DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 564 KB)
Are Tefillin Considered Muktze and Thus Prohibited To Move On Shabbat

One does not wear Tefillin on Shabbat or Yom Tov. See Shulchan Aruch 31:2, and Rama. This includes both the first day of Yom Tov and the additional day observed in the Diaspora. The custom among Sepharadim is not to wear Tefillin during Chol Ha'mo'ed Pesach or Chol Ha'mo'ed Sukkot, either. Among Ashkenazim, different customs exists in this regard of Chol HaMoed. Some wear Tefillin with a Beracha, some wear them without a Beracha, and some do not wear them at all. Tefillin are worn on Chanukah and Purim. On Purim, there is a custom to kiss the Tefillin during the reading of the Megila, when the reader reaches the word "Ve'ykar" in the verse, "La'Yehudim Hayeta Ora Ve'simcha Ve'sason Ve'ykar" ("The Jews had light, joy, jubilation and glory"), because the word "Ve'ykar" alludes to the Mitzva of Tefillin. (Ben Ish Chai, Hilchot Purim Halacha 9)

Given that Tefillin may not be worn on Shabbat or Yom Tov, the question arises as to whether they are considered Muktze – an object that serves no functional purpose on Shabbat and may therefore not be handled on Shabbat. For example, if one wants to sit on a chair on Shabbat but his Tefillin were left on the chair before Shabbat, may he move the Tefillin so he can sit? Furthermore, if a Rabbi teaches a class on Shabbat about Tefillin, may he show the students Tefillin as part of his instruction?

Halacha classifies Tefillin under the category known as "Keli She'melachto Le'issur" – utensils whose primary use involves activity forbidden on Shabbat. The law regarding such a "utensil" is that one may move it either to use the space it currently occupies, or to use the item itself for a permissible purpose. Therefore, in the aforementioned case of the Tefillin left on a chair, one may, indeed, move the Tefillin so that he can use the chair. Likewise, one may use Tefillin for a permissible purpose on Shabbat, such as if a Rabbi wishes to show the Tefillin to his students as part of his instruction of the laws of Tefillin.

Summary:
1) One may not wear Tefillin on Shabbat or Yom Tov; different customs exist regarding wearing Tefillin on Chol Ha'mo'ed.
2) Tefillin are worn on Chanukah and Purim.
3) On Shabbat and Yom Tov, one may move Tefillin only for the purpose of using the space it occupies, or to use the Tefillin themselves in a manner permissible on Shabbat.

See Halichot Olam, Helek 3, page 196. See Menuhat Ahava, Helek 1, page 263.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Purim- Laws Regarding the Megila Scroll
Purim – Does One Add Al Ha'nisim in Birkat Ha'mazon if the Meal Ends After Dark?
Purim – Sending Mishlo'ah Manot to a Mourner
Purim – When is the Preferred Time for the Purim Meal?
Handling a Megila on Shabbat
Purim Katan: Haman's Decree and Kashrut
"Purim Katan" – the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Days of Adar Rishon
Purim- Is Megilat Esther Considered Muktze on Shabbat
Purim- Machatzit Ha'shekel
Purim- Reading Haman's 10 Son's Names In One Breath, and Is It Permissible TO Recite The Berachot on The Megila If Less Than A Minyan
Purim- When and How To Recite Havdala When Purim Falls Out On Motza’ei Shabbat
Purim- An Explanation and Understanding of the Page with 10 Names in Megilat Esther
Purim- Some Halachot When Taanit Esther Is Observed On Thursday Prior To Purim That Falls Out On Saturday Night
Is It Permissible for A Sofer To Use Silk Screening Process When Producing a Megilah or Sefer Torah
Purim- Certain Required Characteristics of A Kosher Megilah
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found