Sukkah, Daf Kaf Vav, Part 5

 

Introduction

Since yesterday’s section discussed sleeping with one’s tefillin on, today’s section continues to deal with this topic. We should remember that in talmudic times rabbis probably wore their tefillin all day. This explains why the sugya has to deal with certain actions that may be undertaken while wearing tefillin. Today, when most people do not wear tefillin all day long, these problems should not arise.

 

תני חדא: ישן אדם בתפילין שינת עראי אבל לא שינת קבע, ותניא אידך: בין קבע בין עראי, ותניא אידך: לא קבע ולא עראי!

 

One [baraita] teaches, One may sleep casually in tefillin but not regular sleep, and another [baraita] teachers, Both casual sleep and regular sleep [are permitted] while a third baraita teaches: Neither a casual sleep nor a regular sleep [is allowed]!

 

There are three baraitot in this section discussing whether one can sleep in tefillin. One says yes, one says no, and one says only casual sleep, a nap.

 

לא קשיא: הא דנקיט להו בידיה, הא – דמנחי ברישיה, הא – דפריס סודרא עלויה.

 

There is no difficulty: One refers to where he holds them in his hand, one to where they rest on his head, and one refers to where he spreads a cloth over them.

 

The baraita that forbids one from sleeping while wearing tefillin refers to a case where he is holding them in his hands. He is not allowed to sleep lest he drop them on the floor. The baraita that allows only napping refers to a regular case where he simply has them on his head. He is not allowed to sleep deeply lest he pass gas with them on. Finally, the baraita that disallows sleeping with tefillin refers to a case where he wrapped them up in a cloth and put them next to his head.

וכמה שינת עראי? תני רמי בר יחזקאל: כדי הלוך מאה אמה,

 

How long is casual sleep?

Rami b. Ezekiel taught: The time it takes to walk one hundred cubits.

 

Here we learn that "casual sleep" is a really short time. As long as it takes to walk only 100 cubits, about 50 meters. Personally I wouldn’t even consider this a nap. Seems like they’re saying that while theoretically, you can sleep in your tefillin, you really cannot.

 

תניא נמי הכי: הישן בתפילין ורואה קרי – אוחז ברצועה ואינו אוחז בקציצה, דברי רבי יעקב. וחכמים אומרים: ישן אדם בתפילין שינת עראי, אבל לא שינת קבע. וכמה שינת עראי – כדי הילוך מאה אמה.

 

It has also been taught in a baraita: He who sleeps in tefillin and [on waking] observes a seminal emission, should [remove the tefillin by taking] hold of the strap but he should not hold the box, the words of R. Yaakov. The sages say: one may sleep casual sleep in his tefillin but not a regular sleep. And what constitutes a casual sleep? The time it takes to walk one hundred cubits.

 

This baraita supports the definition of casual sleep offered above. It also provides another reason why the rabbis didn’t want one to sleep with tefillin on lest he have a seminal emission. The baraita seems to hold that one who has had a seminal emission is not allowed to even touch his tefillin due to the rules of impurity. As we shall see below, the Talmud rejects this interpretation. In any case, R. Yaakov says that the solution to this problem is just to hold the straps and remove the tefillin in that way. The straps do not contain the scrolls and therefore purity is not an issue. The other sages say he shouldn’t sleep more than a few seconds in his tefillin. Longer sleep might be risky.

 

אמר רב: אסור לאדם לישן ביום יותר משינת הסוס.

וכמה שינת הסוס – שיתין נשמי.

אמר אביי: שנתיה דמר כדרב, ודרב כדרבי, ודרבי כדדוד, ודדוד כדסוסיא, ודסוסיא שיתין נשמי.

אביי הוה ניים כדמעייל מפומבדיתא לבי כובי, קרי עליה רב יוסף: +משלי ו+ עד מתי עצל תשכב מתי תקום משנתך.

 

Rav said, It is forbidden to sleep by day more than the sleep of a horse.

And what is the sleep of a horse? Sixty breaths.

Abaye said, The sleep of the Master is as that of Rav, and that of Rav as that of Rabbi and that of Rabbi as of David, and that of David as of a horse, and that of a horse is sixty breaths.

Abaye slept [by day] as long as it takes to go up from Pumbeditha to Be Kube.

R. Joseph applied to him the verse, "How long will you sleep, O sluggard, when will you arise out of your sleep" (Proverbs 6:9).

 

The Talmud now moves into the general subject of sleeping during the day. Rav said one shouldn’t really nap during the day, no more than the time it takes for a horse to nap. This seems to be no more than a few moments. The reason is not due to tefillin but because the rabbis perceived sleep as a waste of time that could be better spent learning Torah. Abaye notes a chain of great Jewish leaders (from his teacher Rabbah all the way back to King David) who barely slept during the day. However, ironically, Abaye himself was a deep sleeper. He would sleep for a long time, even during the day. R. Joseph called him a sluggard. Nevertheless, I would argue that Abaye’s long naps don’t seem to have cost him very much as far as his Torah learning goes.

תנו רבנן: הנכנס לישן ביום, רצה – חולץ, רצה – מניח. בלילה – חולץ ואינו מניח, דברי רבי נתן. רבי יוסי אומר: הילדים לעולם חולצין ואינן מניחין, מפני שרגילין בטומאה. – לימא קסבר רבי יוסי בעל קרי אסור להניח תפילין? – אמר אביי: בילדים ונשותיהן עמהן עסקינן, שמא יבואו לידי הרגל דבר. תנו רבנן: שכח ושמש מטתו בתפילין – אינו אוחז לא ברצועה ולא בקציצה, עד שיטול ידיו ויטלם, מפני שהידים עסקניות הן.

 

Our Rabbis taught: One who wishes to go to sleep by day, if he wants he may remove [his tefillin] and if he wants he may leave them on. At night, he must remove them and he may not leave them on, the words of R. Natan. R. Yose said Youth must always remove them and never leave them on, for they are regular in uncleanness.

Shall we say that R. Yose is of the opinion that a man who has seminal emmission may not wear his tefillin?

Abaye answered: We are dealing here with the case of young men in the company of their wives, lest they grow accustomed to the practice.

Our Rabbis taught: If he forgot and had sexual intercourse while wearing his tefillin he should not [remove them] by holding either the strap or the capsule until he wash his hands to take them off, since hands are busy.

 

R. Natan holds that one can sleep during the day with tefillin on. But R. Yose is even more strict young men should never sleep with their tefillin on. Assumedly this is because young men more frequently have seminal emissions while sleeping. However, the Talmud rejects this interpretation it is not forbidden to wear tefillin after having a seminal emission. Therefore, Abaye interprets R. Yose in a different way– the prohibition is related to young men who frequently have intercourse with their wives. If they are allowed to sleep with their tefillin, they might grow accustomed to wearing their tefillin in bed and then might grow accustomed to having sex while wearing tefillin. This is not respectful. It is not a transgression of the laws of impurity. It is simply not proper.

The final baraita addresses what to do if one forgets to remove tefillin before having sex. The baraita says that one should first wash one’s hands and only then remove the tefillin. This is because the hands might have touched places after which one should wash one’s hands. Again, this is not an issue of impurity. It is an issue of cleanliness.

While it sounds sort of unlikely to us that a person would forget to remove his tefillin before having sex, we would do well to remember that people used to wear their tefillin all the time. Tefillin were probably quite small, and it seems that a person might simply get used to having them on and forget to take them off.