Saturday, January 23, 2010
I don't believe this....
Since when has tefillin been concidered a dangerous object? People don this frequently on flights, especially overseas ones.
And is ethnic diversity not even taught to stewardesses? I hate to think what would have happened if, being in the middle of his prayers, he had chosen not to answer. I just can only hope that this won't lead to a ban on tefillin on planes....
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3 comments:
They are no longer referred to as "stewardesses".
The world does not revolve around frum Jews and their religious items - I'm guessing there are a lot of religions/cultures that use items we are not familiar with.
In today's day and age, a little caution is the best move. In this case, the "perpetrator" was a child, and I don't expect a child to use good judgment; but if an adult had done this, I would find it infuriating.
The use of tefillin is not common outside of Orthodox and Conservative Judaism. Frankly, if I didn't know what they were, I would think it quite strange. Additionally, with it being wrapped around the arm (and especially the fingers!) like that - suicide bomber? It could look like the part around the fingers is a detonator. And keep in mind where the flight was going - I doubt that Louisville, KY draws a large number of frum people - or even Jewish people.
It's all about context. And the world outside of Israel is not one that knows a lot about tefillin.
EXCEPT that the teen calmly explained what he was doing, and he was with his sister, and the flight attendent (not the general public) SHOULD have known; it is VERY commomonly seen on international flights, and should be part of their training.)I do not fault the general public for not knowing. What really freaked me out was people's assumption that he was wearing tefillin to create a stir. There is absolutely no indication of that.
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