Tefillin After Maariv
Question: I davened maariv before shekia and then realised that I had not yet put on tefillin today. May I still wear tefillin ? Answer: The Shulchan Aruch (OC 30:5) cites the Terumas Hadeshen (2:121), who rules that once a person has davened maariv , he may no longer put on tefillin , as through his tefilla he has already treated the time as night. The Machatzis Hashekel (OC 108:18) compares this to the halacha that a woman may not daven mincha after lighting Shabbos candles, since by lighting she has accepted Shabbos. In both cases, performing a conflicting action would create a clear and noticeable contradiction. Where such a contradiction is evident, it is halachically significant and therefore prohibited. However, in situations where the contradiction would not be apparent to others, it would be permitted. The Elya Rabba (30:5), however, disagrees. He argues that the reasons Chazal forbade wearing tefillin at night do not apply in this instance. Accordingly, he rule...