A confusion over a suspicious man brought a South Shore train to an halt. Robert Byrd, chief of transit police for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, said passengers on Train No. 108 out of East Chicago told the ticket collector they believed a man on the 6:46AM train was dressed strangely and acting suspiciously.
The man was described as wearing a head piece with a box on the front of it, the box had wires sticking out of it and other wires led down his arm, they reported.
When the man did not respond to repeated inquiries by the ticket collector and conductor, crews called Metra police.
The crew stopped the train at the 57th Street station in Chicago, where they were met by Metra police and bomb-sniffing dog.
But then the man explained that he was Jewish and was in the middle of reciting his daily morning prayers when the crew tried to question him.
The box on his head did not contain wires, he said, but rather, leather straps which bind the box to his head. More leather straps bind another box to his arm.
After the man, who said he was from New York City, explained what he was doing, the train continued on to the Randolph Street station in Chicago as planned, Byrd said.
(Source: The Times Online)
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45 Responses
I’m not an expert but I think it would have been okay for him to talk in middle of davening if he was being questioned by the ticket collector. He made a major chillul hashem by causing this commotion while wearing his tefillin.
Yeah, I always think I’m wearing wires with those funny boxes. What kind of stupid ayno yehudi or self hating jew to would mistake what CLEARLY does not look like wires and think they were wires??
Granted the person should have used some common sense even though doing a mitzva in public is not a chillul haShem.
A chilull hashem turning into a kiddush hashem. Amazing!!
How much you wanna bet he was lubavitch?
Wow, What a crazy world we live in!
i think that before somebody wants to daven on a train or plane with talis and tefillen he should notify the conducter of his planned activity in advance of his doing such. today we live in a mesuganah world and a little precaution would help save the day and excitement.
There’s a lesson to be learned from this. If you need to daven publicly, especially a train, plane, airport, etc. tell a few people seated around you what you are about to do. That way, they see that you’re harmless, and they can explain to others who come over to question you!
Rav Mechel,
If he was Lubavitch, he would be attempting to put the boxes on other people, not himself.
Maybe every traveler should bring along a note explaining what he’s doing. If anyone asks, just show ’em the note. No hefskek, no muss, no fuss!
Next time he should get up early and daven with a minyan instead of davening on the train.
It is better not to put on tefllin than cause a chillul hashem. One is an Bitul Aseh the other is a collosal Lav.
We need more Jewish Education to teach people how to behave in public.
to sturgis,
the question is what part of davening he was up to. In shilchon auruch we find that even greeting a king may be asur as well as if a snake or scorpion may be bothering you you may not be allowed to act. of course no pikuach nefesh was involved…………what will the conductor do? shoot him? just wait for the cops and explain, that is what he did
p.s. do you think only lubavithes daven on trains,buses, planes……….where do you live?
Rabosai, Before jumping to cunclusions as to why he didnt speak during davening, lets be Dan L’kaff Z’echus that he was in the middle of Krias Shema, when you can’t talk, or Shmona Esrei when even if a snake is wrapped around your ankles, you cant’t talk.
Remember the story in the Gemmara when the Rav was davening Shmona Esrei and the Goyeshe King came to speak to him and he didn’t answer. The King then asked why he didn’t answer with a threat of death if he didn’t explain. The Rav said: “If someone where talking to you, and in the middle of the conversation started talking to someoneelse what would you do?”
Replied the King: “I would have him killed.”
Said the Rav: “Thats you who is a King of flesh and blood, I was talking to the King of Kings! the Rebono Shel Olam!”
The King let him go.
It’s not a “Chicago train”; it’s in Indiana, many miles away from Chicago. There is a city in Indiana called East Chicago that’s driving distance to Chicago.
I have no idea what the Jewish population is, and the non-Jewish exposure to them, is in East Chicago, but I am sure it’s nowhere near the real Chicago.
In any event, I certainly do not propose I know the relevant halachos, but I don’t understand how someone can daven on a public train and not respond to goyim who are concerned that he may be a danger to them.
The stories in the gemara of people davening on the roadside and ignoring people are not applicable here, IMHO, because in those cases, the people were simply taking a risk with their own lives so as not interrupt their tefillos. Here, other people felt threatened by the mispallel, and I don’t think he would be correct to be so frum at their expense, so to speak.
Also, couldn’t he at least motion and write out, “One minute, I am praying”.
ploiderer, he was on a 6:46 train what time did you want him to wake up?
everybody here has it all wrong!
He should sue everybody involved including the passengers, the conductors, the train managment and the management of the rail tracks. they should all have had sufficient diversity training to understand what the gentleman was doing and they should have known better to talk to him during dovenen – infact the conductor should have been walking up the aisles “shushing” everybody instead of accusing an innocent man of being a terrorist.
OK Lawman and/or Cantoresq, are you up to take on the case? If you do, just don’t bring a fish take-out dinner to court with you, the judge might not like it.
I thought we don’t wear Tefillin in front of an Aino Yehudi because of Pe’er.
We need to institute a saychel class in all yeshivos on all levels, period.
its amazing how much kavnoh one can have on a train. i imagine in shule he would be disturbed by the tumult around him . what a novel approach to avodas hatfilla.
WOW WOW WOW WOW,
I guess things evertually do get repetitive, even in the world wide web. A news article about something happening to a jewish person and then you get comments. “He should have done this” “What a disgrace” “Lets be Dan Lekaf Zechus” “Maybe this” “Maybe that” Would all the yentas out there who feel their opinion is so important that they must be stated PLEASE JUST BE QUIET!! I mean it seems like every row of comments is the same, some praise, some crticism, some halachic question and someone quesitoning where the Gedolim stand on this. People, get back to work and keep your opinion about others to yourself.
thanks
an annoyed customer.
I think it should mandatory for personel to be informed of such jewish customs.
PS: kol hakavod if he was lubavitch!
To-1, 7 and the rest who thinks like them.
Rav Yitzchok Zilber, is very known thru out Russian Jewish community in Israel as Tsaddik and a Godol.
He doesn’t belong to any Chasidic circles, but was active with Chabad in Tashkent.
There is a story about him when he was in jail in Russia that when he was davening Shmoneh Esrei and an officer was calling him, he didn’t respond and prisoners told the officer that “when this Jew stands like that, one can kill him, but he won’ t answer” and the officer had to wait.
That was more dangerous than refusing to talk to a police officer in Chicago.
So maybe R. Zilber did Chillul Chashem too???? Then you should refer your answer to R. Eliyashev, he knew him very well.
His biography was recently translated in English “That You Remain a Jew”.
Read it maybe you’ll learn what Achavas Yisroel is.
There are portions during davening where one must refuse to talk unless his life is immediately in danger.
To: Rav Michel
You think other Jews don’t need to put on Teffilin????
There is an inyan not to wear tefillin in front of a goy
To: Tzadik in Pelz
Which Rav told you that???
if this is a chilul hashem than I guess putting up a christmas tree would qualify as a kiddush hashem
To Yav, no other jews put on tefilin but not on public transportation.
to all those that it’s hilul hashem – so let’s all start hiding our jewishness (shabbos, kosher, yarmulka etc.) this way noone will get offended! We should be proud of being jewish and not afraid display it, or we will turn into concervatives or worse.
Number 22, I couldn’t agree more.
You would think after posting what you did, no one would continue with their stupidity. Alas, we do live in a world made up of yentas.
We gotta live with it.
Here is a quote from another rider from that train:
” I was on that train which was shockinly running late because of “bad weather”. The gentleman was approached by the train conductor. The conductor yelled at him and asked him what he was doing & why was he wearing that stuff. The gentleman said he was praying and immediately took off all of his religious apparrel and apologized to passengers around him. He also explained he was only praying on the train because he had to catch a plane and didn’t have enough time to go to temple. I really think this got blown out of proportion and exaggerated. This man was not resistant. ”
As you can he see, he eventually did explain what he was doing and apologized. He was obviously at a part of davening where he couldn’t talk when he was first approached and that is why he didn’t answer. As to why he was davening on the train instead of in shul or at home, he said that he was trying to catch a plane. According to myzmanim.com, the earliest time for tfillin on Friday in Chicago was 5:47 and Netz was 6:40. My Rebbeim would probably tell me to daven at home before Netz but after the earliest time for tfillin if that is possible in this situation. It might be that he had a long trip to the airport and had to leave before 5:47 so therefore he had to daven on the way and decided that the train was the best place. This was a 6:46 train so he was davening right after Netz. I have davened in airports many times and have never been bothered, probably because they were all major airports where people are used to seeing Jews with tfillin. I can understand that on a train in Indiana it is a lot less common and nobody there knew what was going on and were rightfully scared. Perhaps he should have explained to someone else before putting on the tfillin what he was about to do, but assumed, as many of us probably would, that the people around him or at least some of them has seen tfillin before.
I don’t think anyone would have said BOO if it would have been a yishmaeli pulling out his magic carpet to prostrate himself on it!!
To #22. AKA Bizrizut- I am slightly confused as to what exactly your problem is-or what you think “our” problem is. I think your a little confused as to what this is all about. It’s not a matter of Yentas to be quite- I think you missed the boat. It’s a forum for people to discuss issues and write in their opinion. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.
P.S Your also a big hypocrite for actually writing a comment yourself, by the way.
Bizrizut – nobidy is forcing you to read the comments
I guess he fulfilled v`ra`uh kol amei ha`aretz ki shem hashem …… eiloo tefillin shel rosh.
To: Rav MIchel
From you answer you suggest that fi I’m traveling during the day I shouldn’t put on teffilin??
GUYS DON’T YOU HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO?
Yav,common sense seems not to be in your vocab. If you are travelling, you either put your tefilin on before you leave, even if its before alos,all poskim agree its more lechatchilah than davening on a train with no kavonah and thereby causing a chilul hashem. Or daven at the airport in a quiet corner like most people do.
rav mechel
can you tell me ONE posek that says you can put on teffilin before alos, and you also say it’s l’chatchila, unless you wrote your own shulchan aruch.
just because you have a “klain kepple” and can’t have kavonah on a train, it dosn’t mean no one else can.
Sifsei, I personally called Rav Dovid Cohen Shlita and explained that my flight was at 7.00 am and when I get to my destination it would be after sof zeman tefilah. Would it be prefferable for me to daven at home before alos or on the plane. His response was to daven before alos.
Rav Mechel,
You are stam hocking a tcheinik.
There are minyanim every day on airplanes and yes, even on trains (LIRR). Who made you a oisek to decide that..
1) You are not alowwed to daven on a train, because of kavanah?
2) That it would be a chilul Hashem?
rav mechel
(1 are your sure you’r not mixing up “alos” and “nezt”.
i would be happy if you showed me a “makor” to that p’sak.
(2 you can daven after z’man teffilah “b’di’eved”
but i never saw that you can daven before alos.
before alos it’s “mikrei laila l’kal davar”.
All these people disparging Mechel are all my alter egos.
Sifsei, you asked me to name ONE posek, I did.If you would like to clarify it, call him.
Yochi,People talk loshon hora every day, people talk during chazoras hashatz, does that make it right? Please tell me why by davening on a train infront of shiktzas and g-d knows what is normal?
Joseph, Sifsei and Yochi are NOT connected to you because you were not involved in the conversation. But rest assured when you are involved and your doubles show out of nowhere,kolu almo moide its you sticking up for ourself.
I just called Rav Dovid Cohen Shlita and as we all suspected he never heard of this “Rav Mechel” character and he certainly said that he NEVER paskened that it is preferable for me to daven at home before alos (in whatever circumstances).
This Mechel dude, aside from blatantly attacking Lubavitch at every which opportunity, makes up so-called facts.