Questions About Tefillin - Part 1: Walking, Identifying Rabbeinu Tam, and Needing a Haircut

Q. Am I allowed to walk some distance with tefillin on?

A. Thanks for your question. You don't define “some distance,” but there is no prohibition against walking with tefillin on. In fact, while it may not reflect the current practice, traditional halacha sefarim discuss wearing one's tefillin to and from shul (see, for example, Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 25:2). Not only that, the practice many generations ago was to wear tefillin all day long. So, while our practice is to minimize the wearing of tefillin (because it's difficult to be conscious of them and to keep our minds and bodies clean all day), it's certainly not prohibited to walk in them. (I would, however, recommend using good judgment and not flouting the current practice. For example, wearing tefillin on the bus to work would likely be viewed as treating the tefillin disrespectfully.)

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Q. Is there a way to recognize Rabbeinu Tam tefillin by looking at them?

A. Thanks for your question. When it comes to the tefillin shel yad, there's no way to tell Rashi tefillin from Rabbeinu Tam tefillin from the outside, but there is a difference in the tefillin shel rosh. There are little hairs that stick out on the shel rosh; these come from the parsha of “v'haya im shamoa.” Since the parsha of “v'haya im shamoa” is placed differently in Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam tefillin, this causes the hairs to stick out in different places. On Rabbeinu Tam tefillin, they stick out in the center; on Rashi tefillin, they're off-center, more towards one side.

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Q. My head tefillin is now sliding more as my hair is getting long. I tend to wait on a haircut. Is it required to get a haircut, as the rabbi here suggested because he doesn't want to keep resizing it? Should I ask another rabbi to resize it or is hair style a reason they don't stay put?

A. I'm inclined to agree with your rabbis; if your hair is so long that it's affecting your tefillin, it’s probably time for a haircut. (Also, you should be considerate of your rabbis’ time; constantly resizing tefillin is a chore. Of course, you could always learn to resize them yourself, but I'd just get the haircut.)

Rabbi Jack's book Ask Rabbi Jack is available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.