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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman כ״ו · Having only one tefilin (דין מי שאין לו אלא תפלה אחת)

דין מי שאין לו אלא תפלה אחת — one puts on the one he has and blesses, for each is a mitsva in its own right (אין מעכבות זו את זו)
סימן כ״ו · ב׳ סעיפים
דין מי שאין לו אלא תפלה אחת
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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A short but foundational siman, settling a common case: what does one do when only one of the two tefilin is at hand — the arm or the head. The answer reveals a yesod: each tefilin is a mitsva in its own right (אין מעכבות זו את זו). Vocalized Hebrew text, clear English translation and explanations on having only one tefilin (and the case of the אונס), on the berakhot per custom — head alone « על מצות תפילין », arm alone « להניח » —, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: One who has only one tefilin — putting on the one he has and blessing, the אונס, and the berakhot for the head alone / the arm alone
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן כ״ו · ב׳ סעיפים

Compiled by: Rav Yossef Haim Samama
DAAT · daattorah.com

The previous siman taught us the ideal order: the arm first, then the head, two mitsvot put on together. But what does one do when that ideal is out of reach — when only one tefilin is at hand, or an אונס (constraint) permits putting on only one? The Shulchan Aroukh answers forcefully: one does not give up. One puts on the one he has — arm or head — and blesses over it, for each is a mitsva in its own right (שכל אחת מצוה בפני עצמה): one does not block the other (אין מעכבות זו את זו). This principle, quiet here, is one of the great foundations of the mitsvot: an accessible mitsva is not lost because another is missing. There remains then the question of the berakha: over the head alone one says « עַל מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין » (and per our custom of two daily berakhot, one says both); over the arm alone « לְהָנִיחַ ». We study here at the level of principle; for the precise case — a constraint, a hurried traveler — one refers to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. אין לו אלא תפלה אחת — having only one tefilin (arm or head): one puts on the one he has and blesses, for each is a mitsva in its own right (אין מעכבות); likewise under אונס (seif 1)
B. הברכות: ראש לבד / יד לבד — head alone: « על מצות תפילין » (Rama, our custom: ב׳ ברכות); arm alone: « להניח » (Tour) (seif 2)
+ Practical cases and comprehension questions

A. Having only one tefilin — כל אחת מצוה בפני עצמה (seif 1)

Original text (seif 1)

[א] דִּין מִי שֶׁאֵין לוֹ אֶלָּא תְּפִלָּה אַחַת. וּבוֹ ב׳ סְעִיפִים. אִם אֵין לוֹ אֶלָּא תְּפִלָּה אַחַת, מַנִּיחַ אוֹתָהּ שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ וּמְבָרֵךְ עָלֶיהָ, שֶׁכָּל אַחַת מִצְוָה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָהּ. וְהוּא הַדִּין אִם יֵשׁ לוֹ שְׁתֵּיהֶם וְיֵשׁ לוֹ שׁוּם אֹנֶס שֶׁאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהָנִיחַ אֶלָּא אַחַת, מַנִּיחַ אוֹתָהּ שֶׁיָּכוֹל.
[1] The law of one who has only one tefilin (תפילה אחת). It contains ב׳ סעיפים (two paragraphs). If he has only one tefilin, he puts on the one he has and blesses over it — for each is a mitsva in its own right (שכל אחת מצוה בפני עצמה). And the same applies if he has both but an אונס (constraint) prevents him from putting on more than one: he puts on the one he can.
כָּל אַחַת מִצְוָה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָהּ (kol aḥat mitsva bifné atsmah) — "each is a mitsva in its own right" — the arm tefilin and the head tefilin do not form a single indivisible mitsva: they are two distinct mitsvot (שתי מצות — Menaḥot 44a). From this it follows that they do not block one another (אין מעכבות זו את זו): the absence of one does not annul the duty to put on the other. This case is often contrasted with the four tsitsit (siman 13), which do מעכבות (the absence of one thread can invalidate). Here, on the contrary: what one can fulfill, one fulfills.
What this seif says:
Seif 1 in one sentence: one who has only one tefilin — or whom an אונס limits to one — puts on the one he has and blesses, for each is a mitsva in its own right (אין מעכבות זו את זו).

B. The berakhot: head alone / arm alone (seif 2)

Original text (seif 2)

[ב] אִם אֵינוֹ מַנִּיחַ אֶלָּא שֶׁל רֹאשׁ לְבַד, מְבָרֵךְ עָלֶיהָ « עַל מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין » לְבַד. הַגָּהּ: וּלְדִידַן דְּנוֹהֲגִים לְבָרֵךְ בְּכָל יוֹם ב׳ בְּרָכוֹת, יְבָרֵךְ עַל שֶׁל רֹאשׁ לְבַד שְׁתֵּי בְּרָכוֹת. וְאִם הִנִּיחַ שֶׁל יָד לְבַד, מְבָרֵךְ « לְהָנִיחַ » לְבַד [טוּר].
[2] If he puts on only the head one (של ראש) alone, he blesses over it « על מצות תפילין » alone. Glose (Rama): and for us, who have the custom of blessing two berakhot each day (ב׳ ברכות), he will bless over the head one alone the two berakhot. And if he put on the arm one (של יד) alone, he blesses « להניח » alone [Tour].
עַל מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין / לְהָנִיחַ תְּפִלִּין — the two berakhot of the tefilin — in the usual order (siman 25, seif 5), one blesses « לְהָנִיחַ תְּפִלִּין » over the arm, and — according to the views — « עַל מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין » over the head. Each berakha is thus tied to one tefilin: « להניח » (to put on) to the arm, « על מצות » to the head. Our siman draws the consequence: one who puts on only a single tefilin says the berakha belonging to that tefilin.
What this seif says:
To remember: head alone → « על מצות תפילין » (Mehaber); per our custom of the 2 berakhot (Rama), one says over the head both. Arm alone → « להניח ». The cross-reference to siman 25 (the machloket of one or two berakhot) illuminates this whole seif.

Practical cases

Case 1 — Having only one tefilin

Situation: in the morning one finds that one of the two tefilin is lost or invalid, and only the other is at hand (the arm, or the head).
Conduct: one does not forgo the accessible mitsva: one puts on the one he has and blesses over it (seif 1), for each is a mitsva in its own right (אין מעכבות זו את זו). For the berakha (seif 2): if it is the head alone → « עַל מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין » (and per our custom, both berakhot); if it is the arm alone → « לְהָנִיחַ ». The detail of the berakha per community belongs to the finer conduct: one refers to the ruling of the Rav.

Case 2 — Which berakha for the head alone / the arm alone

Situation: one puts on only a single tefilin and wishes to say the correct blessing.
Conduct: each berakha follows its tefilin. Head alone: « עַל מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין » according to the Mehaber; but per our custom of two daily berakhot (Rama, in line with siman 25), one says over the head alone both berakhot (« להניח » + « על מצות »). Arm alone: « לְהָנִיחַ » (Tour). Since this is a matter of ספק ברכות (doubt over blessings), one follows precisely the custom of one's community — one refers to the ruling of the Rav.

Case 3 — A constraint (אונס) or the hurried traveler

Situation: one has both tefilin, but a constraint — or the haste of a departure on a journey — leaves the time or the possibility to put on only one.
Conduct: seif 1 lays it down as a principle: even when one has both, if an אונס permits putting on only one, one puts on the one he can and blesses — one does not wait for the other. The case of the hurried traveler (השכים לדרך עם שיירא) is developed by the Alter Rebbe (level 4): the haste of the road does not exempt from the mitsva; one puts on what one can before setting out. For the concrete application — what to put on, in what order, with which berakha —, one refers to the ruling of the Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. What does one do when only one tefilin is at hand (seif 1)? Does one put on and bless, or wait to have both?
  2. What are שכל אחת מצוה בפני עצמה and אין מעכבות זו את זו? How does this differ from the four tsitsit (siman 13)?
  3. What is an אונס, and what does one do if one has both tefilin but can put on only one?
  4. Which berakha does one say if one puts on only the head (seif 2)? What does the Rama add per our custom?
  5. Which berakha does one say if one puts on only the arm? To which siman does this seif refer?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 27 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה
Talmid Chacham · Teacher of shiurim in halakha and Chassidut
סימן כ״ו · ב׳ סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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