A group of bochurim had planned on going sightseeing, but when their van door broke, they decided to spend their day on mivtzoyim instead. They found many Yidden on the streets and trails of Boulder Colorado and one even joined them for dinner.
By Anash.org reporter
What happens when a group of bochurim are on a trip and things don’t work out the way they planned? They take the opportunity for mivtza Tefillin!
A group of bochurim who are in Yeshiva in Postville Iowa, including Motty Smith, Yoel Suissa, Pini Wenger, Meir Goldenberg, Shneur Bass and others, traveled to Boulder, Colorado to spend time with the local shluchim, Rabbi Pesach & Chany Scheiner. They planned to do some sightseeing at the Rocky Mountain National Park and other local attractions.
As they climbed into their van, they realized that the door was broken. It would take some time to fix the door before they would be able to go anywhere. As they were discussing what to do, one of the bochurim noticed two people passing by the Shliach’s house and decided to ask them if they were Jewish. It turned out that they were, and were very happy to put on Tefillin.
The bochurim were surprised – the shliach lives on a quiet street, and it’s very unusual to see anyone walking by. They took this as a reminder of what they’d really rather do. Sightseeing is nice, but they’d much rather do mivtza Tefillin!
The bochurim spent the rest of the day in downtown Boulder and on different biking trails, finding Yidden. Many put on tefillin, some for their first time. Others at least got the chance to exchange a few words with a fellow Jew. They touched many individuals that day, Jew and non-Jew alike.
At one point, one of the bochurim lost his phone, and while looking for it, the bochurim found two more Yidden and put on tefillin with them. The bochurim proceeded to invite them for dinner at the shluchim’s home, and one of them happily agreed.
As Rabbi Scheiner said, “See what a broken van door can lead to!”
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