The Proper Procedure for Putting on Shoes and for Buttoning Sleeves

The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat brings the ruling of Rabbi Yohanan that when one puts on shoes, he should put his left shoe on before his right shoe. He notes that Tefillin are worn (by righthanded people) on the left arm, indicating that the left side, at least in some respects, is given precedence over the right side. Rabbi Yosef, as the Gemara cites, disagrees, quoting a Berayta establishing that the right shoe should be placed first. The Gemara concludes that the proper thing to do is to accommodate both opinions, by placing the right shoe before the left shoe, and then tying the left shoe before the right shoe. At first glance, this "compromise" seems difficult to explain. If one places the right shoe first, but then ties the left shoe first, he does not accommodate either position. Why, then, is this the preferred sequence? The Bet Yosef brings those who explain that when Rabbi Yohanan points to the precedent of Tefillin, his intention was to show that when it comes to tying, the left side is given precedence. Tefillin is tied to the left arm, thus indicating to us that tying on the left should come before tying on the right. Therefore, even Rabbi Yohanan agrees that the right shoe should be placed before the left shoe, and his point was simply that the left shoelaces should be tied before the right shoelaces. This is the ruling of the Shulhan Aruch. It should be noted that the Tefillin are not actually "tied" around the arm; they are wrapped around the arm. It thus follows that this Halacha applies not only to tying shoelaces, but to all kinds of fastening – such as if one's shoes are closed with a zipper or Velcro. Moreover, when one wears a long-sleeve shirt, he should first button the left sleeve before buttoning the right sleeve, as this, too, is a kind of fastening. Although one should insert his right arm into his shirt when getting dressed before the left arm (as we've discussed in previous installments), the left sleeve should be buttoned before the right sleeve – or, if one wears cufflinks, the left cufflink should be closed before the right cufflink. Interestingly, the Lebush (Rav Mordechai Yaffe, c. 1530-1612) offered a different explanation for why the left shoe should be tied before the right shoe. He notes the story of Abraham Abinu rescuing the city of Sedom after it had been captured by the four kings, and when he returned from battle, the king of Sedom offered Abraham all the property which he had retrieved. Abraham refused to take any possessions of the evil city of Sedom, and he proclaimed that he would not even accept a "thread or a shoelace" ("Im Mi'hut Ve'ad Seroch Na'al" – Bereshit 14:23). The Gemara (Sota 17a) teaches that in reward for Abraham's refusing to take even a "shoelace," the Misva of Tefillin was given to his descendants. Thus, the Lebush writes, a special connection exists between shoelaces and the Misva of Tefillin, and it is for this reason that we tie our shoelaces in a manner that is based upon the Tefillin, granting precedence to the left side. According to this explanation, this procedure is required only when tying shoelaces, and not when tying or fastening anything else, such as shirtsleeves. Regardless, the commonly accepted explanation is that which the Bet Yosef cited, and therefore the left is always given precedence when tying or fastening garments, such as when buttoning shirtsleeves. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Jerusalem, 1910-1995) addressed the question regarding shoes which have laces on both sides; meaning, on each foot, there are two sets of laces that must be tied, one on the right side of the shoe and one on the left side. When tying each shoe, which side should be tied first? This would depend on the question of whether Halacha requires only tying the left shoe before right shoe, or giving the left side precedence in every act of tying. According to the first perspective, the requirement is merely to tie the left shoe first, in which case for each shoe, we revert to the standard rule granting precedence to the right side, and tie the right laces of each shoe first. According to the second perspective, then even when tying each shoe, the left side is given precedence. Rav Shlomo Zalman was more inclined to accept this second possibility, that the left side should be tied before the right side. The Rama writes that if one wears shoes without laces, then he simply places the right shoe before the left shoe. Rav Haim Cohen of Aleppo (d. 1655) wrote that when wearing shoes without laces, the proper procedure is to put the right foot in the shoe but not completely, and then put the left shoe on completely and, thereafter, finishing to put on the right shoe. However, the Poskim did not bring this practice, and the accepted procedure is to simply put the right shoe on before the left shoe. (It is known that the Hafetz Haim made a point of wearing of shoes without laces, as he did not wish to waste the time it would take each time he put on or took off his shoes to tie and untie the laces.) Summary: The proper procedure when putting on shoes is to place the right shoe first, without tying it, and then place the left shoe, tie it, and, at the end, tie the right shoe. When it comes to any sort of tying or fastening, the left side is given precedence, and thus one should tie his left shirtsleeve before his right shirtsleeve, or close the left cufflink before the right cufflink. If one wears shoes without laces, then he simply puts the right shoe on before the left shoe.