Interrupting Shema for Tallis and Tefillin

Rabbi Nosson Neustadt

Courtesy of Ohr Olam Mishnah Berurah

The abovementioned principles are relevant in the following scenarios.

I. Tallis and Tefillin

One should ideally put on his tallis and tefillin before beginning to daven.16 Should he be unable to do so at that time, for example when the tallis or tefillin are unavailable, and is only able to put them on in the middle of davening, the following halachos apply:

Tallis

  1. One may put on a tallis at any time throughout bein haperakim and be’emtza haperek other than while reciting the first chapter of Shema. However, a berachah should not be recited when doing so. After Shemoneh Esrei, he should finger the tzitzis and recite a berachah.17

Tefillin

  1. One who receives his tefillin when at a point of bein haperakim should put them on immediately,18 reciting the berachah of Lehani’ach Tefillin on the tefillin shel yad, the berachah of Al Mitzvas Tefillin on the tefillin shel rosh,19 and the pasuk of Baruch Shem.20 The passage that is recited before putting on tefillin, and the pesukim and Torah parshiyos said afterwards, however, may not be said at this point.21
  2. If he receives his tefillin while in the middle of the first or second berachah of Birchos Kerias Shema, he may put them on immediately, but without reciting the berachos.22 However, one should ideally wait until he concludes the berachah he is reciting, at which point he will be at a point of bein haperakim and put on the tefillin while saying the berachos, as mentioned above.23
  3. One who receives tefillin while in the middle of Kerias Shema must put them on immediately, for, it is a mitzvah that each word of Kerias Shema (including the third parashah24) be said while wearing tefillin.25 If he received them when in the middle of a parashah (that is, be’emtza haperek), he puts them on, reciting only the berachah of Lehani’ach Tefillin, which will serve as a berachah for both the tefillin shel yad and shel rosh.26 One who received tefillin while at a point of bein haperakim, puts them on reciting both berachos and Baruch Shem, as above.
  4. If the tefillin were received while reciting the berachah of Emes Veyatziv and he has not yet begun the closing phrase (that is, he has not yet said the words Baruch atah Hashem), he puts on his tefillin, only reciting the berachah of Lehani’ach Tefillin.27
  5. In the event that one has already said the words Shirah Chadashah and interrupts his recitation of the berachah to put on tefillin at any point from here until before Hashem’s Name of the berachah’s closing phrase (saying only the berachah Lehani’ach Tefillin), he returns to Shirah Chadashah (or at the very least Tzur Yisrael) to recite the final part of the berachah without interruption.28
  6. One who receives the tefillin after he has already recited Hashem’s Name (of the berachah Ga’al Yisrael) completes the berachah, and puts on tefillin without reciting any berachah on them.29

16 See Shulchan Aruch 66:2, with Mishnah Berurah 14; and Shulchan Aruch 53:3, with Mishnah Berurah 7.

17 Rema 66:2, with Mishnah Berurah 16. One who feels uncomfortable sitting in shul without his tallis may recite a berachah when he gets to a point of bein haperakim (Da’as Notah I, Kerias Shema 47, with footnote 43, based on Mishnah Berurah 66:16). Cf. Shevet Halevi III:15:7.

18 Shulchan Aruch 66:2.

19 Similarly, one who is already wearing his tefillin but has not yet recited the berachos may, at a juncture of bein haperakim, finger them and recite the berachos (see Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim IV:7).

20 Based on Mishnah Berurah 66:47.

21 Ishei Yisrael 19:13, with footnote 36.

22 Mishnah Berurah 54:13. Here too, he should finger the tefillin before reciting their berachos.

23 Mishnah Berurah 66:15, as explained by R’ Chaim Kanievsky (Da’as Notah I, Kerias Shema 48).

24 Da’as Notah I, Kerias Shema 49.

25 Mishnah Berurah 66:16.

26 Ishei Yisrael 19:13, based on Mishnah Berurah 66:47 and Beiur Halachah 66:2 s.v. Im.

27 Rema 66:8, with Mishnah Berurah 46-47.

28 Ishei Yisrael 19:14, based on Mishnah Berurah 66:52.

29 Shulchan Aruch 66:8, and Mishnah Berurah 46. He should recite the berachos upon the tefillin after Shemoneh Esrei, fingering them first (Mishnah Berurah 43).