Injured Right Hand in a Cast - On Which Hand Should I Put Tefillin?
Question
I injured my right hand, and the doctor told me to put it in a cast for six weeks. On which hand should I put the tefillin?
Answer
Shalom uVracha,
If you are right-handed, you should continue putting on tefillin on your left arm as usual. One does not become a left-hander just because his arm is in a cast for six weeks.
If you are left-handed:
– If there is room to place the bayis directly on your arm, even if the entire strap is over the cast, you should put on the tefillin as normal with a Brachah.
– But if the cast covers your entire arm so that even the bayis is on top of the cast, you should put the tefillin on the cast, but do not recite a brachah.
In all cases, the tefillin must be covered with a garment, even when the arm is covered by a cast, because the tefillin shel-yad must always be covered.
Source
משנה ברורה (סימן כז ס"ק יח) ואם יש לו מכה ביד במקום הנחת הקציצה והמכה מתפשטת בכל הקיבורת מותר לו להניח על הרטיה אם לא סגי בלא"ה ולא יברך דהא דעת רוב הפוסקים דחציצה פוסלת ויברך שתים על הש"ר כדלעיל בסימן כ"ו בהג"ה אך ילבוש על התש"י מלמעלה בגד אחר כדי לכסותם דהא כתיב בהו והיה לך לאות ודרשינן לך לאות ולא לאחרים לאות. ודוקא על רטיה אבל להניח תפילין על חלוקו י"א דאסור אפילו ביש לו מכה ואפילו אם ילבוש עליו בגד אחר.
Mishnah Berurah (Siman 27, se’if katan 18):
And if he has an injury on his arm in the place where the ketzitzah (the tefillin box) is placed, and the injury spreads over the entire upper arm, he is permitted to put the tefillin on top of the bandage if it cannot be done otherwise, but he should not recite a blessing, since the majority of poskim hold that a chatzitzah invalidates it. Instead, he should recite two blessings on the shel rosh, as explained above in Siman 26 in the Rema. However, he should wear another garment over the shel yad in order to cover it, for it says ‘and it shall be a sign for you,’ which we expound to mean for you as a sign, and not for others as a sign.
And this allowance is only regarding a bandage. But to put tefillin on top of a shirt, some say it is forbidden even if he has an injury, and even if he wears another garment on top of it.
