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Background: Since the corona virus dwindled and then returned, our regular minyan davens in a yard nearby. I put on my tallis and tefilin at home and walk to the yard, daven then return home and take off my tallis and tefilin. I do not take my tallis bag with me as the yard is very dusty and with few surfaces to put it down.

Question: On Rosh Chodesh, I did the same thing as above but when it came time to remove my tefilin before musaf, I had a dilemma. I didn't want to put the tefilin down on a dusty/dirty stone wall (risk scratching the tefillin as well) so either

  1. I could leave the tefilin on and say musaf

or

  1. I could leave early and take off my tefilin at home and then daven mussaf but I'd be missing a few kaddishes, kedushah and mussaf bitzibur. Finding another minayan afterwards wasn't a feasible option due to needing to get the kids to school etc.

Which is preferable to do? Or is there another option that is better?

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    Why couldn't you bring something with you to place on the surface and then put your tefillin on that? (A bag / towel?)
    – Dov
    Jul 27, 2020 at 19:38
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    @Dov, I accept and thank you for the idea. I also could find another minyan that has a better setup and avoid the issue but let's say these are circumstances.
    – Geltman
    Jul 27, 2020 at 19:50
  • halachipedia.com/…
    – Gershon Gold
    Jul 27, 2020 at 20:39
  • Definitely wearing tefillin during mussaf (see 'Aruch laNer and Chavot Yair on the subject)
    – Noach MiFrankfurt
    Aug 26, 2020 at 21:03

2 Answers 2

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I left my tefillin bag at home and brought the plastic boxes in my pockets. Before musaf, I took off the shel rosh, took the box out of my pocket with my other hand, put it in the box, and put the box back in my pocket. Then the same with the shel yad.

When I got home, I wrapped them up properly and put them in the bag.

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  • I'm not sure stuffing unwrapped tefillin into your pockets is so "mekhubbad" for the tefillin
    – Double AA ♦
    Jul 27, 2020 at 20:32
  • @DoubleAA Yeah I know.. it felt wrong to me too but the whole tzibbur was taking them off and I didn't think being the only one to wear them was mechubbad either.
    – Heshy
    Jul 27, 2020 at 20:34
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Since I didn't like either of the two options mentioned in the question, I unwound the tefilin from my hand and moved the shel rosh very much to the side of my head so that I wasn't wearing it properly (and perhaps it was considered as if I am not wearing them) and I covered my head with the tallis so it wouldn't look weird to others and I stayed until the end of davening.

This was my "hafsharah" but I do not have a source for what I did. I just seemed better then leaving early and missing until the end of davening. Feel free to critique.

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    שערי תשובה כה: וכתב הפר"ח ס' תכ"ג שאם השעה דחוקה שאינו מספיק לחלוץ התפי' יזיזם ממקומם לצד אחר דחשיב כמונחים בכיסם וכו' ונראה שיש מציאת לענין זה כגון שהוא עומד לבוש בתפי' והציבור כבר התחילו קדושת כתר שאין שהות לחלוץ שכמו רגע שיאחר ישלימו לו' הקדושה, וכתב עוד מי שיצא ידי חובת חזרת מוסף וחזר להניח תפי' והלך לבה"כ שעדיין לא התפללו מו' דעתי נוטה שיכול לומר כתר עמהם, ומח"ב כ' שנ"ל שיסלק התפ' ויאמר כתר וכתב בש"צ מדלא אמר אסור עד שיסלקם ש"מ דדוקא לכתחילה יש לו לסלקם אבל אם היה עסוק בלימודו ולאו אדעתיה וכשהתחילו הצבור הקדושה ננער ממשנתו ושמעה אזנו ואין שהות לחלוץ בהא אזיל ומודה להפר"ח דעונה כתר עמהם
    – Double AA ♦
    Jul 27, 2020 at 20:04
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    כף החיים שם: אם נזדמן שהוא עדיין בתפילת שחרית ולובש התפילין, ושמע קדושת כתר מכת אחרת שמתפללין מוסף, יסלק התפילין מעליו עד שיענה עמהם קדושת כתר ויניחם אחר כך. ואם פתאום שמע מן החזן שאומר קדושת כתר, ואין לו שהות לחולצם, ככה יעשה: בשל ראש יזיזם ממקומם ולצד אחר, ושל יד יכניס ראש הטלית או הכתונת בין הקציצה ובין בשרו, ויענה קדושה. כן העלה בספר תורה לשמה. והביאו בן איש חי פרשת ויקרא אות י״ז
    – Double AA ♦
    Jul 27, 2020 at 20:04
  • Remember if your minyan wasn't using the nusach כתר as kedusha at musaf, there's even more room to be lenient on the custom of removing the tefillin.
    – Double AA ♦
    Jul 27, 2020 at 20:08
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    Seconding what @DoubleAA wrote, this is what our shul put out "The concept of removing the tefillin before Mussaf on Rosh Chodesh is a minhag based on the fact that in nusach sefard the kedusha contains the conversation about the Keser, the crown that is given to HKBH and to us, so we don’t wear our tefillin on our heads. In our unique circumstances which includes health concerns and certainly for those who daven nusach Ashkenaz, many poskim have directed that we should not remove our tefillin before mussaf. Rather, we wear them until the conclusion of davening."
    – rosends
    Jul 27, 2020 at 20:14
  • Unwinding the tefilin from one's had without moving the batim is not considered removing the tefilin at all. Not that this is a problem (I don't understand why we remove the shel yad in the first place, at least according to the Keser reasoning; which is not a definitive reason, see Beis Yosef.)
    – Mordechai
    Dec 31, 2020 at 22:39

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