Tefillin The Blanks: Pilot Grounds Plane After Confusion Over Jewish Prayer Accessory

[one...two...tree 2,762]

A US Airways pilot diverted a flight amid concerns about a passenger using some suspicious-looking black boxes.

Only problem? The young man was an Orthodox Jew using "tefillin," a ritual accessory used during Jewish prayer.

The US Airways Express captain diverted the New York-Louisville flight and landed in Philadelphia after crew and passengers became concerned about the young man and the unidentifiable boxes.

Turns out, the 17-year old Orthodox Jew was actually just using "tefillin," a set of black boxes that contain Biblical verses, and are traditionally attached to the arms and head during Jewish prayers.

The young man explained the ritual to crew members, but was questioned by the FBI after the pilot landed the plane.

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...ory.php?ref=fpb

[thongd4me 69]

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...ory.php?ref=fpb

It seems like a lot of to-do about nothing. I can't imagine that with all of the

communication/security gear on board a modern airliner that no member of

the crew or security team thought to take a digital pic of the item and

email it to a reliable Jewish source for confirmation of the passenger's assertion.

Since it is a common personal item that orthodox/observant Jews are likely to

have with them I'm surprised it wasn't covered in the crew or security manual.

The time it took to divert the flight could have been saved with a few clicks of a mouse.

Maybe they mis-read his passport and thought he was Osama Bin-Yehuda.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Jewish suicide bomber?

[scandal 951]

There is something odd about this story, in that the guy was praying alone, and he was doing it on a domestic flight that would most likely have landed at his destination in time to say his morning prayer once he arrived.

Some background. First, tefilin are only worn for the morning prayer (Shacharit) which must be recited after sun-up and before mid-day. They are used only on weekdays, not on Sabbath or holidays. Second, it is considered preferable to pray in a minyan - a quorum of 10 or more men over age 13 - than alone. If no minyan is available praying alone is perfectly fine, but davening in a minyan is a bigger mitzvah.

On flights to Israel, it's quite common to see Orthodox Jewish men davening Shacharit in the aisleways with their tallit and tefilin on.

Flights from the US to Israel typically leave around midnight, last about 11 hours flying time, and due to the 7 hour time difference (EST- Israel) arrive in Tel Aviv at early evening. That leaves a very small window of time during which the eastward-flying plane is post-dawn and pre-midday, and Shacharit can be prayed.

In this case, it was a NY-Louisville flight, duration of perhaps 2-3 hours flying time. If he left pre-dawn from NY, he'd arrive in plenty of time to daven in Louisville. If he left late morning in NY such that it would be afternoon on arrival in Louisville, he could have davened before leaving NY. The only conceivable reason one could think of why it would be preferable to pray on the plane instead of on the ground is if he had a chance to make a minyan in the air, but was davening yachid (alone) on the ground. But that wasn't the case - he was the only guy with tefilin on the plane.

In short, he had no business doing what he was doing.

It's not grounds to divert an aircraft necessarily, but he can't justify this on the basis of his religion requiring it. It does not.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Interesting insight, Ron. Thanks.

[Peikko 1,575]

I am obviously not privvy to the workings of the terrorist mind, but surely it's rather stupid to imagine that such and such a person can't possibly be a terrorist merely because of the paraphanalia they are wearing/carrying that superficially places them in an 'it can't be a terrorist group? Disguise is after all not that difficult to assume.

[Darnell 8,479]

scandal - thanks - i was gonna write up something similar

I think this YOUNG FELLA would have been ok , back in the galley (kitchen area) at the back door emergency exit area, after he got 'permission' from the senior steward, to pray.

I dunno, by the time he's 17, though, if he's been religious all this time, he should have more 'common sense' about 'how to do' ..

Oh Well.