Tefillin Wrap on the 80
Reading Rabbi Sruly’s “ramble” last week brought to mind a similar story that happened to me. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I would like to share my little vignette that happened to me on the 80 and share with the reader a lesson that applies to the upcoming holiday of Passover.
A few years back I was driving from Cleveland to New York. It was already late at night when I set out on my trip and after driving for a few hours I began to get quite tired. Rather than check into a hotel, I decided I would pull into a rest area when I got too tired and sleep for a while in my car.
I drove on and passed a few possible rest areas but because I was not yet overcome by fatigue I pushed on. Finally, at mile marker 142, in Snowshoe, PA, I pulled into a rest area for a couple hours of shut-eye.
Surveying the parking lot I looked for a spot that was off to the side so that I could fall asleep without being afraid of people passing by my car. I also planned on praying the morning prayers in that spot so I wanted to find a place where I could pray away from any curious eyes that might wonder what this weirdo was doing wrapped up in a prayer shawl and wearing black boxes on his forehead! I drove around for a minute before settling on a spot. I parked the car, leaned my seat back and promptly fell asleep for about 2 hours.
I woke up just as the sun was starting to come up over the mountaintops and I went in to wash my hands in preparation for prayer. I came out and surveyed the parking lot. It was early in the morning, probably around 5 o’clock, and there were only a few cars and trucks around. I went over to a picnic table next to where I had parked my car and donned my tallit and tefilin. Although I am accustomed to praying in a synagogue with a minyan and am always disappointed when I don’t have the chance to do that, this prayer session was actually very special and meaningful. The setting was so serene and peaceful. The morning light was just coming up. There was a slight chill in the air but it was not too cold. The morning dew was glistening on the grass next to me and there was a light fog hanging over the mountaintops that surrounded me. I had a chance to appreciate G-d’s beautiful world as I thought of King David’s words, “I lift my eyes to the mountains, from where will my salvation come?”
As much as I was hoping to pray without drawing attention to myself, towards the end of my private service, I had the feeling I was being watched. Sure enough, as I concluded my prayers I turned around to see a young fellow standing behind me. He told me that he was Jewish, though not observant, and that he had pulled in to this rest area on his trip from New York to Michigan and saw me praying, so he came over to say hi. I greeted him back and made some small talk with him. I saw that he seemed moved by the concept of prayer and I asked him if he ever wore tefillin. He replied in the negative and I asked him if he would like to put on mine for a few minutes. “Yes!” he enthusiastically responded. I helped him put them on and I said the shema prayer with him. Afterwards I gave him the name of some local people that he could get in touch with if he wanted to learn more about Judaism. We then parted ways.
Continuing on my ride I reflected about how I could have stopped at any of a number of other rest stops on my trip. I could have parked in any part of the large parking lot. I could have woken up at a different time than I did. I could have prayed in a different spot. Yet, G-d wanted me to be at that precise spot, at that precise time for some apparent reason. While I am not a prophet, I suspect it was specifically so that a fellow Jew, one who never had the privilege to wear tefillin, should have that opportunity on that morning to fulfill that mitzvah.
I would love to say that the story had an amazing end, and he is now the Dean of a major Rabbinical school – all as a result of our encounter. In truth, I never spoke to that fellow again (I tried tracking him down subsequent to my trip but was unsuccessful) so I don’t know what became of him. I do know however that at least, for the first time in his life, this Jew had the awesome privilege of fulfilling a tremendous mitzvah way out in the mountains of Snowshoe, PA in the early hours of one summer morning.
In just a few weeks we will celebrate the holiday of Passover. The lesson from Passover is that not only did G-d create the entire world (the size of which we humans cannot even comprehend) but that He is intimately aware of EVERYTHING that is going on at EVERY moment in that entire world! (Talk about multi-tasking!) G-d orchestrates event to happen for a reason. Sometimes He manipulates laws of nature, such as He did in Egypt at the time of the Exodus, and other times He moves things about in a natural manner such as on a summer morning in Snowshoe, Pa.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Koval
