אמר אביי: תפלין, הואיל ואתו לידן, אמר אביי: נימא בהו מילתא. היה בא בדרך ותפלין בראשו ושקע עליו חמה, מניח ידו עליהם עד שמגיע לביתו. היה יושב בבית המדרש ותפלין בראשו, וקדש עליו היום, מניח ידו עליהן עד שמגיע לביתו. מתיב רב הונא בריה דרב איקא: היה בא בדרך ותפלין בראשו, וקדש עליו היום, מניח ידו עליהן עד שמגיע לבית הסמוך לחומה. היה יושב בבית המדרש וקדש עליו היום, מניח ידו עליהן עד שמגיע לבית הסמוך לבית המדרש. לא קשיא. הא דמנטרא, הא דלא מנטרא. אי דלא מנטרא, מאי איריא בראשו? אפילו מחתן בארעא נמי, דהא תנן: המוצא תפלין מכניסן זוג זוג. לא קשיא. הא דמנטרא מחמת גנבי ומחמת כלבי, הא דמנטרא מחמת כלבי ולא מנטרא מחמת גנבי. מהו דתימא? רוב לסטים ישראל נינהו, ולא מזלזלי בהו. קמ"ל.
Abbayye said: Since [the subject of] tefillin [phylacteries] came up, Abbayye said: Let us say something about them. [If] someone was on the road [on the eve of Shabbat] with tefillin on his head and the sun set on him, he should put his hand over [the tefillin] until he reaches his house. [If] one was sitting in a study house with tefillin on his head and the holy day began, he should put his hand over [the tefillin] until he reaches his house. Rav Huna the son of Rav Iqa challenged [the ruling with a baraita]: [If] someone was on the road with tefillin on his head and the holy day began, he should put his hand over [the tefillin] until he reaches the house closest to the [city] wall [and leave them there]. [If] he was sitting in a study house and the holy day began, he should put his hand over [the tefillin] until he reaches the house closest to the study house. This is not a difficulty. This [statement refers to a case] where [the closest house] is protected, [whereas] that [one refers to a case] where [the closest house] is unprotected. If that is unprotected, why does he specify the [case of one who is wearing tefillin] on his head? Even if [during Shabbat one finds tefillin] lying on the ground [in such an area, he should bring them safely home]. For we have learned: [If] one finds tefillin he should bring them into [the city] one pair at a time (mEruv 10:1). This is not a difficulty. This [statement refers to a house] that is protected from thieves and dogs, [whereas] that [one refers to a case] where [the closest house] is protected from dogs, but is not protected from thieves. You might have said that most thieves are Israelites, who do not desecrate [tefillin]. He [Abbayye] informs us [that this assumption may not be relied upon and one must take the tefillin to one’s house].
@Manuscript evidence
תנן המוצא תפלין מכניסן זוג זוג
For we have learned: [If] one finds tefillin he should bring them into [the city] one pair at a time: Oxford Opp. Add. fol. 23 (366) MS reads: תנן המוצא תפלין מכניסן זוג זוג אחד איש ואחד אשה
(For we learned [in a baraita]: [If] one finds tefillin s/he should bring them into [the city] one pair at a time, the man and the woman alike).
@General observations
On Shabbat, transporting tefillin violates the prohibition on the labor of transferring items. However, wearing tefillin and not carrying them is only a rabbinic violation. In this case the rabbis ruled leniently to prevent the tefillin from being left by the roadside, desecrated (by dogs) or stolen (by thieves).
@Feminist observations
The above-cited mishnah is taken from mEruv 10:1 (bEruv 95a). MS Oxford Opp. Add. fol. 23 (366) does not quote the Mishnah but the parallel Tosefta text. tEruv 8:15 states:
המוצא תפלין מכניסן זוג זוג. רבן גמליאל אומר: שנים שנים. במה דברים אמורים? בישנות, אבל בחדשות פטור. מצאן צבתים או כריכות, מחשיך עליהן ומביאן. ובסכנה מכסן והולך לו.
If] one who finds tefillin s/he should bring them in [by wearing them] one pair at a time. Rabban Gamli’el says: Two pairs at a time. To what do these things apply? [They apply to] old ones, but [in the case] of new ones he is exempt. If he finds them arranged in packets or tied up in bundles, he should wait by them until it is dark and then bring them in. At a time of danger, however, he should cover them and proceed on his way.
המוצא תפלין מכניסן זוג זוג. רבן גמליאל אומ': שנים שנים. אחד האיש ואחד האישה. אחד חדשות ואחד ישנות. ר' יהודה אוסר בחדשות ומתיר בישנות.
[If] one finds tefillin s/he should bring them [into the city] a pair at a time. Rabban Gamli’el says: Two pairs at a time, the man and the woman alike. It is the same for old and new [tefillin]. Rabbi Yehudah prohibits [it] with new [tefillin], but permits it with old ones.
In opposition to the Mishnah, the Tosefta states that women as well as men may bring tefillin in from an exposed place. For a detailed discussion of this conundrum see Elizabeth Alexander’s contribution in the Feminist Commentary’s introductory volume.[1] Here I wish to note that once again, in the Tosefta text, Rabban Gamli’el appears in connection with women (see the commentary on Mishnah 3. mBetsah 1:8), but again, in the Mishnah, these women have disappeared. As Alexander has pointed out, it is unclear who permitted women as well as men to bring tefillin in to save them. She notes that “the phrase equating women with men may be a continuation of Rabban Gamli’el’s dictum” or “a statement of the anonymous majority.”[2] The Bavli attributes the baraita allowing women to wear tefillin (to save them on the Shabbat) to the anonymous interlocutor (stama).[3] This corresponds to my own observation, within this commentary, about the women of the House of Rabban Gamli’el (mBets 1:8): The Mishnah tries to “erase” the women of the house of Rabban Gamli’el who are recorded in the Tosefta parallel. In the above bBetsah text the Vilna print decided, as did most of the MSS, in favor of the mishnaic quote, whereas MS Oxford relied on the Tosefta, which reports the actions of women and men alike.