[Avodah] Tefillin on Rosh Chodesh

[David Riceman]

Arie Folger wrote:
> Instead, the question is, when did the idea of not wearing tefillin during 
> mussaf on RC start. I have a feeling (but that is currently only a 
> speculation) that it isn't more than 400-700 years old.
>   
It's times like this that I wish I were CD enabled.  I tried to start 
with the more basic question of when people stopped wearing tefillin all 
day, and started wearing them only for krias shma and shmoneh esrai.  
Certainly the Rosh (H. Tefillin #28) says so.  The problem with the 
Rosh, however, is how to decide where a custom he mentions was 
practiced, since he himself moved from Germany to Spain.

In this case, however, it's attested in three places around the 
thirteenth century: France (SMaG Aseh #3 and Sefer Hasidim ed. 
Margalioth #362), Lunel (S. HaTrumah ed. Refael p.634), and Spain 
(Menorath HaMaor by al Nakawa, ed. Enelow, vol. 2, p. 69).

Incidentally, a hundred years earlier another traveller, R Abraham Ibn 
Ezra, attests that people didn't wear talittot all day (commentary on 
Num. 15:39).

It also seems that in the thirteenth century both Spain and Ashkenaz 
were divided about whether to wear tefillin on Hol HaMoed.  The Beis 
Yosef (siman 31) says that after the Zohar appeared the custom in Spain 
became uniformly against wearing them.  As a tangent to another thread, 
how is one to harmonize this with the Hazon Ish's opinion about revising 
halachah based on new manuscripts of ancient opinions?

Both the Rama (siman 31) and the Maharshal (Tshuva 98) say that the 
custom of Ashkenaz is uniformly to wear tefillin of Hol HaMoed.  I don't 
know how and when it became uniform.

Anyway that took up all of Shabbos, last night, and this morning.  Part 
two is to figure out about mussaf.  I hope, but am not certain, that I 
can manage before I travel later this week.  Otherwise it may have to 
wait a couple of weeks.

David Riceman