Tefillin Blessing in Eretz Israel and in Babylonia.

This paper examines the number and formulation of the blessings said prior to the laying of tefillin (phylacteries) as practiced in Babylonia and in Eretz Israel, according to Talmudic literature. Initially, it would appear that the facts on this issue are clear. An explicit ruling in both the Talmud Bavli and the Talmud Yerushalmi states clearly that two blessings should be recited while laying the tefillin: lehaniach tefillin, and 'al mitzvat tefillin. However, further examination indicates that this is not the case, as is reflected in the accepted halakhic practice of reciting only one blessing - lehaniach tefillin (Shulkhan Aruch). This paper shows that the formulation lehaniach tefillin reflects the practice in Babylonia, whereas in Eretz Israel the blessing for tefillin was a! mitzvat tefillin. Analysis of the Talmudic discussions in both the Talmud Bavli and the Talmud Yerushalmi demonstrates that a transition occurred from the early, original practice prescribing one blessing for tefillin, into a later development prescribing two blessings. In the Talmud Yerushalmi, one of the two major sections dealing with the blessings for tefillin (Berakhot ch. 9) mentions only one blessing ('al mitzvat tefillin); the other source (Berakhot ch. 2) attaches the Babylonian blessing - lehaniach tefillin - to the original Eretz Israel blessing - following the well known Talmudic dictum, 'therefore, let us say both'. The Babylonian Talmud also addresses the matter of the blessings for tefillin in two major discussions (in tractates Berakhot and Menachot). In tractate Berakhot the Talmud prescribes two blessings: lehaniach for the tefillin worn on the arm, and 'al mitzvat for the tefillin worn on the head. However, examination of the text found in manuscripts of tractate Berakhot, as well as in excerpts cited in medieval commentaries, reveals that originally the Talmudic text in Berakhot did not mention at all the blessings for the laying of tefillin; they were inserted at a later stage. The discussion in tractate Menachot indicates, upon analysis, that the instruction to recite two blessings over the wearing of tefillin arrived in Babylonia quite late - not before the fifth generation of Amoraim - and that the original practice had been to recite only one blessing. It is this earlier practice that is reflected in the accepted halakhic practice of today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]