Editing Tefillin (section)

===Chol HaMoed===
{{see also|Chol HaMoed#Tefillin}}

On [[Chol HaMoed]] (intermediate days) of [[Pesach]] and [[Sukkot]], there is a great debate among the early [[Posek|halachic authorities]] as to whether tefillin should be worn or not. Those who forbid it consider the "sign" of intermediate days as having the same status as the festival itself, making the ritual of tefillin redundant.<ref name="koltorah">{{cite web|url=https://www.koltorah.org/halachah/tefillin-on-chol-hamoed-by-rabbi-howard-jachter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719233158/https://www.koltorah.org/halachah/tefillin-on-chol-hamoed-by-rabbi-howard-jachter|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 19, 2018|title=Tefillin on Hol Hamoed|last=Jachter|first=Howard|date=April 7, 2001|publisher=Kol Torah: Torah Academy of Bergen County}}</ref> Others argue and hold that Chol HaMoed does not constitute a "sign" in which case tefillin must be laid.<ref name="koltorah"/> Three customs evolved resulting from the dispute:
*''To refrain from wearing tefillin'': This ruling of the ''[[Shulchan Aruch]]'' is based on [[kabbalah]] and the [[Zohar]] which strongly advocate refraining from laying tefillin on Chol HaMoed. This position is maintained by [[Sephardic Jews]] and is also the opinion of the [[Vilna Gaon]] whose ruling has been almost universally accepted in [[Jews|Israel]].<ref name="koltorah"/>
*''To wear tefillin without reciting the blessings'': This is the opinion of, among others, Rabbi [[Jacob ben Asher]] (Ba'al ha-Turim), Rabbi [[Moses ben Jacob of Coucy|Moses of Coucy]] (''Semag'') and Rabbi [[David HaLevi Segal]] (Turei Zahav). The advantage of this compromise is that one avoids the transgressions of either not donning tefillin or making a blessing in vain.<ref name="koltorah"/>
*''To wear tefillin and recite the blessings in an undertone'': This opinion is the ruling of [[Moses Isserles]] who writes that this is the universally accepted practice among [[Ashkenazic Jews]].<ref name="koltorah"/> However it may have been in his time, this is no longer universally the case, since many Ashkenazim refrain from wearing it or wear it without a blessing during Chol HaMoed.

In light of the conflicting opinions, the ''[[Mishna Berura]]'' (early 20th-century), following the second compromise practice above, recommends Ashkenazim make the following stipulation before donning tefillin: "If I am obligated to don tefillin I intend to fulfill my obligation and if I am not obligated to don tefillin, my doing so should not be considered as fulfilling any obligation" and that the blessing not be recited.<ref>''[[Mishna Berura]]'' 31:8</ref>