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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman ל״א · Tefilin on Shabbat and Yom Tov (דין תפילין בשבת ויום טוב)

Why does one not put on tefilin on Shabbat and Yom Tov? These days are themselves a sign (אות); adding tefilin would be a zilzul of their own sign. The same reason applies to חול המועד — with the gloss of the Rama.
סימן ל״א · ב׳ סעיפים
דין תפילין בשבת ויום טוב
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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The tefilin are themselves an אות — a "sign" of the covenant between Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He. Now Shabbat and Yom Tov are, in turn, days that carry their own sign. One therefore does not put on the tefilin on those days: one who already has a sign needs no second one, and adding it would be a זלזול — a slighting — of the sign of the day. The siman applies the same reason to חול המועד, and reports the gloss of the Rama. Vocalized Hebrew text, clear English translation and explanations of the two seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: Tefilin on Shabbat and Yom Tov — these days are themselves a sign, and חול המועד for the same reason, with the gloss of the Rama
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ל״א · שני סעיפים

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

The previous siman taught us when one puts on the tefilin — their time is the day and not the night (siman 30). There remains another question of time: are there days on which one does not put them on at all? The Shulchan Aroukh answers that Shabbat and Yom Tov are themselves an אות, a sign of the covenant; and since the tefilin too are a sign, putting one on those days would be a זלזול, a slighting of the sign of the holy day. The same holds for חול המועד, whose days are also a sign — but the Rama reports that there are those who say (וי״א) that Chol haMoed is ḥayav in tefilin, and that the custom, in these lands, was to put them on during Chol haMoed and bless over them, yet without blessing aloud in the synagogue. We study here at the level of principle; for the finer conduct — and especially the custom of one's own community on Chol haMoed — one refers to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. Shabbat and Yom Tov — one does not put on tefilin: these days are themselves an אות, and adding one would be a זלזול of their sign (seif 1)
B. חול המועד — the same reason (its days too are an אות); gloss of the Rama: וי״א ḥayav, and the custom to put them on without blessing aloud (seif 2)
+ Practical cases and comprehension questions

A. Shabbat and Yom Tov — one does not put on tefilin (seif 1)

Original text (seif 1)

[א] בְּשַׁבָּת וְיוֹם טוֹב אָסוּר לְהָנִיחַ תְּפִלִּין, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהֵם עַצְמָם אוֹת, וְאִם מְנִיחִים בָּהֶם אוֹת אַחֵר הָיָה זִלְזוּל לָאוֹת שֶׁלָּהֶם.
[1] On Shabbat and Yom Tov it is forbidden to put on tefilin, because they are themselves a sign (אות); and if one were to put another sign on them, it would be a slighting (זלזול) of their own sign.
אוֹת — the "sign" — the tefilin are called a sign: "וְהָיָה לְךָ לְאוֹת עַל יָדְךָ" — "it shall be for you a sign on your hand" (Chemot 13). Likewise, Shabbat is a sign: "אוֹת הִיא בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם" — "it is a sign between Me and you" (Chemot 31). The tefilin proclaim the bond of Israel with its Creator; but the day of Shabbat (and of Yom Tov) already proclaims that very bond by itself. One who already possesses a sign needs no second one.
זִלְזוּל — a "slighting" — to come and place another sign (the tefilin) upon a day that is already, in itself, a sign, would be to treat the sign of the day as though it did not suffice — a זלזול, an affront to the honor of the sign proper to Shabbat and Yom Tov. This is why, on those days, one does not put on the tefilin.
What this seif says:
The seif in one sentence: on Shabbat and Yom Tov one does not put on the tefilin, for these days are themselves a sign (אות), and adding a second one would be a זלזול of their own sign.

B. חול המועד — the same reason; the gloss of the Rama (seif 2)

Original text (seif 2)

[ב] בְּחֹל הַמּוֹעֵד גַּם כֵּן אָסוּר לְהָנִיחַ תְּפִלִּין מֵהַטַּעַם הַזֶּה בְּעַצְמוֹ, שֶׁיְּמֵי חֹל הַמּוֹעֵד גַּם הֵם אוֹת. הַגָּה: וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים שֶׁחֹל הַמּוֹעֵד חַיָּב בִּתְפִלִּין [בֵּית יוֹסֵף בְּשֵׁם הָרֹא״שׁ], וְכֵן נוֹהֲגִין בְּכָל גְּלִילוֹת אֵלּוּ לְהָנִיחָם בַּמּוֹעֵד וּלְבָרֵךְ עֲלֵיהֶם, אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵין מְבָרְכִין עֲלֵיהֶם בְּקוֹל רָם בְּבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת כְּמוֹ שְׁאָר יְמוֹת הַשָּׁנָה.
[2] On חול המועד as well, it is forbidden to put on tefilin, for this same reason: for the days of חול המועד are also a sign (אות). Gloss (Rama): And there are those who say (וי״א) that חול המועד is obligated in tefilin [Beit Yossef in the name of the Rosh], and so is the custom, in all these lands, to put them on during Chol haMoed and bless over them — except that one does not bless over them aloud in the synagogue as on the other days of the year.
חוֹל הַמּוֹעֵד — the intermediate days of the festival — these are the days that fall between the first and last days of Pessah and of Souccot. The Shulchan Aroukh (the Mehaber) teaches that they too are an אות — a sign of the festival — and on that account one does not put on tefilin during them, for the very same reason as on Shabbat and Yom Tov.
הַגָּה — the gloss of the Rama (וי״א חַיָּב) — the Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, the authority of Ashkenazi psak) adds that there are those who say (וי״א), in the name of the Rosh reported by the Beit Yossef, that Chol haMoed is on the contrary obligated in tefilin — for the intermediate days do not carry a sign as complete as Shabbat and Yom Tov. According to this view, the custom in these lands was to put on the tefilin during Chol haMoed and bless over them — but without reciting the berakha aloud in the synagogue, unlike the other days of the year, out of regard for the other view (that of the Mehaber).
What this seif says:
The seif in one sentence: on חול המועד, the Mehaber too forbids tefilin (its days are a sign); the Rama reports the opposing view (וי״א ḥayav) and the custom to put them on without blessing aloud in the synagogue.

To understand: the tefilin as a sign

The tefilin, a "sign" — and why the holy day needs none — the Torah calls the tefilin an אות: worn on the arm and on the head, they are the visible witness of Israel's cleaving to its Creator, of the yoke of Heaven accepted upon the heart and the mind. But Shabbat and Yom Tov — and after them Chol haMoed — are themselves proclaimed signs by the Torah: the rest and the holiness of the day already say, by themselves, that very bond. The holy day is thus itself what the tefilin express on weekdays; putting one on would not strengthen the sign — it would diminish it, as if the sign of the day were not enough.
This is why the absence of tefilin, on Shabbat and Yom Tov, is not a lack but an elevation: the day itself serves as the sign, and the Jew, on that day, is wholly that sign — with no need to wear it on his body.

Practical cases

Case 1 — Does one put on tefilin on Shabbat or Yom Tov?

Situation: it is the morning of Shabbat (or a day of Yom Tov). Should one, as on weekdays, put on the tefilin for the prayer?
Conduct: no — one does not put on the tefilin on Shabbat or Yom Tov (seif 1). These days are themselves an אות, a sign; a second sign would be a זלזול, a slighting of the sign of the day. On that day the Jew bears the sign through the day itself.

Case 2 — And on חול המועד?

Situation: it is the intermediate days of Pessah or Souccot (חול המועד). Does one put on tefilin?
Conduct: here the views diverge. For the Mehaber, one does not put on tefilin during Chol haMoed (its days too are a sign). The Rama reports the view (וי״א) that obligates them, and the custom to put them on without blessing aloud in the synagogue (seif 2). The custom varies among communities — the concrete conduct depends on the minhag of one's community and family: on this point one refers to the ruling of one's Rav.

Case 3 — Understanding the meaning: the sign of the day

Situation: a beginner asks why a day as elevated as Shabbat would be "deprived" of the mitsva of tefilin.
Insight: it is no deprivation. The tefilin are an אות, a sign of the bond with the Creator; but Shabbat and Yom Tov are already, in themselves, that same sign. The holy day is what the tefilin express on weekdays. Putting one on would add nothing — it would treat the sign of the day as insufficient. The absence of tefilin here is a mark of the fullness of the day.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. Why does one not put on the tefilin on Shabbat and Yom Tov? What is an אות?
  2. In what way would adding the tefilin on those days be a זלזול?
  3. What is the Mehaber's reason for חול המועד? How does it match the reason for Shabbat and Yom Tov?
  4. What does the Rama report (וי״א) about Chol haMoed, and what custom does he describe? Why without blessing aloud?
  5. In what way is the absence of tefilin, on Shabbat, an elevation rather than a lack?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 32 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה
Talmid Chacham · Teacher of shiurim in halakha and Chassidut
סימן ל״א · שני סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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