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I have read that one should not have any material between one's tefillin shel yad and one's arm (e.g. bracelets, wristwatches). I always wear a wedding ring on the fourth finger of my left hand. I was taught to wrap the tefillin shel yad strap twice around my third (middle) finger, then once around my fourth (ring) finger. That means that the ring is between the strap and my finger. Is this permissible?

Somewhat related: Red string on Tefillin arm?

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  • There is no chatzitzah by the hand
    – sam
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 3:13
  • @sam it's been many years since I learned hilchos tefillin, but I had learned that the fingers (or maybe it was only the middle finger) is the only place other than the bayis where chatzitzah is a problem (and that watches are not problems)
    – Y     e     z
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 3:44
  • @Mike, if you can include a source stating that there should be no "material between one's tefillin shel yad and one's arm", that could help others greatly. Thanks for the question!
    – Lee
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 14:27
  • Doesn't really seem like a duplicate, @DoubleAA. Besides that it's literally different, there are substantive differences, such as removability of the chatzitza.
    – msh210 ♦
    Commented Feb 2, 2014 at 2:43
  • Well, it does now at least.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented Feb 16, 2014 at 2:30

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I was told that as you don't really have to wrap anything on your hand (it could hang loose from your mid-arm), it's not a problem. And I see plenty of good Jews who wear tefilin over their wedding bands.

Some even wear it over their wristwatches! I'd heard Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb (before he made aliyah from Baltimore) discuss this one, indicating there were multiple opinions on it.

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    I would make the claim that just because you see others do it, it does not make it correct. If you're able to bring a reliable source, IMHO that would greatly improve your answer.
    – Lee
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 14:29
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    I was taught to remove my watch and to this day move my watch to my right arm before putting on tefillin. I also do not wear my wedding ring when I put on tefillin.
    – Dennis
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 15:43

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