There is mention of arm tephilin being worn on the head during battle. Is it discussed anywhere just how this is done, where it is placed/wrapped etc?
Dear Gedaliah,
Hello there and thanks for your question. I'm not sure though that this is the correct explanation in the Gemara. The Gemara first states that forty Se'ah of Tefilin were found on the heads of the Beitar warriors. This is countered with another source that mentions three cases of forty Se'ah. The Gemara explains that the second source is discussing the amount of arm Tefilin found, while the first source is discussing the amount of head Tefilin found. It does not say that the arm Tefilin were found on the heads of the victims. Also note the ma"Harav Ranshburg's input found on the bottom of the page.
K'sivah va'Chasimah Tovah.
Y. Landy
Thank you for the reply, and all the torah you bring to the world. I was referencing Artscroll note 4 which states in part:
"The answer is possibly that since it was a time of war and the residents of Bethar were carrying weapons on their arms, they had moved their tefilin shel yad to their heads. According to halacha, one who carries a load on his arm must put his tefilin shel yad on his head together with his tefilim shel rosh (Maharam Schif; Maharal; cf. R' Akiva Eiger cited by Eitz Yosef; Rashash)."
ksiva vchasima tova,
gedaliah
Hello there and thanks for the clarification. This is probably based on the Gemora Eiruvin (95b) which states that there is enough room on the head to place two tefillin. Gemora (ibid.) also says that sometimes a person returns home from working in the field, carrying a bundle on his head. Since he may not wear Tefillin Shel Rosh under those circumstances, he wraps his Shel Rosh around his arm. Perhaps the same ruling applies when one cannot wear Tefillin Shel Yad due to the circumstances.
K'sivah V'chasimah Tovah.
Y. Landy