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Those of us who live in hot climates often sweat profusely during davenning. Talit are obviously an aggrevating factor. In my case, this is already discoloring the bottom of the shel rosh beit of my brand-new pair of tefillin. I am worried this will lead to the premature possuling of the battim.

This source suggests allowing the beit to dry overnight, then applying a thin layer of vaseline once or twice a week to avoid moisture damage to the beit. Other internet sources suggest olive oil used in the same fashion.

Has anyone found a good solution to this problem? I am rather hesitant to apply petroleum jelly or even the finest of extra-virgen olive oils to my new, expensive set of tefillin on the say-so of a single website, I am also rather anxious to protect a beautiful shel rosh beit and the texts inside it.

יהושע ק
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    I'd be similarly hesitant – Double AA Oct 11 '18 at 21:28
  • Pardon my asking, but was is a "bait" (end of 2nd paragraph) regarding tefillin? – DanF Oct 12 '18 at 01:21
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    Ah! Transliteration always poses problems when it gets spelled similar to an English word. – DanF Oct 12 '18 at 01:27
  • I decided to take your suggestion and render בית as "beit", for the sake of clarity, @DanF. Thanks! – יהושע ק Oct 12 '18 at 05:09
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    I think there are packs of sweat-absorbing gel you can put into the cases. – ezra Oct 12 '18 at 05:20
  • @ezra that's a great idea and should do much to mitigate sweat that's already on the beit.... what I'm really after, though, is something to stop it from being absorbed into the raw leather to begin with – יהושע ק Oct 12 '18 at 05:28
  • @JoshK Actually the word is בַּיִת (bayit). – ezra Oct 12 '18 at 06:26
  • My phone's Hebrew function lacks vowels, dageshes, etc, @ezra it's made for Israelis to text with, I guess – יהושע ק Oct 12 '18 at 06:37
  • Since @ezra mentioned packets - I think those "Do not eat" mini packets that you occasionally see packed with electronics that are shipped, etc. may do the job? Actually, I just recalled that some of my meds have these packets to absorb moisture and prevent the pills from clinging to each other. Maybe a bunch of these will do the job? – DanF Oct 12 '18 at 17:45
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    Josh - Now that you've explained the transliteration, I got the idea. You don't need to change anything, really. Mikol Makom ata medaber ivrit :-) – DanF Oct 12 '18 at 17:46

2 Answers2

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The only thing I can think of that might work is putting some sort of moisture-absorbing gel into the cases to soak up the sweat while they're sitting in the bag after putting them on.

The Sofer Center sells a "Tefillin Sweat Kit Saver" which is basically the abovementioned.

Unfortunately I don't think there's any other solution to your problem, besides you sweating less. Putting anything onto the bayit of the tefillin or between your head and the bayit could constitute a chatzitzah.

Although some people just naturally sweat despite conditions, maybe you could try wearing less layers during davening, or maybe wearing a lighter tallit. You could crank up the air conditioner as well if possible. That might limit the amount you will prespire.

Whatever you decide to do, may Hakadosh Baruch Hu give you the wisdom to make the right choice. And I sincerely hope that your tefillin don't become damaged, chas v'shalom.

ezra
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    I'm not convinced a liquid would be a chatzitza. Why are you? – Double AA Oct 12 '18 at 11:37
  • @DoubleAA Liquid doesn't stay liquid forever. You're not allowed to have paint (like the kind that's on the rest of the tefillin) between your head and the bayit. The OP seems to be looking for some sort of cream or liquid he could apply to the underside of the tefillin to reflect sweat. I'm not sure if this would be kosher. But as I'm not familiar with all the halachos, I've left it open-ended by saying it could be a chatzitzah. – ezra Oct 12 '18 at 16:36
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    Why aren't you allowed to have paint on the bottom? – Double AA Oct 12 '18 at 16:37
  • @DoubleAA Because it constitutes a chatzitzah for the wearer. I'm looking for a source for you but I can't find any other than various sofrim mentioning it on blogs. – ezra Oct 12 '18 at 16:42
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    Only the outer parts need to be black, like with straps, but double black straps aren't invalid because of chatzitza even if you argue they aren't the minhag. – Double AA Oct 12 '18 at 16:44
  • @DoubleAA Lo pligei regarding the retzuos, there's no concern for chatzitzah there, you're even allowed to wear a wristwatch and bring the retzuos over it. There's only concern for chatzitzah when it comes to the battim. – ezra Oct 12 '18 at 16:45
  • @DoubleAA Here's what a wise man once said on the matter. – ezra Oct 12 '18 at 16:48
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    As a stopgap measure while figuring out a better solution, I am using a lighter tallit gadol, and this has mitigated roughly 85% of the problem – יהושע ק Oct 15 '18 at 15:35
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    @JoshK Considering the climate where you live, I think that was a good idea. I live in West Texas, where during the summer it gets 110+ degrees Fahrenheit, and although I don't wear a tallis gadol yet, I can't imagine wearing a heavy one. I get hot enough wearing my tefillin, jacket, and hat. – ezra Oct 15 '18 at 15:46
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    That was an excellent suggestion on your part, @ezra. I was hesitant to use the lighter tallit as the tzittzit are made of silk rather than wool, but they were deemed kosher by my LOR and a slight halahical preference is not worth risking my shel rosh over. A/C would be a better solution but doesn't work for me (there are almost no air conditioned public spaces here, so if I install A/C I become a prisoner in my own home). Impressive that you're able to don a jacket for shacharit in West Texas!!! – יהושע ק Oct 15 '18 at 18:33
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I received psak on this matter and was told it was important that any product applied to the bottom of the battim should be applied with as fine, thin a coating as possible between uses to ensure no residue is on them when in use.

So apparently the internet sources suggesting petroleum jelly or olive oil were on the mark as far as halacha goes. Will report back with the practical implications of treating leather in this manner on December 4th.

יהושע ק
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    Tell us how it goes! :D However, I still fail to see how olive oil or petroleum jelly will reflect sweat. – ezra Oct 19 '18 at 02:54
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    Just as oil and water don't mix, @ezra, the idea is that coating a permeable surface with a plant oil or petroleum based product (or, for that matter, animal fat) will repel a primarily water-based substance like human sweat. I have no doubt that's the case- people have been using plant and animal fats to waterproof leather for thousands of years- I'm just not sure how great it is for the leather – יהושע ק Oct 19 '18 at 04:30
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    There's this impregnating spray you can apply on shoes. As it is colourless and odourless, isn't it better to apply that one? – Kazi bácsi Oct 19 '18 at 06:00
  • That's exactly what I wanted to do, @Kazi bácsi, but it appears that halachically speaking we're not permitted to do so – יהושע ק Oct 19 '18 at 06:02
  • @JoshK Then I don't get your answer. You say olive oil is fine, but not this spray. BTW you seem to have a Hungarian surname, is that right? – Kazi bácsi Oct 19 '18 at 07:19
  • I'm bit baffled myself, @Kazi bácsi, your reasoning is the same as mine. My father's family left Pest (when it was still a separate city!) in 1912, family legend holds that the original last name was "Katz". Either way, yes, we are indeed landsmen :) – יהושע ק Oct 19 '18 at 07:49
  • @JoshK I wrote you a few off-topic words in chat. – Kazi bácsi Oct 19 '18 at 09:28
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – יהושע ק Oct 19 '18 at 16:34
  • I decided to put this experiment to a stop. The olive oil coating was rather effective at stopping sweat from being absorbed but I chose to install a powerful ceiling fan in the area where I daven instead. The leather does not seem to have been damaged by the olive oil. – יהושע ק Nov 19 '18 at 20:50