper place], he recites the blessing like one who one only puts on one tefilla - as seen below in siman 26 [this is the Rem"a's own opinion].) If one moved them from their place with the intent to replace them immediately, he still must recite the blessing. Rem"a: There are those who say you should not recite a blessing [Tur - siman 8], and that is the prevalent custom. This was already explained above in siman 8, se'if 14 [If] one was putting on the arm tefillin and recited the blessing, and as he was tightening it, the knot severed and he has to form a new knot, however, he did not take his mind off [of the tefillin] - he does not have to recite the blessing again. If the arm tefillin became loosened before putting on the head tefillin, he should tighten it, and he does not need to recite the blessing again. But if he put on the head tefillin and then the arm tefilling became loosened, then he should tighten it and recite the blessing [again]. It is permitted to recite the blessing on borrowed tefillin, but not on stolen ones.
13. 13The widespread custom is to refrain from removing one's Tefillin until after the recital of "Kedushat U'va Letzion." [There is an opinion based on Kabbala to not remove one's Tefillin until one has recited the three Kedushot and the four Kaddishim, meaning after Kaddish Yatom and this is practice of those who are scrupulous [with mitzvos].] On a day where there is the reading of the Sefer Torah, the custom is to not remove them until after the Sefer Torah is returned to the Heichal. Rem"a: This refers to a place where the Sefer Torah is returned after U'va Letzion. However, according to the custom of our province where we return the Sefer Torah right after the reading , one should not remove them [at that point], rather he should do it like on all other days (The Rem"a's own opinion). On Rosh Chodesh, we remove the Tefillin before the Mussaf prayers. Rem"a: The same applies to Chol Hamoed and specifically in a place where they say Kedushat Keter in Mussaf. However, the custom everywhere is to remove them before Mussaf [Beit Yosef].

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