On the Discouragement of Women Wearing Tefillin

Jewish women are exempt from 14 positive time-bound mitzvot. In most of these mitzvot, women are allowed to voluntarily keep them, and indeed it has become a common custom for us to do so¹. However, the positive time-bound mitzvah of tefillin is one of the exceptions to this rule. In this case, our Sages through the generations have actually discouraged women from voluntarily keeping this mitzvah. In the following discussion we will examine why this is, and discover that today even men do not keep the mitzvah of tefillin in the way it was originally intended. With this we will gain deeper understanding into the status of tefillin and important lessons in how we keep mitzvot in general, and in our motivation for shmirat mitzvot. 

The Status of Tefillin and Source of the Discouragement

The mitzvah of tefillin can be found in the verses of Devarim², which are repeated twice daily in our recitation of the shema, where we are instructed to bind the words of the covenant on our heads and hearts. In an ideal world, one should wear his tefillin all day long, and that was indeed the practice during the time of Chazal. 

Tefillin are considered tashmishei kedusha, a holy vessel. They are connected to the sifrei kedusha as they are written on parchment and have the words of Torah inscribed on them. This puts them on a higher level than for example tzitzit, or lulav, which are called tashmishei mitzvah. This special status influences how one uses their tefillin and cases where they should not. One of the requirements of wearing tefillin is that one may only do so when they have a ‘guf naki’. A ‘guf naki’ does not only refer to one’s physical cleanliness, but also one’s mental state. This state is hard to maintain, and the halacha, in order to maintain wearing tefillin only in this state, gives examples of times one should not wear them. For example, one does not wear tefillin at night in case he may doze off, one should not wear them at a meal as he will not be focussed, and one is encouraged to touch his tefillin often to remind one of their presence. In addition, while we encourage children to keep mitzvot from as soon as they are old enough to understand, with tefillin we wait until right before a boy’s bar mitzvah to teach him how to don them, to avoid him accidentally showing disrespect to the mitzvah and the tefillin. 

Tefillin are considered tashmishei kedusha, a holy vessel. They are connected to the sifrei kedusha as they are written on parchment and have the words of Torah inscribed on them. This puts them on a higher level than for example tzitzit, or lulav, which are called tashmishei mitzvah. This special status influences how one uses their tefillin and cases where they should not.

Because of the important status of tefillin themselves and the kavod with which the mitzvah must be approached, the general principle of tefillin is to minimize the mitzvah so that we do not accidentally come to show it disrespect. This is why today tefillin are (generally) only worn when engaged in prayer, as during that time one is mostly likely to have the proper focus and attention, as well as the physical guf naki. 

As mentioned, women are exempt from the mitzvah of tefillin, and while with other positive time bound mitzvot we see it is common and even praiseworthy for women to keep them (such as sukka, lulav and shofar), with tefillin, the Rishonim actually discouraged the practise. The Rama commented on the Shulchan Aruch: “And if a woman wants to take on this stringency, we object.”³ 

Indeed, looking back through our sources, the only reference we find to a woman wearing tefillin is that of Michal, the daughter of Shaul and wife of David. There the discussion centers around whether this was something positive or negative. Most of the commentators agree that while the Sages did not chastise Michal for her wearing of tefillin, they were not happy about it, and only allowed the action to go uncriticized due to her exceptional status⁴. 

When it comes to tefillin, less is more; as we explained before, the approach to tefillin in our times is to minimize the time they are worn, in order to show respect and give proper intention to the mitzvah. Women, just as men, might struggle today to keep a ‘guf naki’, and seeing as there is no obligation for us to don tefillin, why take the risk of wearing them in an improper way, or improper time? Women, who are not obligated in this mitzvah are discouraged from keeping it in order to show respect to it. The discouragement does not stem from a place of degradation or a privilege given to men and withheld from women. Rather it stems from a love of Hashem’s mitzvot and an effort to protect us from chas v’shalom accidentally disrespecting them. 

While this reason alone is enough to understand the objection to wearing tefillin, there are a number of other considerations in the matter. One halachic concern is that tefillin may be considered kli gever, though not all Sages agree with this. The other reasons take a more social approach to the issue. Women who choose to wear tefillin despite the above explanation, risk comminiting the sin of yohara, arrogance in mitzvot. For this reason, should a women decide to wrap tefillin – despite the advice of the majority of our sources and as based on those sources that lend some support to it (such as the Orot Chaim and Olat Tamid), she should do it only in private (and not during the time she is menstruating due to the concern of a ‘guf naki’)⁵. Another social consideration is that today, donning tefillin has become associated with non-halachic streams of Judaism. This too is an important consideration. Rav Melamed addresses this issue in his Peninei Halacha: “(referring to women wearing tefillin while not making maxime efforts to keep mitzvot in which they are commanded)… One should object to their agenda of turning the Torah and mitzvot into a site of social conflicts, as mitzvot should be performed for God’s sake, not as a tool to advance interests of one sort or another.”⁶

Motivation 
The discussion on women wearing tefillin teaches us an important lesson in our motivation for doing mitzvot. Certainly, the ritual of wrapping tefillin and the moving verses that accompany this mitzvah, which speak of the marriage between Am Yisrael and Hashem, are beautiful. One can understand why women might be drawn to it. However, with tefillin, we need to examine what our primary motivation is: is it service to Hashem, or is it a service to ourselves? Might it be a misplaced zealousness, directed by other incentives? The approach to the mitzvah of tefillin – where less is more, where it becomes objectionable to keep it if not required to – remind us that serving Hashem is not about doing what makes us feel good, but rather about doing ratson Hashem, even if it means not doing something that makes us feel good.

1. For a detailed discussion on this topic see: https://www.deracheha.org/voluntary-mitzva-performance/  ↩︎
2. Devarim 6:8 ↩︎
3. Shulchan Aruch 38, 3 ↩︎
4. Rabbi Aaron Eli Glatt, 2003. Women in the Talmud, p.109-111 ↩︎
5. See Pnenei Halacha, Women’s Prayer, 21;6, footnote 1 ↩︎
6. Rav Eliezer Melamed, Pneinei Halacha, Women’s Prayer, 21;6;5 ↩︎