Talmud - Menachot 36a מנחות ל״ו א׳

§ Rav Ḥisda says: If one spoke between donning the phylacteries of the arm and the phylacteries of the head, he must recite the blessing again when donning the phylacteries of the head.

The Gemara notes: One can infer that if he spoke, yes, he must recite a blessing when donning the phylacteries of the head, but if he did not speak, he does not recite a blessing. The Gemara challenges this: But Rav Ḥiyya, son of Rav Huna, sent a ruling in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: On the phylacteries of the arm one says the blessing: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us through His mitzvot and commanded us to don phylacteries. On the phylacteries of the head one says the blessing: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us through His mitzvot and commanded us concerning the mitzva of phylacteries. This indicates that one always recites a blessing when donning the phylacteries of the head.

Abaye and Rava both say, to resolve this apparent contradiction: Rabbi Yoḥanan meant that if one did not speak, he recites one blessing; if he spoke, he recites two blessings, when donning the phylacteries of the head as well as when donning the phylacteries of the arm.

Concerning this, it is taught in a baraita: If one spoke between donning the phylacteries of the arm and the phylacteries of the head, he has a sin, and due to that sin he returns from the ranks of soldiers waging war. This is referring to the preparation for war, when the officers announce: “What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house” (Deuteronomy 20:8). The Sages explained that this is referring to one who is fearful due to his transgressions.

It is further taught in a baraita: When one dons phylacteries, he first dons the phylacteries of the arm and afterward dons the phylacteries of the head. And when he removes his phylacteries, he first removes the phylacteries of the head and afterward removes the phylacteries of the arm. The Gemara asks: Granted, the ruling that when one dons phylacteries he first dons the phylacteries of the arm and afterward dons the phylacteries of the head is understood, as it is first written: “And you shall bind them for a sign upon your arm,” and then it is written: “And they shall be for frontlets between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:8).

But from where do we derive the halakha that when he removes his phylacteries, he first removes the phylacteries of the head and afterward he removes the phylacteries of the arm? Rabba said in explanation: Rav Huna explained to me the source of this halakha. The verse states: “And you shall bind them for a sign upon your arm and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes,” and it is derived from here: As long as the phylacteries of the head are between your eyes, the number of phylacteries you are wearing shall be two.

The Sages taught in a baraita: With regard to phylacteries, from when does one recite a blessing over them? From when the time arrives to don them. How so? If one is rising early to leave his home to travel on the road and is afraid lest his phylacteries become lost during the journey, he dons them even at night, despite the fact that this is not the proper time for the mitzva of phylacteries. And when the time for their mitzva arrives, in the morning, he touches them and recites a blessing over them.

And until when does one wear them? Until the sun sets. Rabbi Ya’akov says: Until traffic in the marketplace ceases. And the Rabbis say: Until the time of sleep. And the Rabbis concede to Rabbi Ya’akov that if one removed them to go out to the bathroom or to enter the bathhouse and the sun set, one does not don them again.

Rav Naḥman says: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ya’akov. The Gemara likewise relates that Rav Ḥisda and Rabba bar Rav Huna would pray in the evening, i.e., the evening service, with phylacteries. Some say that Rav Naḥman ruled that the halakha is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ya’akov but in accordance with the opinion of the first tanna that the mitzva of phylacteries ends at sunset.

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Menachot 36a examines the required blessings for tefillin when speaking interrupts placing the arm and head phylacteries, plus the correct order for donning and removing them.