Apr 15, 2013
background on the picture of the guy on a plane in a plastic bag
Last week a picture went viral, and received many derogatory comments on many of the sites on which it was publicized. If you have not guessed yet which picture I am talking about, it was the picture of the kohen sitting on an airplane ensconced in his seat while wrapped in a sealed plastic bag to protect him from the impurities arising from the Jewish cemeteries below.There has not been much to write about it, as the strangeness of the picture and surely of the incident for anyone on the airplane who saw it happen, spoke for itself. Ynet searched the fellow out and got some background for what happened. The article is worth translating, so here it is:
The fellow insisted on remaining anonymous, but he did send Ynet in the direction of his rav saying that all he did is what his rav told him to do.
This anonymous fellow is a kohen with a long and rich background in the army and has served in many very sensitive positions. He is a chozer b'tshuva, and in a very unusual move his commander in the Air Force game him a gift - 2.5 years of learning in yeshiva fully funded by the Air Force - he received his full salary throughout the period. At the end of the 2.5 years of yeshiva learning, he returned to the Air Force for an additional ten years.
Rav Yosef Bruk is s rosh yeshiva and the rav of this fellow. Bruk was very critical of the public response to the image, and he says he is convinced that all those who responded critically are not on the personal or the intellectual level the kohen is on.
Rav Bruk heads a yeshiva for baalei teshuva, and has been involved with this fellow for over two decades. This fellow is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserves and has filled many senior positions in the Air Force. Before Pesach this fellow flew back to Israel, and due to complications with the flight, he found out that the flight would be flying over a cemetery. He called me, his rav, to consult as to what he should do, as despite the airplane being a closed place, flying over a cemetery is a problem as there is impurity above the cemetery. To deal with it, he had to get into a position that is called in halacha "tzamid ptil" - a tight-fitting cover on an earthenware vessel...
Rav Bruk says that what appears to the public as sophistry, something made up and an attempt to circumvent halacha by coming up with innovative methods - that is the halacha, and people should consider how they would feel when their values cause other people to throw looks of derision and wonder. Every issue of Jewish halacha turns into a party of slurs. Everything connected to our heritage and is not understood is approached with derisive and defamatory attacks. The rule is that the less you know, the more you scream and that is true in this instance as well.
If a person from the Zulu tribe would see me talking on my telephone, he would think I went crazy, as he would not understand how voice waves could travel hundreds and thousands kilometers. He has no understanding what electromagnetic radiation is, because he cannot see it with his eyes.
The same is true with the spiritual system of purity and impurity - we do not have the ability or the tools to identify and know how it works. So I say to all those who responded, if you don't know anything about the topic, in your kindness, please just leave us alone and treat us with respect and politeness. Just as people who understand the Muslims that remove their shoes before entering their mosques and don't scoff at them, just as they understand the Christians who remove their head coverings when they enter their church, relate to Judaism with at least a minimal amount of respect.
The kohen who starred in the picture said that during his learning he learned in two places - he learned in Belz, that is considered a humane and moderate hassidut, and was very close with the Admor. And he learned in Netivot Olam (Rav Bruk's yeshiva) in which very respectful and honorable people learn, and along with him learned another 4 pilots. As well, during the same period of time, he says, he became very close with Rav Shach.
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I still want to know if what he did was an unnecessary hachmara or not.
ReplyDeletelisten to this shiur on the sugya of wrapping oneself in a bag
ReplyDeletethe viral picture of kohen in a bag
The analogies to the Zulu tribe or Muslims removing their shoes are not valid. Whether it has a basis or not, it's not normative halachic behavior. There are many, many very frum and learned Kohanim who fly from Israel who do not do this. Performing normative halachic behavior that looks strange is one thing. And even that should be done with prudence, eg putting on Tefillen in public places.
ReplyDeleteThat he's a BT helps explain it a little in that many new BTs, especially those inducted via Chareidi outfits, often have trouble synthesizing their new knowledge with their behavior in the "real world". I think his mentor(s) dropped the ball on this one. We have to be so careful, whenever possible, not make Judaism look foolish in the eyes of the world, especially in age where literally everyone has a camera on them and picture can be seen by the whole world in minutes.
It's an unnecessary hachmara, but he wanted to do it.
ReplyDeleteMenachim,
ReplyDeleteAccording to this, he has been frum for over 20 years. Unbelievable the ignorance of your comment about baalei teshuva and chareidim.
He did what Jews do in these situations and asked a shaila of his Rav. His Rav was certainly well aware that there might be others on the plane.
It's time for everybody who ridiculed (and continue to do so) this fine chareid yid (serving in the army for those of you who think that is the most important issue in the world) to do teshuva.
He was m'kayim what we say every day in bircas krias shema "lo neivosh leilom v'aad."
I'm a BT myself, so I have some room to speak, and I'm certainly not ignorant on the subject. I may be wrong in your eyes and that's your opinion. However, there is no question that people inducted via Chareidi kiruv organizations often have certain issue visa vis the outside world.
DeleteHis army service is not relevant. You're probably right that he shouldn't be ridiculed (no matter who he is) but that too is beside the point. The FACT is that anyone with a half a brain would know that this behavior would open him, and all of us, to ridicule. In that, his Rav dropped the ball.
Maybe his error was in not realizing that everyone travels with cameras today (aka phones), and it was highly likely that this unusual behavior would receive publicity?
DeleteNot really much better.
DeletePeople do lots of crazy things that they would prefer not be publicized. Most people have learned not to do those things in public if they don't want to take a chance on being splashed all over the internet. The reason this guy deserves to be criticized is because he did something that could be life-threatening, and could cause danger to his fellow passengers if they plane had to be evacuated. He deserves major criticism, but not merely because of the "embarrassment" factor. Frum Jews do many things that appear weird or embarrassing. This one goes beyond.
DeleteVery good point. I'm pretty sure El Al does not allow this. I remember reading about a flight that was prevented from taking off because of it. Also, I thought that the flight path was changed so that it wouldn't go over the Holon cemetery.
ReplyDeleteTesyaa,
ReplyDeleteYou are assuming that he didn't get permission from the airlines for this. Maybe he did maybe he didn't but how do you know?
It would be rather hard for him to have performed this in private. He was flying on a commercial jet plane following the psak of his rav.
the only thing i feel compelled to add and point out is that not snickering at a guy wrapepd in plastic on a plane is NOT the same as being respectful when walking itno a mosque or church. a better comparison would to be respectful when walking into a shul and putting on a kippa or tallis. Sitting in a plastic bag is not the norm anywhere, and is not something people should be respectful of just because they are on a plane (when compared to being respectful of taking off shoes in a mosque). if I had walked into a place where it was known that people wrap themselves in bags, then I should respect it even if I dont understand it. the plane is not such a place.
ReplyDeleteThe rav and the fellow should not be upset at the snickering, as they should have expected nothing more or less. And if they were prepared for it and chose to do it anyway, there should be nothing to be upset about it.
And besides, most people had no idea that there was a religious issue involved that they need to be respectful of. this was so unusual, it was beyond what anybody would expect in any situation.
I don't think the comparison was to seeing Muslims in a mosque. But following your reasoning Rafi maybe the comparison should be to a Muslim that takes off his shoes and bows in the aisle of an airplane. People might not snicker but they'd be awfully uncomfortable as you say to see someone doing what is not at all the norm in that environment. And the hazard of blocking the aisle and the illegality of taking off one's shoes (why?) being "flaunted" vs. done quietly under one's seat like the rest of us.
DeleteSince the tumult about the Holon cemetary, many flights have had their paths changed to avoid the issue. There is a network of kohanim that keep updates about the situation. This fellow must have been forced by circumstance to take this flight that didn't avoid going over the cemetary. Kudos to him for fulfilling "v'al yivosh min hamaligim alav b'avodas Hashem" - shu"a
ReplyDeleteI urge everyone to read Rabbi JD Bleich's very erudite article on the matter, published in Tradition about 10-12 years ago. IIRC, he concludes that it is prohibited for a kohen to take a flight that passes over the Cholon cemetary unless he is enclosed in a tzamid pasil bag. He notes that Dayan Chanoch Ehrentrau of the London Beis din, who is a kohen, used this method himself. Rav Elyashiv also ruled that it is assur for a kohen to fly over the Cholon cemetary, as well as many other poskim.
ReplyDeleteI think the vitriol directed at this upstanding Kohen by "frum" bloggers is nothing short of pathetic. Anyone who ridicules him for following what the majority of poskim consider to be normative halacha should re-examine their own sense of priorities. Clearly they feel ashamed of Halachic practice, and in that way are no different than reform.