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As a continuation to my question regarding why the Beit Yosef apparently deviated from his normal method of ruling in the case of laying teffilin on Chol HaMoed, I'm curious what the practice was prior to the Sh"A?

I don't mean immediately prior, but in earlier generations, the Rishonim, Geonim, etc...

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Robert S. Barnes
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2 Answers2

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According to R. Yosef Karo's uncle, R. Yitzchak Karo, the Sephardic practice prior to the Zohar was like the Rosh, to wear tefilin with a bracha (quoted in שו"ת בית יוסף, תש"כ, עמ' שפה). The Beit Yosef (או"ח סי' לא) cites the Rashba in addition to the Zohar, as the source for the change in Sephardic practice. It isn't clear what Sephardic practice was prior to the Rosh, however it seems likely that it was not to wear. The Otzar ha-Geonim (Eruvin 192-193) forbids tefilin. The BeHaG cites R. Yaakov ben Haviv as prohibiting (Hildesheimer ed., pp. 482-483). The Sefer ha-Ittim also prohibits wearing tefilin (cited by the Rosh, Halakhot ketanot, tefilin 16). The Meiri cites the Sephardic practice as not to wear tefilin (Moed katan 18b).

On the other hand, the sources to wear tefilin are Ashkenazi. The Sefer haTerumah proves from the fact that one can write tefilin on chol hamoed that it is a zman tefilin (hilkhot tefilin 213). The Hagaot Maimoniot says וכן הנהיגו כל רבותינו להניח תפילין בחול המועד. The Raavad (תמים דעים מ) says one is not obligated but if you want to wear, you should do so without a bracha. The Semak says to wear without a bracha (mitzva 150). The Rosh cites the Maharam as making a bracha.

All these sources are from Jacob Katz's article about the topic in הלכה וקבלה.

wfb
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    You neglect to mention the Yerushalmi (MK 3:4) which makes it abundantly clear that Tefillin were worn on Chol HaMoed in Israel at that time. – Double AA Oct 16 '13 at 16:34
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    No, I mention the Sefer ha-Terumah's proof from said Yerushalmi. Take it easy. – wfb Oct 16 '13 at 16:36
  • I am taking it easy: I gave you links and +1'ed your post. You don't mention the Yerushalmi though. Your quote of the SHT (which I haven't checked) is not quite the proof of the Yerushalmi, as there could be other reasons why one would write tefilin on chol hamoed (eg to wear them after chol hamoed). – Double AA Oct 16 '13 at 16:37
  • Thanks. It would be assur to write tefillin for after Yom Tov. Jacob Katz points out that the proof from the tannaim is not conclusive, because they are of the opinion that Yom Tov is zman tefillin. – wfb Oct 16 '13 at 16:48
  • I'm talking about the Ammoraim in the Yerushalmi, not the Tannaim in Mishna. While I appreciate Jacob Katz's erudition, his point has already been noticed, analyzed and rejected by Ritva (Eruvin 96) and Rosh (Tefillin 16). And it is not at all clear that it would be prohibited to write tefilin for oneself to use after Yom Tov. We in fact paskin that it is permitted to do so (OC 545:3). – Double AA Oct 16 '13 at 17:08
  • As does the Sefer haTerumah: אמנם מר' מאיר ור' יהודה דאמרי פרק ואלו מגלחין כותב אדם תפלין לעצמו אין ראיה שיניח בחול המועד שהרי אפי' בשבת סוברין דמניח תפלין כדאיתא פרק המוצא תפלין אבל יש ראיה מעובדא דירושלמי. The Ritva says it would clearly be prohibited: ואם לא היה זמן תפילין במועד היה אסור כדמוכח התם במכילתין. – wfb Oct 16 '13 at 17:23
  • Do you have a link to Katz's article? – Robert S. Barnes Oct 17 '13 at 11:30
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    Sorry, no--I did find this article though http://www.orot.ac.il/publications/oreshet/oreshetpdf/4-8.pdf – wfb Oct 17 '13 at 14:29
  • Regarding the pro-teffilin sources being Ashkenazi, it's my understanding that the Rambam supported tefillin on chol hamoed, and he's definitely not Ashkenazi. – Robert S. Barnes Oct 22 '13 at 12:47
  • The source you brought basically says that until the 1300's the more or less universal minhag was to lay teffilin on chol hamoed and the only issue was a safeq whether to lay with or without a bracha.

    ‫ברור אם כן שעד ימיו של בעל הטורים השיקול היחיד שהניע את המחלוקת‬ ‫היה השיקול ההלכתי, שמקורו היה בדרך כלל בדיון בשאלה העקרונית לגבי‬ ‫חומרת איסורי המלאכה בחול המועד והמסתעף ממנה – חובת הנחת התפילין.‬ ‫כמו כן ברור שברוב המקומות הניחו תפילין בחול המועד, והספק היחיד היה אם‬ ‫לאור המחלוקת ההלכתית נכון גם לברך עליהם.‬

    – Robert S. Barnes Oct 22 '13 at 13:23
  • I assume he means at the time of the Tur that was the practice, as he cites the Geonim who prohibit immediately prior – wfb Oct 22 '13 at 15:17
  • No, it's clear from the rest of the article that he means the nearly universal practice up until the publishing and popularization of the Zohar was to lay teffilin with a bracha, despite the opinions of some Geonim to the contrary. For example it says immediately after the reference to the Geonim:

    ‫הרא"ש ממשיך ומצטט את הסוגיות הרלוונטיות מהתלמוד‬ ‫הירושלמי ומבבלי מועד קטן, שמהן משמע שבפועל הונחו תפילין בחול המועד,‬ ‫ומהן הוא מסיק שיש להניח תפילין, וכל שכן לדברי רבנו תם הסובר שמלאכת‬ ‫חול המועד נאסרה רק מדרבנן.‬

     – Robert S. Barnes Oct 23 '13 at 06:27
  • By the way, what journal is that article from? – Robert S. Barnes Oct 23 '13 at 06:45
  • The Beit Yosef, in Kesef Mishneh seems to say explicitly that the universal minhag was to lay teffilin prior to the Zohar, and that the practice stopped because of the Zohar:

    ‫מנהג העולם היה להניחן עד שבימי רבנן בתראי מצאו בספר הזוהר לשיר‬ ‫השירים שמי שמניח תפילין בחול המועד כמי שקוצץ בנטיעות! ונמנעו מלהניחם‬ ‫‫עוד בחול המועד‬

     – Robert S. Barnes Oct 23 '13 at 11:13
  • The Meiri says otherwise though, and how would the Rosh's view prove what the universal practice always was? The journal is אורשת – wfb Oct 23 '13 at 15:07
  • First, he's simply quoting the Rosh's view that this was always the universal practice. Take it or leave it I guess. According to the article,Ritva, who lived in Spain at the exact same time Meiri was living in Catalonia in southwestern France ( both were born about 1250 ), brings that the practice was to put teffilin and that some people put without a bracha because of the issue brought up by the Baalai Tosefot. Also, that seems to have been the explicit historical opinion of the Beit Yosef, and Altshuler brings other sources as well. – Robert S. Barnes Oct 23 '13 at 18:13
  • @RobertS.Barnes When one person says it's Minhag haOlam and the other one says they didn't do it, we see that it isn't a strictly universal custom, but a very popular one. You can quote as many people as you want who say Minhag haOlam and that won't change anything. They mean it lav davka. – Double AA Nov 13 '13 at 14:47
  • @DoubleAA I think we probably agree here if I'm understanding you correctly. Basically, it seems that the vast majority of people in the vast majority of times and places prior to the Zohar layed tefillin with a bracha, although there were some exceptions here and there. If I can find time I'd actually like to work up a spread sheet with a table listing people, where and when they lived, they're opinion on current practice and they're opinion on historical practice ( if they had one ). – Robert S. Barnes Nov 14 '13 at 08:20
  • @DoubleAA Look at the Gra in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Siman 31 who says "ain re'ah klal" from the Yerushalmi that one should wear tefillin on chol hamoed (!) He says the reason being that that sugia is going according to the Tanoim (Rav Yehuda and Rav Meir) that held shabbos and yom tov is zman tefillin. To me what he writes is a pelah since many Rishonim bring a re'ah from that Yerushalmi and even address his point (saying it's not a kasha.) Also it's amoroim (Rav) paskening their in the Yerushalmi, who definitely held Shabbos/Yom Tov is not zman tefillin. – Yehoshua May 16 '16 at 19:45
  • @Yehoshua The Gra is trying to avoid the Zohar arguing with the Gemara. – Double AA May 16 '16 at 19:47
  • @DoubleAA I didn't want to say that. Do you think he was so influenced by the Zohar? I had posed this possibility to an older Talmud Chacham today who said that the Gra wouldn't find the need to learn a difficult p'shat in the Yerushalmi in order to justify the Zohar. Rather he claimed that perhaps he did this in order to fit in with one of the shitas brought down in the Bavli that malacha on Chol HaMoed is really d'oraisa (but the Rabbis find cases where you could be lenient.) This thus leaves room to say that tefillin on Chol HaMoed should be just like yom tov – Yehoshua May 16 '16 at 19:51
  • @Yehoshua Yes that's the other approach. But then why not just say the Yerushalmi is holding Melakha is Derabanan (like the famous Yerushalmi of R Abba bar Mamal) while we hold like the Bavli? That's not so crazy. You'd only reread the Yerushalmi completely if you thought it was impossible to have a certain position, ie. the Zohar says wearing Tefililn on CH deserves death, so it can't be any Tannaim were doing that, because then they'd be violating important metaphysical truths. – Double AA May 16 '16 at 20:01
  • @DoubleAA I just find it difficult that he writes "ain re'ah klal" despite that Rishonim brought a re'ah from this Yerushalmi. It's almost like laughing in the face of those rishonim to defend the Zohar, which I find difficult that the Gra would do such a thing, even though I understand the point you are trying to make. Knowing what the Gra held about malacha on chol hamoed would help to figure this out a little better. Also, wouldn't those tanoim still be chayiv misah even though they hold Shabbos/Yom Tov is zman tefillin? – Yehoshua May 16 '16 at 20:04
  • @Yehoshua I'm not going to pretend to fully understand what the Zohar is claiming, but if you view it as asserting that Chol haMoed has the same Kedusha status as Shabbat/YT in this regard, then it's only a problem if you think Sh/YT are lav zman tefillin, because then you are messing up CH. If you hold Sh/YT is zman tefillin, then wearing tfilin on CH is not disgracing anything. Again, I agree the Gra is Dachuk. – Double AA May 16 '16 at 20:18
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The Ba'al Halochos Gedolos (a Gaon) is quoted as being of the opinion that Tefilin should not be worn on Chol Hamoed (I don't know off hand if that is found in the surviving versions of Halachos Gedolos, but it is quoted in Tosfos, referenced in the comments). So clearly (according to Tosphos) it is a practice that goes back to that time, different in different communities.

See here for some further discussion on why they couldn't just look at the previous generation's practice and determine what the Halacha was. The upshot is that the author proposes that wearing Tefilin in past generations was more fluid, ideally worn all day, but with different circumstances requiring their removal. So seeing someone without Tefillin at a given time didn't settle the matter.

Yishai
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    not wearing tafillin on 7ol hamoe3dh is from zohar. beith yosef held like the zohar on this over common day halochoth and thats his problem. most rishonim held to indeed wear it. – MoriDowidhYa3aqov Oct 14 '13 at 20:50
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    @MoriDoweedhYa3gob, um, although it is true that the Zohar says it, and that influences the Beis Yosef's Psak Halacha, the Zohar is not a Da'as Yochid in this area. See the linked reference here: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/31653/440 – Yishai Oct 14 '13 at 21:12
  • you didnt bring any proof for zohar not being a daa3th yo7eedh. all you did was bring the beith yosef in the rambam...its the same author. someone quoting the zohar doesnt mean that the zoahr is still not a daa3th yo7eedh. since the beith yosef using the zohar as proof for his psak... – MoriDowidhYa3aqov Oct 14 '13 at 21:26
  • This answer would be greatly improved if you could actually cite the Beha"g inside. – Double AA Oct 14 '13 at 21:29
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    @MoriDoweedhYa3gob, I actually brought the Ba'al Halochos Gedolos, the Rashba and the Ri. – Yishai Oct 14 '13 at 21:38
  • @DoubleAA, I'm not sure if we have it. It is quoted here: http://dafyomi.org/index.php?masechta=moed_katan&daf=19a&go=Go in the Tosfos Rabbi Yosi, on the fourth wide line. – Yishai Oct 14 '13 at 22:05
  • @Yishai That's what I thought. So why again do you say "clearly"?? – Double AA Oct 14 '13 at 22:18
  • That article is almost pure conjecture. Also: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/18483/5 – Seth J Oct 14 '13 at 23:11
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    @DoubleAA, לא בשוטפי עסקינן, if Tosfos quotes it, they had it and found it reliable. That is at least as clear for me as a surviving manuscript. I changed your edit because I don't know that it is not there, as I have never read through the whole Hilchos Gedolos, that Tosfos is just the place that is generally referenced. – Yishai Oct 15 '13 at 01:08
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    @SethJ, I think it very nicely puts together the point that the practice of Tefillin is quite different when you wear it all day - as there are many times when you just won't be, vs. if you limit yourself to an hour a day. It makes the point that you can't interpose our practice of Tefilin exactly neatly on previous generations, making the determination of what they used to do harder. – Yishai Oct 15 '13 at 01:12
  • Comments removed. If the objection underlying the comment thread I removed still applies, please summarize. If the post should be edited (and the author concurs), please do that. Otherwise please take extended discussion to chat. Thank you. – Monica Cellio Oct 16 '13 at 16:20