Menachot

Or else, if when one holds up the strap, [the box] hangs on to it,1 it is new; otherwise it is old. Abaye was once sitting before R. Joseph when the strap of his tefillin suddenly snapped. He thereupon asked R. Joseph, May one tie it together? He answered, The verse says, And thou shalt bind them,2 signifying that the binding shall be perfect. R. Aha the son of R. Joseph asked R. Ashi, May one sew it together, turning the seam on the inside?-He answered, Go and see how the people act.3 R. Papa said, Curtailed straps4 are still valid. But this is not correct; for since R. Hiyya's sons stated, Curtailed blue threads5 are valid, and curtailed hyssop twigs6 are valid, it is clear that only there [are they valid] since they are only accessories of precepts, but it is not so here, as [the straps] are accessories of holy things.7 Apparently there is a fixed length [for the strap], what then is the minimum length? — Rami b. Hama said in the name of Resh Lakish, To the middle finger.8 R. Kahana explained it, [To the middle finger] when bent, but R. Ashi explained it, [To the middle finger] when extended. Rabbah used to tie the knot at the back of his head and allow [the straps] to fall straight down [over his shoulders].9 R. Aha b. Jacob used to tie the knot and then plait [the straps] together. Mar the son of Rabina used to do according to our custom.10 R. Judah the son of R. Samuel b. Shilath said in the name of Rab, The knot11 of the tefillin is a law given to Moses at Sinai. R. Nahman said, Their ornamentation should be on the outside. 12 Once as R. Ashi was sitting before Mar Zutra the strap of his tefillin twisted round, whereupon Mar Zutra said to him, Is not the Master of the opinion that their ornamentation should be on the outside? He replied, [Yes, but] I did not notice it. It is written,’ And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is called upon thee; and they shall be afraid of thee.13 It was taught: R. Eliezer the Great says, This refers to the tefillah of the head.14 And I will take away My hand, and thou shalt see My back.15 Said R. Hana b. Bizna in the name of R. Simeon the Pious, This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Moses the knot of the tefillin. Rab Judah said, The knot of the tefillin should be placed high up,16 so that Israel be high up and not low down. Moreover, it should face the front, so that Israel be in front and not behind. R. Samuel b. Bidri said in the name of Rab (according to some, R. Aha Arika said it in the name of R. Huna, whilst according to others, R. Menashya said it in the name of Samuel), When must one recite the blessing over the tefillin? As soon as they have been put on. But this cannot be, for has not Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel that with regard to all precepts the blessing must be recited prior to the performance thereof? — Abaye and Raba both said, It means, from the time they have been put on until they have been tied.17 shall be perfect’, or ‘the binder (i.e., the strap) shall be perfect’; the strap must therefore be whole and not tied together with a knot. According to R. Tam it is permitted since the people do sew the straps together. only stumps of them remained. precepts; v. Meg. 26b. place that the tefillah is laid upon the arm to the middle finger (either bent or extended). So ‘Aruch, Maim., and Tosaf. According to Rashi the reference is to the length of the straps that hang down beyond the knot that is tied at the back of the head. And the answer given ‘To the first finger’, is explained by R. Kahana as that length corresponding to the greatest distance between the first and middle fingers, and by R., Ashi as that length corresponding to the greatest distance between the first finger and the thumb. The translation in the text follows the explanation of the ‘Aruch. which must resemble the letter yod. These two letters, together with the letter shin that is embossed on the sides of the head-tefillah, form the Name hsa, Almighty. of the straps which is polished black should be on the outside. back of the head and not low down at the nape of the neck. Asheri cites R. ‘Amram Gaon that the reference here is to the position of the knot of the hand-tefillah, i.e., high up on the arm.