<p>In all fairness, don’t you think one could indeed hire wires in tefillin if so inclined?
Having said that … it would be a dumb way to carry out a terror attack, to take something that’s unusual to most people and then to use it in a ritual that will attract attention. The “scare” is in the common items, not the ones that stick out like a sore thumb.</p>
<p>I have never seen a tefillin even though I have had Jewish friends since childhood, and even have been to services at synagogues. </p>
<p>If I had seen him strapping those odd-looking objects to himself, I would have been concerned and would have notified the flight staff. </p>
<p>Even with his explanation, I understand why the pilot turned the plane around. Just because the explanation sounded like something that could be true didn’t mean it was true.</p>
<p>One reason I’m concerned with the flight attendent’s reaction is that if lots of people are on hairtrigger alert, it would be far too easy to mess up air traffic. Maybe it’s a twitchy looking guy who keeps getting up to use the restroom, or someone a little odd who is intently working on some sort of technical coding work on a laptop in-flight, or a nervous flyer who keeps compulsively searching through her bags, or a group of friends scattered through the cabin who walk dow the aisle to say chat with one another. Easy to see how a flight attendent or passenger could be concerned that something is going on, especially if the individual happens to look middle eastern and/or isn’t speaking in English.</p>
<p>NSM, not surprised that you’ve not seen tefillin before. You’ll generally only see them if you go to morning services that aren’t on Saturday (Shabbat). </p>
<p>By the way, did anyone see the news about the poor college student flying from Philly back to U of M who had a baggie of white powder planted in her bag by a TSA agent as a joke?</p>
<p>NSM - chances are most of your friends / acquaintances who are Jewish are reform, and it’s relatively rare for reform Jewish males to lay tefillin.</p>
<p>I guess it’s because I’ve lived in New York and New Jersey all my life, but I find it absolutely astonishing (and kind of disturbing) that this is apparently something that even lots of Jewish people (or people who are part-Jewish) wouldn’t recognize. I can understand if somebody has never seen this in person (I doubt I have more than once or twice), but don’t people read books anymore? Surely there are movies in which this kind of thing is depicted. How can anyone Jewish, no matter how non-observant they are – or, frankly, any well-educated non-Jewish person – possibly not be aware of this? I’m just amazed. What’s next, non-Catholics not having any idea what communion looks like? Somehow I don’t think this would happen to somebody Catholic who pulled out some rosary beads!</p>
<p>Really, I don’t think this is funny at all. I’m horrified. And it reminds me once again of something I don’t particularly enjoy thinking about, which is how much the culture in this country really is Christian-centric. (The “Judeo-” prefix is usually stuck on as an afterthought by people who’ve probably never even heard of tefillin or ever seen a mezzuzah.) I still remember how shocked and sad J. was when I felt it was time to tell him, when he wasn’t even 2 yet, that no, not everybody in the world is Jewish, and, in fact, that we’re a tiny minority. It was a difficult moment.</p>
<p>^^Donna: ditto here; but I imagine that this is a result of either geography or upbringing…if you are in a part of the country without orthodox Jews, unless you are a Judaic scholar, or have been in religious education, you may not have any knowledge…add to that factor, if one is Jewish by birth, but not practicing, I would imagine they would have no idea…</p>
<p>but I repeat, this flight did originate in Queens, no less…if it had ORIGINATED in Kentucky, I could be more understanding…</p>
<p>one more thing…I am of the belief that everyone “reads”, or at the least, “watches the news”…I have been proven wrong on many, many occasions…</p>
<p>Slithey Tove,</p>
<p>I’ll betcha that half those folks in the NY Times making the remarks about people shouldn’t pray in public were Jews! </p>
<p>The really assimilated of any group often have a problem with the more “natural” members of their folks. </p>
<p>I’m an Irish Catholic and I know what tefillin are.</p>
<p>As far as others knowing what tefillin are—that plane took off from La Guardia, barely 4 mi from one of the largest enclaves of Hasidic Jews in the world. It’s hard to fathom that no one in the flight crew had ever seen an Orthodox Jewish male and could not spot a yarmulke, which the kid was wearing. And those airline employees walk around in airports, including La Guardia, and see all kinds of people, including Jews, on their way here & there. </p>
<p>It’s a good thing for Catholic nuns they switched from those big white wimples they used to wear on their heads! Can you imagine the fuss on airplanes over those?</p>
<p>Jews going to Kentucky?! I can see where some of the confusion originated. However, security wise I can understand why the tefillin should have been searched. After all, if one assumes that one of the terrorist profiles includes people from semitic backgrounds the ultimate insult/horror could be someone smuggling explosives in the --forgive me for not knowing the exact term for the box that goes on the forehead–box, impersonating a Jew and blowing up an airplane. BUT…I thought that TSA taught people what to look for in a terrorist.</p>
<p>I live in an area where there are Orthodox Jews. I believe that tefillin are worn in the morning and evening only for prayers. Now, tzitzit (I don’t know spelling) are always worn and they stick out of clothing. But they’re supposed to know what to look for.</p>
<p>Ellebud–Google the story and look at the photo of the boy, in the NY Daily News. </p>
<p>The TSA is not supposed to be “profiling” anyone by their ethnic appearance—that is why elderly Grandmas of Polish descent are subject to shoe searches—but if they were allowed to, this sweet faced young man would not remind anyone of Bin Laden’s cousins. </p>
<p>What beats me is the velvet case for the tefillin, which must have been lying in his lap, in the little space allowed in a plane seat. It’s got Hebrew embroidery all over it–the flight crew missed that, too? </p>
<p>OK, maybe that would be profiling, too–anti-profiling? Has anyone in alQueda yet thought of disguising themselves as a Jew, by saying morning prayers in Hebrew?</p>
<p>I’ve lived in NY for 20 years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone wearing a tefellin either outside of a trip to Israel, and while I recognize them and know what they are for, I didn’t know what they were called. I also never had a bagel before I went to college. </p>
<p>Interestingly the article in our paper said that pre 9/11 people on planes have been alarmed by tefillin, but because they thought they were drug paraphernalia!</p>
<p>T’fillin are worn only during traditional morning prayers Sunday through Friday, so it’s not surprising that non-Jews who have attended services on Shabbat (Friday night and Saturday morning) would never have seen men (and sometimes, in Egalitarian congregations, women) laying t’fillin. </p>
<p>I am astonished that on a flight originating from LaGuardia, no one on the flight crew had familiarity with t’fillin.</p>
<p>Donna–I have lived in NJ my whole life (within miles of where you live, actually)–my parents are from NYC, and my dad was from a Jewish family. Yet the only reason I would know what these are is from reading. I’ve never seen someone use them. And I’m guessing that not everyone is “well-educated” as defined by knowing about various religious rites, though I know it would be good if they were.</p>
<p>JRZmom–I wouldn’t be suspicious of little old grandmas, either, but terrorism isn’t confined to one religion. there have been Christian terrorists in the US, and Jewish ones in Israel. And I imagine some of them, of all religions, are sweet-faced, too.</p>
<p>We have some friends, husband Israeli born American Jew, who post September 11th were in line going through security (with wife, MIL, and three children). He was pulled out, not the three Arab young men behind them. (Yes, this isn’t PC. But there is a profile of terrorists: 18 to 45…and onward. And yes, there are other profiles.) Husband protested that he would go through whatever security screening they wanted…but he wanted the guys behind him to go through as well. It became quite an event (the wife was trying to quiet her husband…well, you get the picture.)</p>
<p>The boys, and they were boys, conferenced. They said to security that yes, they too would go through security checks as well. They didn’t want anything to happen to them either. </p>
<p>…and as they all took a later flight they had time to talk and become friendly.</p>
<p>mathmom, I can entirely understand why people would think tefillin are drug paraphernalia, because of strapping up the arm tightly. </p>
<p>JRZmom, thanks for the tip about the young man’s photo. I’m sorry for his loss of privacy, but I think it’s useful for people to see that this was the proverbial kid next door. </p>
<p>Chabad must be ecstatic about this. They spend lots of time and effort trying to get Jewish men to try using tefillin, and wham! a massive educational effort, for free! :)</p>
<p>Incidentally, for those that don’t know, tefillin can be quite expensive. A cheap set can run $400, and prices go up to a few thousand.</p>
<p>Well, I guess the bright outcome of all this is, there aren’t going to be any more flight attendants who think a Jewish guy getting ready to pray is strapping on a bomb!</p>
<p>You know, the guy with the underpants bomb has gotten me thinking about another group of flyers—ostomy patients. They have to fool around with plastic bags in bathrooms too. How long before some flight attendant gets upset because a passenger is taking a long time in the bathroom taking care of his needs, and diverts the plane for that?</p>
<p>Hey DonnaL, I’ll see your rosary beads and raise you a scapula! :)</p>
<p>Seriously, I know what tefellin are–thank you, Chaim Potok!–and a guy who worked for me in NYC used to daven in his cubicle every day. I would think that they could simply have requested to open the boxes, but I guess better safe than sorry is the word nowadays. I mean, who would ever have thought that there would be a shoe bomber?</p>
<p>JRZmom, exactly. Though I recently read some advice to an ostomy patient that it’s a good idea to let the cabin crew know upfront so they don’t get upset if the patient needs to leave his/her seat during turbulence to get to a bathroom. </p>
<p>Or, how about someone who has Tourette’s, or OCD?</p>
<p>The thing that surprised me most is that they actually diverted the plane over this.</p>
<p>If the tefillin was suspicious looking (and I can understand that small black boxes with straps can raise someone’s suspicions), then why wasn’t this caught by security at the airport? I mean if it was some sort of explosive, it is doubltful that someone would have put it on their forehead in the open. I would have guessed that it would have been kept in its carry on bag so as not to raise suspicion and would have just been detonated from the bag. so I think we need to be doing more thorough searches, not plane diversions as a reaction to something suspicious already on board.</p>
<p>Once the fight crew questioned the passenger and got somewhat of an explanation as to what the teenager was doing…couldn’t this be verified in the air by someone on the crew?</p>
<p>I mean it takes one second to google the info… I’m sure the kid would have been happy to spell tefillin for them! Isn’t there some way for the crew to verify info in the air? Is the only recourse to divert a plane and inconvenience so many people when this clearly could have been checked out? I would hope that in all instances where something suspicious is found on board on a plane that there is clear communication and guidance from the ground!</p>
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<p>Sadly, yes. During the Second Intifada (before the fence was built), a typical way a few Palestineans disguised themselves as terrorists was by dressing up as a black-hatted Chassid and walking on main streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv before self-exploding. The Israeli air security system is wise to it. They do not give an easy pass to anyone just because they “look” or dress observant. </p>
<p>BTW, the square box is called the “bayit” --Hebrew word for “house.” It’s a small leather box, divided internally into 4 chambers, all handstiched. One chamber holds a rolled up scroll with the same prayer as is in a household mezuzah. In concept, the long straps that connect the bayit to the rest of the body connect head, heart and hand, unitiing prayer and action. When carried in a small bag, around the size of a small manilla envelope, they just look like a leather box with straps.</p>
<p>I think what is alarming is not t’fillin themselves, but what happens when someone begins to perform the ritual. Suddenly, a teenaged boy pops up from sitting to standing and starts wrapping himself quickly. All the motions of wrapping straps to himself, with the black box already sticking out on his forehead, WOULD catch attention and might connect in a flight attendant’s mind to the image of some young guy strapping an explosive device onto himself.</p>
<p>I agree with the advice of that local orthodox rabbi, to inform the flight attendant what he’s about to do. That would have solved it, and it’s no imposition on the prayers to say what’s about to happen. </p>
<p>Heck, I met my mom at an airplane on her birthday (Sept. 11 of all things, 2 years ago). I wanted to greet her with a cupcake with one candle. Before I did so, I told AIrport Security I would be lighting it, and got their permission. In fact, they loaned me their lighter. But that comes with experience and maturity, not what a l6-year-old would know to do.</p>
<p>Cool grandma.</p>
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<p>I think that’s because you’ve lived in NY / NJ your whole life, and you ARE Jewish. It doesn’t surprise me that most people have never seen tefillin and are unaware of the custom. My Reform Jewish, bar / bat mitzvah-ed kids are only vaguely aware of it from visiting a Chabad house where the boys were shown how to lay tefillin.</p>
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<p>Not to mention, the boy is going to go into a “zone,” for lack of a better term, while he is davening, swaying back and forth, potentially not being responsive or appearing somewhat out-of-it to an onlooker.</p>