A mourner should not wear tefillin on the day of burial. How do we know that? – When the wife of Ezekiel died, God told him, “Put on tefillin, which is your glory.” We understand from here that ordinarily a mourner is prohibited from wearing a tefillin.
Two classes of people similar to a mourner are those excommunicated by the court and those who are metzora (spiritual leper). Can an excommunicated person wear tefillin? – The Talmud does not know the answer.
Can a metzora wear them? Since his head should be “disheveled,” Rabbi Eliezer understands this as simply “no haircut.” However, Rabbi Akiva says that the same word, “disheveled,” is said about his garments, so here it must mean that his head is lacking a garment. Should we say that this means the removal of tefillin? -- Not necessarily, perhaps it means the removal of a hat or a turban. Thus, in both cases, we don't know the answer.
A mourner is also not supposed to greet others, learn Torah, launder, do work, and wear shoes. Do these laws apply to an excommunicated person and a metzora? The Talmud investigates each situation and finds answers in many cases; for example, in contrast to a mourner, the other two categories can study Torah and teach it to others.
Art: A Jerusalemite Shepherd Winding the Phylacteries for the Hand by Carl Haag
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