DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 4.03 MB)
Is One Allowed to Keep Other Items With the Tefillin in the Tefillin Bag?

The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 42:3) writes that if one keeps his Tefillin in a bag which is exclusively designated for Tefillin, then once he placed his Tefillin in the bag, he may not then use the bag to keep money inside it. The bag at that point becomes a "Tashmish Kedusha" – an article designated for the purpose of a sacred article – and thus may not be used for money. The Mishna Berura (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, 1839-1933) clarifies that the Shulhan Aruch mentions money only as a common example, and in truth, this Halacha applies to all items which are not sacred like Tefillin. Even things which are used for a Misva – such as a Siddur or Tehillim – may not be placed in the bag designated for Tefillin. Likewise, one may not keep in this bag the mirror he uses to help position the Tefillin on his head, or the marker he uses to paint his Tefillin.

Many people keep their small Tefillin bag in a larger bag, which is used also for their Tallit and Siddur. Since this larger bag is not designated exclusively for Tefillin, it may be used for other items, even items which are not used for a Misva, such as money. This Halacha is discussed by Hacham David Yosef (contemporary) in his Halacha Berura (vol. 3, p. 301; listen to audio recording for precise citation).

Summary: A bag which is designated exclusively for Tefillin may not be used to hold anything else, even a Siddur. However, if one keeps his Tefillin bag in a larger bag together with his Tallit and Siddur, then since the larger bag is not designated exclusively for Tefillin, he may keep anything else – even money – in that larger bag.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Cases Where One Eats a Fruit Followed by a Food Which Requires "Ha'etz" According to Some Authorities
Reciting a Beracha Before Eating Shells or Peels
Reciting a Beracha Before Drinking Olive Oil
Reciting a Beracha Before Eating a Lemon
Holding The Talet When Reciting The Beracha
May One Recite Netliat Yadayim In Shul If He Forgot But Washed At Home
Can One Recite Boreh Nefashot If He Does Not Have The Ability To Say Meen Shalosh When Required
Is One Permitted To Recite Birkat Ha’levana or Asher Yatzar For A Friend If The Friend Answers Amen
Does One Recite a Beracha Before Smelling a Lemon?
The Order of Beracha Rishona When Eating a Mezonot, Etz, and Adama
What is The Beracha on Rice with Vegetables and When Eating Apples with Bananas
The Beracha Recited Upon Seeing a Rainbow
Is It Proper For Sephardim To Make HaMotzih on Shabbat on Halah That Contains Strong Sweeteners
Reciting Birkat Ha'gomel When Experiencing Temporary Relief From a Chronic Illness, Upon Being Saved From Drowning, and After Parachuting
Reciting Birkat Ha'levana When a Thin Cloud Covers the Moon
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found