A RELIGIOUS ritual known as tefillin, which involves securing silly little boxes to the heads and arms of Orthodox Jews with leather straps, caused a kerfuffle yesterday on board a flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles yesterday.
Detailed instructions on how to fit tefillin (click on pic for more details).
The behaviour of three men who engaged in the ritual so spooked the crew that the pilots locked down the cockpit and alerted authorities.
Airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said:
Shortly after takeoff, a flight attendant saw what she believed was unusual behaviour from three passengers on board. The three passengers were praying aloud in Hebrew and were wearing what appeared to be leather straps on their foreheads and arms.
The cockpit was placed on a security lockdown for the rest of the flight — meaning the door couldn’t be opened even for pilots to leave briefly. Normal protocol calls for the cockpit to be locked, but on longer flights the pilots will leave and return from the flight deck.
FBI and customs agents along with police and a full assignment of fire trucks met the plane at the gate at Los Angeles International Airport, and the men were escorted off.
After questioning from the FBI, the men were released without being arrested. They continued in their travel which took them overseas, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told City News Service.
Eimiller said she could release no further information because the men were not charged with anything.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
March 14th, 2011 at 9:20 am
Shortly after takeoff, a flight attendant saw what she believed was unusual behaviour from three passengers on board.
Unusual behaviour from normal sane and well adjusted members of society but not from religious nut-jobs. Whenever I see Jews praying in Jerusalem I always think of their futility, they just seem to be banging their heads against a brick wall.
March 14th, 2011 at 9:30 am
It’s not the first time something like this has happened.
A Flight Is Diverted by a Prayer Seen as Ominous
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01.....plane.html
Thanks for the graphic, Barry. Fascinating and bizarre.
March 14th, 2011 at 10:30 am
As Anonymous says, deja vu!
http://freethinker.co.uk/2010/.....us-flight/
March 14th, 2011 at 10:58 am
Time remaining until someone actually does develop a bomb that will fit inside one of these things?
March 14th, 2011 at 11:04 am
For those not aware, Wikipedia clarified it for me:
Tefillin are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with bible verses. The hand-tefillin, or shel yad, is worn by Jews wrapped around the arm, hand and fingers, while the head-tefillin, or shel rosh, is placed above the forehead. They serve as a “sign” and “remembrance” that Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt..
Tefillin are cubic worked leather boxes painted black with leather straps, dyed black on one side, that Jews wear on their head and their upper arm during weekday morning prayers. This tradition has been active for thousands of years.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:23 am
They serve as a “sign†and “remembrance†that Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt..
Pssst! Have you heard that historians and archeologists (including those of the Jewish culture) have shown that there never was an exodus out of Egypt. Just thought I’d mention it.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:50 am
There is a new BBC2 series starting tomorrow, called The Bible’s Buried Secrets, which may (shock, horror) cast doubt upon the reliability of certain of the Biblical records!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/coming.....d-secrets/
March 14th, 2011 at 12:40 pm
The precise nature of the box instructions illustrates yet again how proscriptive and utterly stupid religious belief can be. These people cling to their ancient superstitious nonsense yet are happy to use 20th century aeroplanes. Tell me it is not April 1st.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Wonder who thought that up. Probably some bored old git, donkeys years ago, wondering what he could fool people into doing next. After all, the foreskin scam worked a treat.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
It has a faint whiff of bondage gear, all that strapping around the arm. And being out in public with a little box strapped to your forehead? I think that’s a pretty good indicator to everyone else that you’re not to be taken too seriously. Forget planting a bomb in there someone should invent a minaturised jack-in-the-box mechanism and pop it in there when nobody is looking. Should liven up proceedings.
I feel much the same wave of absurdity when I see Hindus with huge bindis. Every time I go into my local bank one of the staff runs out to try and sell me a loan I don’t need and cannot afford. He is always immaculately turned out and must get his Mum to iron his shirts and then he has a big red thumb print between his eyebrows and it all seems very silly. I’m supposed to have this non-conversation/sales pitch episode with someone who is advertising his third eye to me whilst such an obvious corporate whore? He’s literally indicating to me the seat of his ‘concealed wisdom’ and at the same time the gimp doesn’t even realise what he is doing is irresponsible, anti-social and that he is being exploited by his employers.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
I seem to be alone in thinking that the wearing of a tefillin is, in fact, a very sensible idea; especially when travelling on an aircraft.
In the event of an accident one of the main priorities of the emergency services is the recovery of the black box. If you happen to have one strapped to your head it will greatly increase the chances of you being rescued.
March 14th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
One thing you can guarantee and that is the iron clad smugness of these clowns in their dotty ritual. They will behave as if this is something very, very important when, in fact, it is pathetic and superstitious nonsense.
March 14th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Remigius – Brilliant! Thanks for making me chuckle.
March 14th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Take a look at these beauties.
http://danyaruttenberg.net/200.....ne-minyan/
and this one
http://jwablog.jwa.org/tefillin-barbies-new-career
March 14th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
@ Thoreau
“It has a faint whiff of bondage gear, all that strapping around the arm.”
A search on Google Images for “tefillin” brings up this as one of its results. (Slightly office unfriendly)
http://michalstefillin.com/wp-.....fillin.jpg
@ remigius
Hahahah, that is very insightful.
*laughed out loud*
March 14th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
My thought was that it would function as a strap-on (ahem) crumple-zone in the event of a crash, but Regimus’ idea is way funnier.
Barriejohn, that programme’s presented by an atheist, no less! Wonder how they slipped that one past the DG…
March 14th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Of course, there are no instructions in the Bible regarding the tefillin, because the commandment to bind God’s words upon one’s hand in Deut.6 is purely metaphorical (otherwise how could they possibly be “in thine heart” as well?), but if the religiots (especially the Jews) can come up with another idiotic ritual then they most surely will. And the Tefillin Barbies are ridiculous, as amongst most Jews they are only worn by MALES over thirteen years of age – what a surprise!
March 14th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Of all the stupid religious practices out there this one is right up with the most ridiculous. What on earth is it supposed to achieve apart from making you look like a complete tit? Other than causing terrorist alerts on planes I mean.
March 14th, 2011 at 7:31 pm
It marks them out as “different”, Stonyground, which is what the religiots always seem to strive for.
March 14th, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Sorry to go OT, but I’ve just got to share this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UmotTE-VlY
The Lentil season?
March 14th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
@remegius,
It’s the black box that’s recovered,not the loony attached to it.
March 14th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
@ barrieeJohn
Yep the lentil season.
It is astonishing and so upsetting to see this kind of vile rubbish coming out a human being, rather than a mad badly translated book.
The silly tart is now going to pray for more of the same from the loving god she worships. What a cutie.
March 14th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
Thoreau,
I hate to be pedantic but the bindis does actually serve a purpose. It lets you know when the owner is in standby mode.
Looking at the positioning pictures of the tefillin. As a slaphead I would be buggered if I tried to wear it. I would need glue, staples and some sticky backed plastic!
March 14th, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Lunacy sanctified and normalised by custom. No behaviour is so preposterous-looking – or downright obscene – that it can’t be given a spurious dignity by making it a religious duty.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Teffillin – groovy and modern
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8r3QlF07Ac
Now with more house music!
March 15th, 2011 at 1:47 am
Dave Gilbert said:
“Pssst! Have you heard that historians and archeologists (including those of the Jewish culture) have shown that there never was an exodus out of Egypt. Just thought I’d mention it.”
I’m glad you whispered because the scientific community thinks you are full of bullshit. The plagues have been paralleled with the Santorini megadisater. The hebrews are identified in Egyptian history as the habiru, not slaves, mercinaries hired by the Egyptians to guard their land bridge from the Amorites and the Philistines. And the pharoah became pissed becaused they sacked every Egyptian city on their exit (verified by bible). They escaped across a marshland (Sea of Reeds) during Mediterranean low tide, and the Egyptians could not follow. I have documented this twice now, but, BDuke’s software puked my post. This is shorthand. (GRRRRRRR!!!!!)
NeoWolfe
March 15th, 2011 at 2:03 am
DGilbert:
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Habiru
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_Sea
NeoWolfe
March 15th, 2011 at 2:30 am
No wonder so few subscribe to this version of the jewish nonsense. I used to think that people that follow the jewish version were not quite as silly and in your face about their particular nonsense as are xians, but as always happens, up pops a wee story about an even stranger version than the regular version of the nonsense. As silly if not more than the xian or muzzie versions of the silly nonsense.
March 15th, 2011 at 2:32 am
Dave Gilbert said:
“Whenever I see Jews praying in Jerusalem I always think of their futility, they just seem to be banging their heads against a brick wall.”
Well, their futility is obvious, I would guess, because what superior being would be impressed by them pretending to slam their head against an invisible wall? But, if you see a video of a muslim madrassa, you see minors head banging as they try to memorize the Quran. Perhaps they are trying to reduce blood flow to certain parts of their brain in order to believe such crap.
While orthodox Jews are not usually killers except, in their own homeland, Yitzhak Rabin, their delusion is as real and as dangerous as any other. Apparently, they don’t down aircraft, they just neuter their own government. Tough to make that distinction as a fellow passenger, huh?
NeoWolfe
March 15th, 2011 at 11:30 am
“I’m glad you whispered because the scientific community thinks you are full of bullshit.”
Well Neowife, I gladly accept the rebuke. I was relying on the research carried out by the likes of Israeli archeologist Israel Finklestein of Tel Aviv University who suggested that the Exodus never happened in his book “The Bible Unearthed”. My reference was to the lack of evidence of transitory settlements in the desert. However, if you know better then so be it.
BTW why am I left with the impression that you publish your posts with a serious weed up your arse? You need to chill dude.
March 15th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
I, likewise, thought that the idea that the Apiru had anything to do with the Hebrews had now been abandoned as nothing but wishful thinking. They appear to have been more of a social class than an ethnic group, and the Egyptian “bondage scenes”, so beloved of Bible-believers when I was young, were found to belong to the wrong period completely! I’m pretty sure that there is no evidence outside of the Bible for the Exodus and events surrounding it, but my ideas may be out of date as well by now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apiru
March 15th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
@Dave Gilbert,barriejohn,
Agreed.
The Hebrews were most likely Canaanites, who, for reasons best known to themselves,decided to be monotheists and then, naturally, had to find a way of distinguishing themselves from pagans. The result is the tendentious ‘historical’ crap in the Old Testament and the ridiculous dietary laws.
March 15th, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Dave G said:
“BTW why am I left with the impression that you publish your posts with a serious weed up your arse? You need to chill dude.”
You are correct. My frustration was not with you. I had already written the post twice, carefully, proofread it, documented it, and POOF!! it disappears into oblivion. I apologize. I actually thought that comment wouldn’t post, either.
To restate my point in a more civil manner, you stated:
“Have you heard that historians and archeologists (including those of the Jewish culture) have shown that there never was an exodus out of Egypt.” And you presented no documentation. What I said in my original comment was to the effect that I have heard many opinions by those who study religious texts from the point of view that they are religiously slanted retelling of real historical events, that disagree with you.
For example, scholars believed for years, that the city of Troy, described in the Illiad of Homer was fictional, that is, until they found it.
Egyptologists believe the Hebrews were there, and left in less than cordial circumstances. But, the reassembling of the story contains a great deal of conjecture. But, so does an assumption that the assembled evidence suggests that an exodus never occurred. That’s what I wanted to say, not that you are full of bullshit. My bad.
NeoWolfe
March 16th, 2011 at 12:37 am
Good. Now we can all be friends again and play nicely.
March 16th, 2011 at 2:19 am
Dave G said:
“Good. Now we can all be friends again and play nicely.”
I can’t speak for “we” but I promise to try.
NeoWolfe
March 16th, 2011 at 9:23 am
Doesn’t anyone remember the “telfilin Incident” of last January when this same thing happened?
March 16th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Uzza: TWO of us mentioned that!