Friday, April 08, 2005
« Routemaster 19 a few days too late | Main | London by Routemaster »
An odd question
As I walked home from the bus stop last night, I was approached by a man in Hassidic attire for a brief, confusing conversation.

He: Excuse me, but are you Jewish?
Dunce: I'm sorry, I'm afraid not.
He: OK, thank you, have a good weekend.

And with that he walked on, leaving me puzzled. What could he have wanted? What would he have said if I had answered "yes"?

Maybe he wanted to ask for directions? I'm quite used to strangers asking me for directions, no matter where I go. But it seems that asking directions surely shouldn't depend on the faith of the direction-giver, unless maybe he was looking for a synagogue or some other place known only to Jews. Somehow I doubt it -- I don't think I look like someone who knows his way around the local synagogues.

On the other hand, an unexpected conversation from a total stranger often leads to a plea for money, or some sort of distress scam. But surely a well-dressed Hassidic gentleman would not be begging for money or attempting some sort of fraud. And in the unlikely event that he was, surely he would be willing to target a non-Jew.

Maybe some sort of "reform to Orthodox" evangelism of some kind? I've been approached by street evangelists of various sorts through the years, but I've never had the feeling that this is a common Hassidic practice.

I considered various other possibilities, less and less plausible, before finally resorting to Google (without much hope of success -- I mean, how likely is it that googling "Are you Jewish" will turn up anything besides things like "Which Annie Hall character are you?" and a load of lunatic hogwash).

Imagine my surprise when I found this from the Jewish Virtual Library. Quoting from the linked source (wikipedia link added by me): One Jewish group, the Lubavitcher Hasidim, have made a particular effort to promote the mitzvah of Tefillin among Jewish males. They often set up vans, known as Mitzvah Mobiles, in neighborhoods frequented by Jews, and ask men who pass by: "Are you Jewish?" If the answer is yes, they continue: "Did you put on Tefillin today?" If the person says, "No," they invite him inside the van. First they put on the box that goes on his arm (for right-handed people, the Tefillin go on the left arm; left-handed people wear them on the right arm) and wrap the strap around the arm seven times. Then the other box is put on his head. They lead him in the recitation of the blessing over the Tefillin, and in certain other major prayers, such as the Sh'ma.

Thank goodness that I told him the truth (that I am not Jewish). I don't think I would have been comfortable with a stranger inviting me into his van -- especially if I'd just lied about being a member of his religion.....
Friday, April 08, 2005 10:09:14 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [2]  |