worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers.so, was he doing his morning prayers on the ferry???
Posted on 12/12/2010 4:00:34 PM PST by SJackson
An Israeli tourist visiting New Zealand caused a minor panic on a New Zealand ferry on Sunday after the captain reported to police that a passenger was carrying a "suspicious article," NZTV reported.
Some media in New Zealand even reported a hostage situation aboard the ferry, even though the passenger was cooperative with police, according to the report.
The man was described as wearing what appeared to be "boxes" with "wires taped" to his body. "One individuals had two boxes attached, one box taped to his leg and one box seemingly taped to his forehead," a transportation services spokesman was quoted as saying in the report.
Jewish websites described the man as having worn his tefillin (phylacteries) on the morning ferry voyage.
He was stopped by police at the ferry's destination after it finished crossing the Cook Strait and was released by the police without being charged
That is a strapping young man there.
What you mean is, DO take a flight to Israel! It’s the most amazing trip you’ll ever take, the women are the best looking women in the world, and the food is out of this world, too - even on El Al!
Seems to me “wrappin’ tefillin” is more popular now than it was a decade ago, and frankly I can understand the guy flipping out. I remember attending morning minyan (a daily Jewish sunrise gathering of guys for “praise” prayer) at a time in which some guys wrapped, and some didn’t. I was one who didn’t. It sort of fell out of favor with a lot of the Ashkenazis whose families came up in New York.
Now, it seems, perhaps because of the glassy-eyed “Lubavitchers,” (those salesmany guys on the street in the black hats who are often seen (when seen) with pictures of a nice-looking bearded Rabbi, their mentor and possible “meshgiach,”), wrapping has had a resurgence in popularity.
By the way I am no Bible scholar but I think the article may not have it quite right.
The tefillin are worn not because He commands it “specifically” but because He asks that we keep His word ‘on our head, and on our heart.’ Thus the box on the head (rosh) and the one (yad) which is near the heart. Kind of like the “mezuzah” on the doorposts. It’s more of a symbolic ritualistic thing, a positive prayer-aide, like a Rosary.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
LOL! I am going to use that early and often.
That is because Judaism is a religion and not a criminal organization with delusions of grandeur.
Go ahead lux. I am pretty sure that is where the term ‘strapping young man’ originated.
Yea, the funny little box hat that Jews put scripture in. I’m a goy and know what it is.
worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers.so, was he doing his morning prayers on the ferry???
LOL, and now you’re quoting Heinlein at me!
ROFL! Lookit the price on that! I get Del Monico steaks for less than that.
Where was that?
****************************
Who knows! It’s the kind of SNAFU that happens in some corner of the Bible belt every so often.
In imagining what someone totally unaware of the custom, practice would think, having never seen anything like it, I, too, would be concerned, alarmed at seeing someone strapping such a contraption on themselves, the only reaction anyone could possibly have under the circumstances is that he's about to detonate the device, kill himself, all those within proximity.
There was an identical case in which a rather clueless individual took to wearing Tefillin on a domestic flight, the plane made an emergency landing, the religious gentleman taken away by security.
Yep, that picture sums it up perfectly!
And so could a plastic bag, or a backpack, or your pockets... should we be suspicious of pockets now, too?
Jeez!
You are too kind.
New Zealand is one of the many leftist places in the world who blame the muslim violence on the audacity of Jewish people (in particular Israelis) for failing to die.
I was in Australia and was confronted with “Iraeli suicide bombers” in Gaza killing children. I was like “What?” But the hatred is so ingrained it was accepted “common knowledge” that arabs were merely reacting to like attacks by Jewish people.
I don’t doubt the person recognozed this as a Jewish practice and equated “Jewish” with “terrorist.”
“Furthermore, it seems to me the apparatus could also be used by a non-Jewish person, and the little boxes could contain something other than nice thoughts and prayers”
As opposed to a backback that everyone had? Please.
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