Why did one shliach put tefillin on another passenger twice on one day? And why did another put tefillin on one pilot but not the second?
By Anash.org reporter
The journey itself was also the destination.
Even while traveling to the Kinus, shluchim from around the globe took the opportunity to spread Yiddishkeit, making the means part of the end.
While on the flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles on his way to the Kinus, Rabbi Effi Bloch of Chabad St Kilda put tefillin on the same passenger twice on the same date.
Why did he do that?
Well, while flying from Melbourne to Los Angeles, the plane passes the International Date Line, and the time goes back 24 hours. In fact, many flights arrive at an earlier time than they left. For example, if a flight leaves Sydney at 11:20 am Sydney time on Wednesday, it arrives at LAX at 6:05 am on Wednesday US-Western Time.
So, when Rabbi Bloch got on the flight, he put on tefillin with his fellow passenger for the first time, and then, after landing – many hours later, but on the same date – he put tefillin on the same passenger, and the same (but different) day.
Another shliach, Rabbi Yoskeh Mishulovin of Los Angeles, was making his way to the Kinus on a flight of his own. While on the plane, he made sure to ask if anyone was Jewish, and discovered that the pilots were.
One pilot happily agrees to don Tefillin, his first time doing so. Mazal Tov – a bar mitzvah in the cockpit!
The second pilot, however, demurred. The reason? He was already connected with a Chabad shliach…
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