Yerushalmi Eruvin 10:1 ירושלמי עירובין י׳:א׳

MISHNAH: He who finds tefillin¹Phylacteries, to be worn on weekdays, one on the arm and one on the head. Since they contain passages of Torah (Ex. 13:1–10, 11–16; Deut. 6:4–9, 11:13–21), they are holy and may not be left unprotected lying in the open on the road. Since the rule that phylacteries are muqṣeh and not to be worn on the Sabbath is rabbinic, in case of need the rabbinic restriction is waved; the tefillin may be worn as clothing; bringing them to a safe place in this way is a meritorious act, not a Sabbath desecration. brings them in pair by pair; Rabban Gamliel says, two by two²Even though on weekdays one never wears tefillin this way, since it is possible to wear two pairs simultaneously it is preferable to reduce the number of trips, i. e., the number of violations of rabbinic Sabbath restrictions.. When has this been said? For used ones, but for new ones³They look like tefillin but in fact might be amulets for which no rules are waived. he is not liable. If he found them in heaps or bundles⁴Heaps are lightly tied together, bundles are tied pair by pair. he stays there until it becomes dark and then brings them, but in times of danger⁵When the exercise of Jewish rites is prosecuted by the government. he covers them and goes away.

HALAKHAH: ““He who finds tefillin,” etc. “He who finds tefillin¹Phylacteries, to be worn on weekdays, one on the arm and one on the head. Since they contain passages of Torah (Ex. 13:1–10, 11–16; Deut. 6:4–9, 11:13–21), they are holy and may not be left unprotected lying in the open on the road. Since the rule that phylacteries are muqṣeh and not to be worn on the Sabbath is rabbinic, in case of need the rabbinic restriction is waved; the tefillin may be worn as clothing; bringing them to a safe place in this way is a meritorious act, not a Sabbath desecration. brings them in pair by pair;” as clothing, one on his head and one on his arm. “Rabban Gamliel says, two by two²Even though on weekdays one never wears tefillin this way, since it is possible to wear two pairs simultaneously it is preferable to reduce the number of trips, i. e., the number of violations of rabbinic Sabbath restrictions.,” two on his head and two on his arm.

³⁹Most of this and the next paragraph are in Berakhot 2:3, Notes 104–115. A text closer to the formulation here is in Pesiqta Rabbati 22 (ed. Ish-Shalom p. 112b, Notes 47–54). Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Eleazar⁴⁰In Pesiqta rabbati: R. Joḥanan.: He who puts on tefillin in the night transgresses a positive commandment. What is the reason? You shall keep this law …, from day to day⁴¹Ex. 13:10.; “days” not nights. But Rebbi Abbahu sat studying at night with his tefillin on his head! He put them on the side; they were like a deposit⁴²Reading with the two other sources פיקדון instead of פיקרין “wool flakes”. in his keeping. Some want to say, he only meant “not to put them on,” but when they were on him during daytime it would be permitted. Some want to say that the obligation is until the foot is disappearing from public places⁴³As long as there is traffic in the streets. This statement is missing in Berakhot.. Some want to say, let us hear it from the following: It shall be for you a sign⁴⁴Ex. 13:19., when you need it for a sign, but not holiday or Sabbaths that are all sign. But is it not written from day to day? You have only what Rebbi Joḥanan said: Everything that is not clear one supports from many places.

Women from where? And you should teach them to your sons⁴⁵Deut. 11:19., but not to your daughters. Anyone who is obliged to study Torah is obliged for tefillin, women who are not obliged to study Torah are not obliged for tefillin They objected, but did not Michal, the daughter of Saul, wear tefillin, and did not the wife of Jonah make the pilgrimage to the Temple, and the Sages did not object?. Rebbi Ḥisqiah in the name of Rebbi Abbahu: Jonah’s wife was turned back, the Sages objected⁴⁶In both parallel texts: מיחו בידיה “interfered with her”, i. e., actually forbade it. to Michal the daughter of Saul.

They wanted to say, in the rabbi’s opinion it is not clear; in Rabban Gamliel’s opinion it is clear⁴⁷The rabbis hold that the verse, it shall be for you a sign, does not necessarily imply that tefillin may not be worn on a Sabbath. Therefore they require that the tefillin be worn as if it were a weekday to avoid any Sabbath violation. Rabban Gamliel holds that the inference from the verse is absolutely valid; wearing the tefillin is a violation in itself, and therefore he prescribes, not simply permits, wearing two tefillin in order to demonstrate that they are not worn qua tefillin.. Rebbi Jeremiah said in the name of Rebbi Samuel: They estimated to say, up to the place where it can be placed on the top of the head⁴⁸The head tefillin have to be placed at the top of the forehead, where it becomes horizontal. R. Jeremiah disputes the inference drawn in the first sentence and notes that Rabban Gamliel also may hold that not wearing tefillin on the Sabbath is general practice but not biblical commandment; only he biblically permits wearing two pairs of tefillin simultaneously.. For how many is there space? Two. Then even on weekdays? Rebbi Ḥaggai said, if he wants to put there, he puts⁴⁹In effect it would be permitted to wear two pairs simultaneously. [Sefer HaTerumah, Tefillin, §213 (ed. Warsaw 1897 p. 116c top, ed. Jerusalem 2010, col. 490) reads the passage as inviting people to change the placement of the head tefillin at will but permitting only one pair. This seems to be reading the Yerushalmi text on the basis of the Babli 95b.]. Rebbi Zeriqa said, Rav Hamnuna explained to me, up to the place where the baby’s brain is soft. There we have stated⁵⁰Mishnai Idiut 6:1.: “About a chicken which was stoned in Jerusalem because it had killed a person.” It saw that the skull of the baby was soft; it went and picked it.

Rebbi Yose said, so is the Mishnah: Only by pairs⁴⁷The rabbis hold that the verse, it shall be for you a sign, does not necessarily imply that tefillin may not be worn on a Sabbath. Therefore they require that the tefillin be worn as if it were a weekday to avoid any Sabbath violation. Rabban Gamliel holds that the inference from the verse is absolutely valid; wearing the tefillin is a violation in itself, and therefore he prescribes, not simply permits, wearing two tefillin in order to demonstrate that they are not worn qua tefillin.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: Even by pairs⁵¹This refers to the statement of Rabban Gamliel in Mishnah 1. R. Aḥa follows R. Jeremiah in holding that Rabban Gamliel might consider the Sabbath as biblically a time for tefillin.. They wanted to say, in the rabbi’s opinion it is not clear; in Rabban Aḥa’s opinion it is clear⁵²A repetition of a sentence from the preceding paragraph , quoted as background for the question in the next sentence. If Rabban Gamliel holds that tefillin are biblically forbidden on the Sabbath, and transporting them on the Sabbath is a violation, why not simply carry them?. Could he not bring them in his hand? It is better to bring them as garment⁵³Then the Sabbath is violated only rabbinically. not as load. It is better to push the Sabbath away once not twice.

It was stated⁵⁴Tosephta 8:15.: Whether he be a man or a woman. They wanted to say, he who said that it is clear, is understandable. He who said that it is not clear, should it not be clear for a man but clear for a woman⁵⁵Since in the preceding it was stated that the Sages disapproved of (or interfered with) a woman putting on tefillin, then it should be clear that the Sabbath is not a time for tefillin for a woman and the rules for men and women should be different.? Rebbi Eleazar said, who is he who stated “woman”? Rabban Gamliel⁵⁶This is the reading of two of the ms. sources in the Tosephta. In R. Eleazar’s opinion, the rabbis might oppose a woman putting on tefillin to preserve them on the Sabbath.! As it was stated⁵⁷The same statement in Sukkah 2:1 (52d l.45).: Tabi the slave of Rabban Gamliel was putting on tefillin and the Sages did not interfere with him. Did they here interfere with him⁵⁸If this refers to Michal the daughter of Saul it should be “her” not him”. It may simply be a copy from the discussion in Sukhah, referring to Tabi.? It is the same for a slave or a woman⁵⁹Since both women and slaves are exempted from positive commandments tied to fixed times, and tefillin are not to be worn during nighttime..

“When has this been said? For used ones, but for new ones³They look like tefillin but in fact might be amulets for which no rules are waived. he is free.” Why? Old ones are checked, new ones are not checked⁶⁰This is the practical definition of “new” and “old” in the Mishnah. The obligation to take care of them applies only if it is clear that the items are (rabbinic) tefillin and neither amulets nor non-standard tefillin (such as the tefillin from Qumran).. It was stated⁶¹Mekhilta dR.. Simeon ben Yoḥai Ba 17 (ed. Horovitz-Rabin p. 69), cf. Tanḥuma Bo 14 (end) (Sefer Wehizhir ed. I. M. Freimann p. 8), with Shammai in place of Hillel. Quoted by Tosaphot Menaḥot 43a.: One has to check tefillin once every twelve months, the words of Rebbi. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, they do not need checking. Hillel the Elder said, these are from my maternal grandfather. If he found two or three heaps, he checks the first pair of the first bundle; the same with the second or the third⁶²The presumption is that of validity of the tefillin; in general prima facie evidence of validity is established by three checks. A similar rule regarding buying tefillin from a place not under rabbinic supervision is in Tosephta Avodah zarah 3:8.. Isaac ben Eleazar⁶³There are at least two Amoraim of this name. asked: Does one create a presumption for all of them or is each one of them for itself? If you are saying that one creates a presumption for all of them, he checks the first pair of the first heap⁶⁴In this case one reads the Tosephta as meaning that one may freely choose the batch from which one examines one pair. In the second alternative one has to establish regular presumption of validity for every separate batch. Cf. Babli 97a.. If you are saying that each one creates a presumption for itself, he checks three pairs from each heap.

“But in times of danger⁵When the exercise of Jewish rites is prosecuted by the government. he covers them and goes away.” “If it was in the rainy season he covers himself with leather and covers them.⁶⁵Cf. Tosephta 8:16.” Rebbi Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Abba: This you are saying if it is soft. But if it is hard it is like a load⁶⁶He goes home and takes a sheet of soft leather which he uses as a raincoat until he returns to the place of the tefillin (or in the case of the Tosephta, a Torah scroll) and covers them. But a hard sheet which cannot be used as a raincoat may not be taken out on the Sabbath since this would be a biblical violation.. If the place was at an incline, but if it was not an incline this does not apply⁶⁷If the tefillin were immersed in standing water and ruined by the time he returns from his house, trying to cover them in leather would be futile; he is not required to do anything..