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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION
Siman ל״ז · The time of the mitsva of tefilin and who is obligated (זמן הנחת התפילין)
זמן הנחת התפילין ומי הם החייבים — great is the reward of the mitsva, and whoever does not wear the tefilin is among the פושעי ישראל בגופן; the mitsva would be all day, but since they require a גוף נקי we keep them only for the ק״ש ותפלה; and the חינוך of the קטן who knows how to guard his tefilin
סימן ל״ז · ג׳ סעיפים
זמן הנחת התפילין ומי הם החייבים
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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When does one put on the tefilin, and who is obligated? This siman opens with the weight of the mitsva: great is its reward, and one who never wears them is counted among the פושעי ישראל בגופן (seif 1). It then decides the time: by the law one should wear them all day, but since they require a גוף נקי — not to break wind, not to turn one's mind away from them — and not every person can be careful, the custom became to wear them only for the ק״ש and the תפלה (seif 2). Finally the חינוך: a קטן who knows how to guard his tefilin in purity — his father must buy him some (seif 3). Vocalized Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanations of the three seifim, with a section of practical cases.
Topic: The time of the mitsva of tefilin and who is obligated — the reward and the פושעי ישראל בגופן, the גוף נקי and the ק״ש ותפלה, and the חינוך הקטן
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ל״ז · שלשה סעיפים
Compiled by: Rav Yossef Haim Samama
DAAT · daattorah.com
The previous simanim taught us how the tefilin are written, made and placed (see simanim 32 to 36). There remains the question of the time and the gravity: when must one wear the tefilin, and what is the measure of the mitsva? The Shulchan Aroukh opens with hashkafa — great is the reward, and one who neglects them is among the פושעי ישראל בגופן — and then fixes the psak: the true mitsva would be all day, but the requirement of a גוף נקי reduced the custom to the moment of the ק״ש ותפלה. Finally it teaches the חינוך of the child. We study here at the level of principle; for personal conduct — the age of the first donning, the way to keep the required purity — one refers to the family custom and to the ruling of the Rav.
📑 Study outline
A. The weight of the mitsva — great is its reward, and one who does not wear the tefilin is among the פושעי ישראל בגופן (seif 1)
B. מצוותן כל היום — but גוף נקי — the mitsva would be all day; the requirement of a clean body reduced the custom to the ק״ש ותפלה (seif 2)
C. חינוך הקטן — the father buys tefilin for the קטן who knows how to guard them; the machloket Mehaber / Rama on the age (seif 3)
+ Practical cases and comprehension questions
A. The weight of the mitsva — the פושעי ישראל בגופן (seif 1)
Original text (seif 1)
[א] גָּדוֹל שְׂכַר מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין, וְכָל מִי שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְנִיחָם הוּא בִּכְלַל פּוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּגוּפָן.
[1] Great is the reward of the mitsva of tefilin, and whoever does not wear them is in the category of the “transgressors of Israel with their bodies” (פושעי ישראל בגופן).
גָּדוֹל שְׂכַר מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין — “great is the reward of the mitsva of tefilin” — the Mehaber opens the siman not with a technical detail but with the weight of the mitsva: the tefilin are among the great mitsvot; the whole Torah is compared to them (“so that the Torah of the Lord may be in your mouth”). One who wears them regularly מאריך ימים (lengthens his days).
פּוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּגוּפָן — “the transgressors of Israel with their bodies” — an expression from the Talmud (Rosh haShana 17a). It refers to one whose skull has never worn the tefilin (קרקפתא דלא מנח תפילין) — not by accident, but by habitual neglect, shirking the mitsva. It is a fault “of the body”: it touches the person himself, and the Gemara ranks it among the gravest.
What this seif says:
- The reward: great is that of the mitsva of tefilin — one of the great mitsvot.
- The gravity by contrast: one who does not wear them out of neglect is among the פושעי ישראל בגופן.
- The measure: this is not a mere custom but an obligation on which much depends.
The seif in one sentence: great is the reward of the mitsva of tefilin, and one who, out of neglect, never wears them is counted among the פושעי ישראל בגופן.
B. מצוותן כל היום — but the גוף נקי (seif 2)
Original text (seif 2)
[ב] מִצְוָתָן לִהְיוֹתָם עָלָיו כָּל הַיּוֹם, אֲבָל מִפְּנֵי שֶׁצְּרִיכִים גּוּף נָקִי שֶׁלֹּא יָפִיחַ בָּהֶם וְשֶׁלֹּא יַסִּיחַ דַּעְתּוֹ מֵהֶם, וְאֵין כָּל אָדָם יָכוֹל לִיזָּהֵר בָּהֶם, נָהֲגוּ שֶׁלֹּא לְהַנִּיחָם כָּל הַיּוֹם. וּמִכָּל מָקוֹם צָרִיךְ כָּל אָדָם לִיזָּהֵר בָּהֶם לִהְיוֹתָם עָלָיו בִּשְׁעַת קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וּתְפִלָּה.
[2] The mitsva would be to have them on all day; but because they require a clean body (גוף נקי) — that one not break wind while wearing them and not turn one's mind away from them — and not every person can be careful, the custom became not to wear them all day. Nevertheless, everyone must be careful to have them on during the reading of the Chema (ק״ש) and the prayer (תפלה).
מִצְוָתָן כָּל הַיּוֹם — “their mitsva is all day” — on the level of principle, the mitsva of tefilin is not limited to a single moment: it would be to wear them all day. It is a continuous mitsva, as long as one wears them. The seif first recalls this ideal, before explaining why the custom moved away from it.
גּוּף נָקִי · הֶסַּח הַדַּעַת — “a clean body” · “the turning-away of the mind” — the tefilin require a גוף נקי: not to break wind (שלא יפיח) while wearing them, and not to turn one's mind away from them (שלא יסיח דעתו) toward levity. Since not every person can be careful for a whole day, the custom was not to wear them all day — so as not to fail their holiness. (On the היסח הדעת, see also siman 28 and siman 44.)
What this seif says:
- The principle: מצוותן כל היום — the mitsva would be to wear them all day.
- The obstacle: they require a גוף נקי (no wind, no היסח הדעת), and not every person can be careful.
- The custom: one does not wear them all day.
- The obligatory minimum: everyone must have them on during the ק״ש and the תפלה.
The seif in one sentence: the mitsva would be to wear the tefilin all day, but the requirement of a גוף נקי made it so that one wears them only for the ק״ש ותפלה, when everyone can be careful of their purity.
C. חינוך הקטן — the machloket Mehaber / Rama (seif 3)
Original text (seif 3)
[ג] קָטָן הַיּוֹדֵעַ לִשְׁמֹר תְּפִלִּין בְּטׇהֳרָה שֶׁלֹּא יִישַׁן בָּהֶם וְלֹא יָפִיחַ בָּהֶם, הַגָּה: וְשֶׁלֹּא לִיכָּנֵס בָּהֶן לְבֵית הַכִּסֵּא [רַשִׁ״י פֶּרֶק לוּלָב הַגָּזוּל], חַיָּב אָבִיו לִקְנוֹת לוֹ תְּפִלִּין לְחַנְּכוֹ. הַגָּה: וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים דְּהַאי קָטָן דַּוְקָא שֶׁהוּא בֶּן י״ג שָׁנִים וְיוֹם אֶחָד [בַּעַל הָעִטּוּר], וְכֵן נָהֲגוּ וְאֵין לְשַׁנּוֹת [דִּבְרֵי עַצְמוֹ].
[3] A minor (קטן) who knows how to guard his tefilin in purity (בטהרה) — that he not sleep in them and not break wind in them; Rama: and that he not enter the privy with them [Rachi, chapter לולב הגזול] — his father must buy him tefilin to educate him (לחנכו). Rama: and some say that this minor is precisely one of thirteen years and one day [בעל העיטור], and such is the custom, and it should not be changed [his own words].
קָטָן הַיּוֹדֵעַ לִשְׁמֹר · חִנּוּךְ — “a minor who knows how to guard” · “education” — the חינוך is the father's duty to accustom his son to the mitsvot. For tefilin, the Mehaber sets the measure at the קטן who knows how to guard them בטהרה: not to sleep in them, not to break wind in them (Rama: nor to enter the privy). Once he is capable of this, his father must buy him tefilin to educate him.
The machloket Mehaber / Rama on the age — for the Mehaber, the measure is functional: as soon as the קטן knows how to guard his tefilin in purity, whatever his age. The Rama adds (וי״א, in the name of the בעל העיטור) that this קטן is precisely one of thirteen years and one day — that is, practically the threshold of bar-mitsva — and such is the custom, which should not be changed. In practice, the age of the first donning depends on the communal custom.
What this seif says:
- The condition: a קטן who knows how to guard his tefilin בטהרה (no sleep, no wind; Rama: no בית הכסא).
- The father's duty: to buy him tefilin to educate him (לחנכו).
- Mehaber: the measure is knowing how to guard, with no fixed age.
- Rama (וי״א): this קטן is בן י״ג שנים ויום אחד, and such is the custom, אין לשנות.
The seif in one sentence: the father must buy tefilin for the קטן who knows how to guard them בטהרה to educate him; for the Mehaber the measure is the ability to guard, while the Rama (וי״א) fixes the age at thirteen years and one day, per the custom.
Practical cases
Case 1 — Why one wears tefilin in the morning and not all day
Situation: one hears that the mitsva of tefilin would be “all day.” Why, then, does one wear them only in the morning for prayer?
Conduct: on the level of principle, the mitsva is indeed all day (seif 2). But the tefilin require a גוף נקי — not to break wind and not to turn one's mind away from them — and one cannot be careful of this for a whole day amid one's occupations. The custom therefore became to wear them only for the ק״ש and the תפלה of the morning, when everyone can maintain the required purity. One who is able and wishes, keeping their holiness, may keep them longer — according to the ruling of the Rav.
Case 2 — At what age does a boy begin to wear tefilin
Situation: the parents of a boy approaching bar-mitsva ask when to put tefilin on him for the first time.
Conduct: the Mehaber sets the measure at the קטן who knows how to guard his tefilin in purity; the Rama (וי״א) specifies thirteen years and one day, and such is the Ashkenazi custom. Many communities begin a few weeks or months before the בר מצווה to accustom the boy. The practical rule: follow the custom of one's family and community, and ask the Rav the exact age and manner.
Case 3 — The weight of the mitsva: not to miss a day
Situation: someone wonders whether missing tefilin one day, out of laziness, is really serious.
Conduct: the Mehaber opens the siman precisely on this: great is the reward, and one who neglects the tefilin is among the פושעי ישראל בגופן (seif 1). This is therefore no small detail: everyone must take care to wear the tefilin every day, at least for the ק״ש ותפלה. One who missed by constraint should wear them as soon as he can. For any difficulty (travel, illness, forgetting), one refers to the Rav.
Comprehension questions
Check your understanding:
- With what does the Mehaber open the siman, and what are the פושעי ישראל בגופן (seif 1)?
- What would be the ideal duration of the mitsva of tefilin (seif 2)?
- What is the גוף נקי, and why did it reduce the custom to the ק״ש ותפלה (seif 2)?
- What is the condition for the father to buy tefilin for his קטן (seif 3)?
- What is the machloket between the Mehaber and the Rama on the age of the חינוך (seif 3)?
- Why should one not take lightly the missing of tefilin for a day?
Going further
If you wish to deepen this siman:
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- 👑 Level 4 — Daat HaRav (the Alter Rebbe): the shitah of the Shulchan Aroukh HaRav — the weight of the mitsva, the גוף נקי and the ק״ש ותפלה, and the חינוך הקטן