Siman 34

The order of the writing of the parashiyot has already been explained, that they are according to the order written in the Torah: "Kadesh," "Ve-haya Ki Yeviacha," "Shema," and "Ve-haya Im Shamoa." And it was taught in the Mekhilta: If one wrote them not according to their order—they shall be sequestered. However, regarding the order of their placement in the batim—the dispute among the fathers of the world is great. For according to Rashi in Menachot (34b) and the Rambam in the third chapter, as is their writing—so is their placement in the batim. In the shel rosh, "Kadesh" is on the left of the one donning it in the outermost bay, which is to the right of the reader standing opposite him, and after it "Ve-haya Ki Yeviacha" in the second bay, and "Shema" in the third bay, and "Ve-haya Im Shamoa" in the fourth bay, which is the outermost bay to the right of the one donning it and to the left of the reader. And the reader—reads according to the order in the Torah. And so it is in the shel yad.

But Rabbeinu Tam holds that in their placement in the houses, "Ve-hayah im shamoa" precedes "Shema," and their order is as follows: "Kadesh," "Ve-hayah ki yevi'akha," "Ve-hayah im shamoa," "Shema." And when he writes—he writes "Shema" before "Ve-hayah im shamoa." And so too in the shel yad, he writes "Kadesh," "Ve-hayah ki yevi'akha," and leaves the place for writing "Ve-hayah im shamoa" vacant, and writes the parashah of "Shema" at the edge of the parchment, and afterward writes "Ve-hayah im shamoa" in the vacant place. And behold, their dispute depends on the sugya of the Shas there. And the Rosh and the Tur wrote that the Geonim Rav Sherira and Rav Hai Gaon hold like Rabbeinu Tam. And they gave a sign: the "Havayot" are next to each other, and the "Shins" are next to the "Shins" from the outside. That is to say: the "Havayot," the parashiyot of "Ve-hayah," are adjacent to one another, "Ve-hayah im shamoa" next to "Ve-hayah ki yevi'akha." And the "Shins" of "Kadesh" and "Shema" are on the outside next to the "Shins" of the tefillin. And they wrote that Rabbeinu Chananel also holds this way, and also the opinion of the Ra'avad is so in the Hassagot there. And the Bartzeloni attributed to error the Shimusha Rabba, which wrote the order of their placement like Rashi and the Rambam. This is his wording: And so we have found an error in this Shimusha, that one should not rely on it at all regarding what he wrote and placed the parashah of Kadesh... and Shema in the third house, and Ve-hayah im shamoa in the fourth. For this matter is a great error, for this is the order in their writing. But their insertion into their cases is "Shema" in the first house to the right of the one donning them, "Ve-hayah im shamoa" in the second house, "Ve-hayah ki yevi'akha" in the third house, "Kadesh" in the fourth house... Thus far his words (at the end of the Rif to the laws of tefillin, see there).

In a responsum of the Rambam (brought in the Kesef Mishneh), the sages of Lunel wrote to the Rambam that they wondered at his arrangement, for they had received a tradition from the Geonim, and at their head Rav Hai Gaon, that the Havayot are in the middle. The Rambam replied to them, and this is his wording: This which occurred to your minds regarding the arrangement of the parashiyot… such was my opinion previously like you. And the tefillin that I had in the West were so. And so wrote…, and that composition is what misled me, and misled all the people of the West… and many Geonim disagreed with this, and all the people of the East and all the ancient people of the Land of the Deer disagree with this. And they said that the Geonim opened the tefillin of Rav Hai, and it was written according to the order that I wrote in my composition. And when Rabbi Moshe Dar'i came from the West to the Land of Israel, his tefillin were like the people of your place, and when they showed him the words of the ancient Geonim and their proofs – he cast away his tefillin and made them according to the order. And the clear proof in this matter is what they said in "HaKometz Rabba": And the reader – reads them in their order. That is to say: …according to the order of the Torah. And this version was not in our books, but behold I found it in the old versions… Thus far his words. And it is a wonder that the Rosh and the Tur and several of the Rishonim hold that Rav Hai ruled like Rabbeinu Tam, yet the Rambam wrote that they opened his tefillin and it is not so. And in the Mordechai and likewise in other Rishonim they wrote that the platform over the grave of Ezekiel the Prophet fell, and they found his tefillin and opened them, and they were according to the order of Rashi and the Rambam. In any event, it appears that among the earliest of the ancients there was a dispute in this, and the whole world accepted this as the halacha. And even those who don tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam – they recite the blessing only over the tefillin of Rashi and the Rambam and pray in them, as if a Heavenly Voice went forth that such is the halacha.

The Rosh and the Tur wrote: Since the Geonim of the world disagreed regarding it, and the tefillin of these are invalid for those, as it was taught (ibid.): If one switched their parashiyot, meaning that he placed those of this house in that one—they are invalid. And the sages said (beginning of the tenth chapter of Eruvin): There is room on the head to place two tefillin, and likewise on the arm—therefore, one who fears Heaven fulfills his obligation with both of them. He should make two pairs of tefillin, and don both of them, and intend during their donning: "With those that are made according to their proper form according to the halakha—with them I fulfill my obligation. And the others—they are merely like straps." And there is no issue here of "do not add," for this only applies when one makes five houses. And he should not place the two pairs in one pouch, for one of them is mundane and it is forbidden to place them in a pouch of tefillin. Rather, he should make two pouches, and a sign for each pouch so that he does not place these in those. And so my master, my father, of blessed memory, was accustomed to do, and his teacher, our teacher Meir, of blessed memory. Thus far his words. And behold, this is only possible with very small tefillin. But with our tefillin, it is impossible to don two at once.

Our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote after writing the words of the Tur, and this is his wording: And if he does not know how to direct the location and place both of them together—he should place according to the words of one, both of the hand and of the head, and remove them immediately, and place the others based on the first blessing. And some say that if he cannot place them at once—he should place those of Rashi and recite the blessing over them, and they should be upon him during the time of Kriyat Shema and prayer. And after the prayer, he should place those of Rabbeinu Tam without a blessing, and recite in them "Shema" and "Vehaya im shamoa." And one should not do so unless he is established and famous for chasidut. Thus far his words. That is to say: that previously he said that if he cannot place them at once—he should place them one after the other immediately, and he may recite the blessing over whichever he desires. To this he says "And some say...", meaning: that he should recite the blessing only over those of Rashi. And he should not remove them immediately to place those of Rabbeinu Tam, but rather after the prayer, and the reason is because the primary ruling in halacha is according to the words of Rashi and the Rambam. (And similarly the Taz explained in subsection 3. And see Magen Avraham subsection 4 and subsection 5, who was pressed by his words. And it appears that before him the version in the Shulchan Aruch was different. And he wrote in subsection 6 that this which they wrote, that one should not place them in one pocket—this is when he did not stipulate from the beginning to put both. But if he stipulated—it is permitted, see there. And also this which the Beit Yosef wrote, that one should not do so unless he is established and famous for chasidut, nowadays it has spread in several countries that they place tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam, and there is no yohara in this. And every person may do so, and may a blessing come upon him.)

Let it not be a wonder in your eyes that since the tefillin of Rashi are invalid according to our teacher, the Tam, and those of our teacher, the Tam, are invalid according to Rashi, if so, how is it possible that the geonim of the world and the pious of the generations and the collective of Israel during several periods did not fulfill the mitzvah of tefillin, and their blessing was in vain, Heaven forbid? Therefore, even though in compositions of laws and halachot it is not appropriate to write matters that are said in a whisper, and the hidden things belong to Hashem our God, and especially since in our iniquities we have no knowledge of this; nevertheless, so that it will not be a wonder in your eyes, we shall explain a little of the much, according to our understanding with the help of Heaven.

Know that the author of Migdal Oz, who settles the critiques of the Ra'avad against the Rambam, wrote regarding this matter, and this is his wording: The Ra'avad, of blessed memory, wrote: Our teacher Hai Gaon does not say so… and I say the authoring Rabbi explains as he received from his teachers… and I found that the sages of Lunel asked…, and he answered them… and he who knows the secret… will understand that all the opinions have a root and a branch, and these and those are the words of the living God… and a spirit from on high has already been aroused upon us and we found a hidden and concealed midrash, and we were forced to change what we were accustomed to and held by as "in their order." And so our later teachers conducted themselves… Thus far his words, meaning: that at first they acted according to Rabbeinu Tam, and after they found the concealed midrash – they were forced to change and to place them in their order according to the opinion of Rashi and the Rambam, of blessed memory.

And in my humble opinion, this hidden Midrash is in the Zohar Pinhas (page 258a). For behold, in the Zohar at the end of "Bo" it says explicitly: The first parashah is "Kadesh"..., the second is "Vehayah Ki Yeviacha"..., the third parashah is "Shema"..., and because of this "Shema" is adjacent to "Vehayah...". The fourth parashah is the secret of harsh judgment, "Hishameru Lachem..." Thus far his words; behold, it is explicit like Rashi. And I saw one who rejected this, saying that his intention was regarding the writing. But in truth it is not so, as is proven from the entire matter there, that it refers to the donning. And the truth is so, and according to the Zohar of "Pinhas" the matters will be explained.

This is the wording of the Zohar there: His tefillin are according to the order of Havayah, which is "Kadesh Li," "Ve-hayah Ki Yeviacha," "Shema," "Ve-hayah Im Shamoa." But in the world to come, the Havayot are in the middle, for they are H' H'... Thus far his words. And he elaborated on this, see there. And in my humble opinion regarding its explanation: Behold, at the end of the third chapter of Pesachim, our sages, of blessed memory, said that in the future to come, they will say the name Havayah as it is written. And this is what is written: "On that day Hashem shall be one and His name one." Because then there will be the nullification of the evil inclination, as it is written: "They shall not hurt nor destroy," and automatically the troubles will also cease, as is known. Therefore, now "Ve-hayah Im Shamoa" is last, for in it is written "Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived... and you perish quickly..." This is not the case in the future to come—"Shema" will be last, in which is written only the love of Hashem, and it contains no punishment. And this is what the Zohar says in Parshat Bo, the fourth parsha: the secret of harsh judgment, as is explained to the one who understands. And in "Pinchas" it says that in the future to come the Havayot are adjacent to each other, meaning: that the two "Ve-hayah" sections are next to each other, because in the letters of "Ve-hayah" is the entire name Havayah. And in the future to come they will be next to each other, for they are H' H', meaning Havayah Havayah, for just as it is written, so it is read. And there is a hint to this in the Shin, for "Kadesh" and "Shema" which are next to the Shins of the shel rosh, together have thirteen heads like the numerical value of "Echad," as it is written: "On that day Hashem shall be one and His name one." It turns out that according to this, both are true according to the intent of the Torah. However, in this time it is more correct like Rashi, because of the reasons we stated. Therefore the Baraita said "Shema" "Ve-hayah"—"Shema" from the left, for now it will be explained "Shema" first and afterwards "Ve-hayah Im Shamoa." And in the future to come it will be explained "Shema" "Ve-hayah Im Shamoa" from the left, meaning: from the left will be "Shema" and afterwards "Ve-hayah Im Shamoa." And that is to say that "Shema" will be at the end and the Havayot in the middle.