<p>Had a good chuckle over this news report:</p>
<p>[1010WINS.com </a> - LaGuardia Flight Diverted to Philly after Confusion over Prayer](<a href="NYC News Radio Station - WINS-FM | 1010 WINS ALL NEWS 92 3">NYC News Radio Station - WINS-FM | 1010 WINS ALL NEWS 92 3)</p>
<p>What were they thinking? And we let someone on a plane whose parents called the US embassy and reported them as a terrorist! Still some kinks in the 'ole security on planes department!</p>
<p>Oy vey!</p>
<p>Well, I’m not sure. They might look so familiar to me that I wouldn’t notice or think about it. But anyone can dress in a way that provides a disguise and a container.</p>
<p>It was right to be suspicious even at the risk of over-reacting.</p>
<p>Where I come from, this wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. I’m surprised the crew had never seen this before.</p>
<p>T’Phillin</p>
<p>I’m laughin</p>
<p>I hope they rolled open the prayer document and checked for nailfiles.</p>
<p>Actually I was on a plane once to Israel. With the morning prayers, everyone moved to stand on one side of the plane. It did start to roll a bit eastward.</p>
<p>that’s a good one!!</p>
<p>well…the plane was going to Kentucky…maybe the crew/passengers had never seen an orthodox Jew…lol…
but seriously, the plane was leaving from NYC; give me a break…someone on the plane could have/should have/ would have known…</p>
<p>“it’s a different world, Tevya…” (Sholom Aleichem)</p>
<p>a double oy vey! These poor kids!</p>
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<p>Presumably they went through security. Dressing as a Hasidic / Orthodox Jew is hardly a real “disguise.”</p>
<p>I was laughing, until I started reading the comments about this on nytimes.com. Lots of comments that religious people should keep their religion out of everyone else’s face, shouldn’t pray or act odd in any way in public. Then I just got depressed. Now I wish I had a pair so I could wear them on planes.</p>
<p>The local orthodox rabbi (who knows the young man) said that in these times, the young man probably would have been wise to notify the flight attendant what he was going to do before he started davening.</p>
<p>I grew up on the west coast. My Jewish friends were reform or non-observant. Currently mid-continent. Same story. Although I have read about tefillin in books, I admit to my cultural deprivation. Have never seen them in person. I travel a lot. </p>
<p>This brings up how our airline folks have to deal with so much more now… can we expect them to be experts in all religions and be able to somehow spot the fanatics? The normal observers? The just nut cases who seem to be seated near me?</p>
<p>In these weird times, the young man probably should have explained what he was going to do to the flight attendant beforehand, but I can see why he wouldn’t think of that – it’s an ordinary, everyday ritual to him.</p>
<p>I have never seen this and wasn’t even aware of the practice. I don’t think it is so unusual that they would have been unfamiliar and concerned. If someone next to me on a plane was performing this ritual I would have been concerned.<br>
Sorry…these are the times we live in.</p>
<p>I have to admit that I am half-Jewish and had no idea what this was. My Jewish side of the family is either reform or non-practicing, so I had never seen one (no one in my family uses them). I had to ask one of my Jewish friends at school what it was lol.</p>
<p>Again, even as a Jew, I would have been alarmed because it was something I had never seen and times are scary right now :(. Oh well, at least they were safe rather than sorry!</p>
<p>I loved the grandmother’s response – that these kids were going to have great essays to write someday about “My trip to visit Grandma.”</p>
<p>Her shoulder-shrug attitude is going to help these kids get over their stressful day much more quickly.</p>
<p>It’s a new day folks. We’re all going to be subject to additional scrutiny at airports/flights when we engage in conduct that is usually done in private. It’s kinda like what Ambrose Bierce wrote in his 1890 novel, ‘Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge;’</p>
<p>“The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of people, and gentlemen are not excluded.”</p>
<p>TSA regulations makes provisions for inconveniencing all kinds of people, and -fill in the blank- are not excluded.</p>
<p>Hey, it’s not that unusual of a ritual on El Al!</p>
<p>One thing that concerns me is that the flight attendent thought that the tefillin were attached to wires. The leather straps on tefillin are .5 to 1 inch in width, and they’re flat. They don’t look like wires at all, unless, I suppose, you’re feeling panicky. It’s important for the flight crew (and passengers, for that matter) to think carefully about what they’re seeing.</p>
<p>SlitheyTove, I hadn’t heard the comment about the wires. One the one hand, that is quite ludicrous as anyone with a set of eyes would have noticed the leather material and the width. On the other hand (;)), I guess there are millions and millions of people who have never seen this. I wonder if there are any Orthodox Jewish comedians out there who will work this into their routines…</p>