(By Mushi Fogelman)
I boarded a plane at 6 am from Los Angeles to NY this morning. It was too early to daven before we left. I didn’t want to daven at 2:30 when we landed because I was going straight to the Ohel. I made sure I had an exit row bulkhead. I knew with this plane configuration, I would have plenty of room to daven.
About an hour after takeoff, I stood up, took out my Tallis and tefilin, and started davening. The plane was pretty quiet, most people sleeping, and it was really a pleasant davening. As I was taking off my Rashi tefilin, a stewardess approached. I could see she was uncomfortable and said, “You know you will have to sit down soon.” I told her I was just about done and thought nothing more of it.
As I looked up, a gentleman was standing, talking to his son and pointing toward me. I heard him say “tefilin,” and then he came over. He told me his community had a program where wounded Israeli soldiers came to stay in people’s houses. The one that stayed in his house put on tefilin every day. The soldier gave his tefilin to the young boy whose bar mitzvah was in two months if he promises to put them on.
As we are talking, another steward comes to where we are standing and is hovering, making us uncomfortable. We both thought it was strange, but he clearly wanted the convo over. The gentleman went back to his seat, and I put on Rabbeinu Tam.
I saw something going on at the front of the plane, and then the captain comes out of his cabin, and I figured trouble is coming. As I’m wrapping up the tefilin, the captain comes up behind me, and I figure, “Here goes.” He whispers in my ear, “Listen, if you need to daven or learn or whatever, go to the galley. I told them to make space. These non-Jewish people have no idea what’s going on.”
Of course, realizing he’s Jewish, I asked him to put on tefilin. He said, “I can’t, I gotta fly the plane,” and went back to his cabin. The plane landed, and I jumped up so I could be the first to the door. I knew the captain would be standing there to say goodbye to everyone.
I walked up to him and said, “I have a favor to ask, I’ll wait till everyone leaves.” He said, “Ask now, I’m leaving as soon as everyone is off.” I said, “I want you to put on tefilin, it will take 60 seconds.” He said, “Impossible.” I said, “I’m going to NY for the yartzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. As a matter of fact, I’m going straight there. Can you do me a personal favor, put them on so I have something positive to share with the Rebbe?” He stuck out his arm and said, “Let’s do it, let everyone see.” His name is Chaim Boruch Ben Leah. I should share it with the Rebbe.
The following video was an amazing experience he said goodbye to every person wearing tefilin (including whoever complained).
Mushi Fogelman
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28 Responses
According to the coffee room this man was makariev by a min, so did anything happen? Probably ksav alter rebbe tefillin, and only made one bracha on them, so many problems with this!
beautiful. But no need to see a women in shorts on yeshiva world news. thank you.
Inspiration !!
I think I as a non Chabadnik, the only people who care about non religious Jews are the Chabad.
However inspiring this video may be to some, the fact remains that Halachically this pilot is unfortunately not wearing Tefillin at all.
See Shulchan Aruch Siman 27, 9-10, with Mishna Berura 33 Where he explains the proper placement for Tefillin (above the hairline, not on the forehead at all) and says that Tefillin, when placed Improperly, are as if they are still placed in their bag, and not on ones head at all. Furthermore he says that the Bracha is a Bracha Levatala.
HIS TEFILLIN is not it its proper place
Sad that this Lubavitcher, in his zeal to make himself some PR, contributed to the debasement, zilzul of kedushas tefillin, Rachmana litzlan, by having this poor, ignorant man wear them while interacting improperly with an improperly dressed woman (that was just what was visible in brief clip attached, if it lasted longer, there may have been numerous such instances of improper behavior while wearing them).
Attention Chabad: making a Kiddush Lubavitch is not a valid excuse and license for issurim.
What a kiddush Hashem!
I’m sure this inspired many other Yidden not to be embarrassed by their Yiddishkeit.
As chazal darshen about tefillin:
וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם השם נקרא עליך ויראו ממך
This is ABSOLUTELY givaldig!!!!!!
WOW thats a crazy story!
In my humble opinion people should avoid as much as possible to daven in a commercial flight, unless you are in a plane of full if Yidden, or flying to EY where its accesptable and people know what you are doing. When flying in a regular domistic flight the none yidden get scared and nervous and have no idea what’s flying. We as Erliche yidden are supposed to be considerate to others…
Wow! Amazing and wonderful to see a positive, heart warming story. Thanks for sharing.
Teffilin shel rosh that comes below the hairline is not considered wearing teffilin shel rosh. All you’ve done is make this guy make a beracha levatala.
That’s nice but someone should tell him that his shel rosh needs MAJOR adjustment. (You could say what you want but the way he has it, he’s done absolutely nothing. Doesn’t look nice? Yeah but עס איז גארנישט מיט גארנישט!)
Shaking a ladies hand while wearing Tefillin??? Major Bizayon in Kedushas Tefillin!!!!
Many of you will know me as someone who, in the coffee room, regularly finds fault with Lubavich. But I have to say here that despite all the problems mentioned above, I believe that beracha levatala is not one of them.
Lubavichers make only one beracha on tefillin – Lehaniach – so even if he would have only put on the shel yad it wouldn’t be a beracha levatala, since the shel yad and the shel rosh are not me’akev each other. His beracha was therefore ok.
Typically instead of beiing happy and to be megarev always critisismen of so called better knower and thinking
the know everything. As we say all there worries and Rothschilds money then i would be a rich man.
It’s utterly impossible to fathom and believe how some commentators here are living a bubble criticizing all sort of absolute nonsense and wrong.
As whole this is why disassociated and disfranchised FRUM Jews from birth are incompetent to bring Machiach.
Instead of praising that a unaffiliated Jew so happily put on tephilin on the job and is happy about it, the unworldly, close minded, extreme black and white argue on things that are are totally irrelevant.
The unaffiliated Jew put ơn Tephilin. !!!
His one act is worth Billions and Billions in comparison to robotic daily routine we do.
He was happy and excited he did something Jewish and traditional that might inspire him to do more.
What type of sick and ignorant person goes and use a magnifying glass to look for a female in shorts or shaking hand.
Look at the Jew who is brimming with glow knowing he did something magnificent.
To all the Jews LIVING IN A BUBBLE, Wake up. Not everything is black and white. Reach out and make a difference.
This is from a nonChabadnic.
Only og melech habashan could wear those tfilin and be yotzeh.
Also, instead of being mezakeh this yid, he now has srach avodah zarah
To all the “The Shel Rosh is in the wrong place”, are you kidding me???
I am certain that he wore the Tefilin correctly and said Shma.
Then when the pilot continued his kiddush Hashem by keep the Tefilin on while saying goodbye to his passengers, they moved out of place.
The knit-picking to find fault in anything Lubavitch is sick.
I am a Boro Park/Lkwd boy and have seen this trend my whole life.
It’s great to see all the jealous snags here commenting. Way to go.
Unfortunately, in the early 20th century there were very few sofrim in america who knew how to write teffilin in normal size and so at that time, when everyone else was wearing problematic teffilin the lubavitchers were makpid to wear ones that at least were written correctly (if not in childishly large print). Today there is no reason to continue wearing those giant boxes as we have so many expert sofrim who can write in normal size in the us and in israel.
It is a great story, indeed, but many seem to miss the point: the pilot has not only strength to put tefilin in front of all these people, but also seichel to not put it while flying the plane despite the request! As R Shach used to day – Hashem loves klug people.
There’s a serious problem with talking to dead people. Very serious problem. Very serious HALACHIK problem with talking to dead people. And you can’t talk to the dead people asking them to do things. That is the way of the jc. people
Jersey Jew,
There’s a machlokes haposkim if one is meant to talk to the tzaddikim at their kever or directly to Hashem, with many great rishonim and achromim on both sides.
Learn some Torah before comparing halachic opinions to AZ chas v’shalom
@besalel I believe that Lubavitchers wear large tefilin because according to some shitos, Shimusha Raba tefilin is Rash”i tefilin – only larger. This way they are yotzei that shita as well.
According Sifrei Kabbalah and stated in the Zohar Hakadosh, this poor Jew has just did a korban to the sitra ahara, because he is Karet and didn’t do Teshuva before doing this mitzva. That allows the klipat Noga to transfer all the SHEFA from this mitzva directly to the klipots r’l. And in top like the Mekubalims add (hida and others ) he will punish for this mitzva. Tehilim 50:16 H-Shem says to the Rasha that he doesn’t want his mitzvots and it’s explained many times in the Zohar Hakadosh. First sur mera and after asse tov ! We have reshayims do Teshuva first then learn Torah to know how to accomplish the mitzvots properly then maasse(action) . According to Zohar, we can say that chabad is the number provider of SHEFA to the forces of impurity (sitra ahara). I know for my litvish brothers it’s not quite known. It’s time for your brothers to learn Zohar else as the Zohar states you will be pushed out of gan eden, you don’t know how to serve the long properly and you will have to go back in guilgul to learn the sod. Pardes is made of 4 letters, we can’t forfeit the last one that is the Dereh Aemet. buy a Matok Midvash Sefer like the maamare hazohar (2 books) and start with the simple and brillant hakdmah of the Matok Midvash and discover the dereh aemet where Hkb’h wants you to dwelve. ברכה והצלחה Braha Vehatslaha.
Sorry for my corrector.. hopefully b’h the message will be properly understood