Orthodox Man Convicted Of Praying While Driving

An Orthodox man stopped by Jerusalem Police for driving while wearing tefillin and a tallit (and, apparently, praying as well) was convicted by a Jerusalem court Sunday morning.

 

Orthodox Man Convicted Of Praying While Driving
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

An Orthodox man stopped by Jerusalem Police for driving while wearing tefillin (phylacteries), a tallit (prayer shawl) and, apparently, praying as well, was convicted in absentia Sunday morning, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Sharon Larry-Bavli found the man guilty of endangering other motorists and pedestrians and suspended the man’s driver’s license for four months, fined him NIS 1,000 (about $249), and placed him on three-years probation.

“I doubt that prayer would have helped in this case,” the judge wryly noted.

Comments

[Sarek]

("I Say a Little Prayer", Dionne Warwick; Bacharach & David)

The moment I speed up
When I put on my tallis and worship
I daven a little prayer for you
Wrapping tefillin now
They make take me to the hoosegow
I daven a little prayer for you

Morning, noon and evening I will pray to God
Because I’m a Jew
Forever and ever I always am awed
But I don’t understand you
So tefillin, tallitot, together they must be
Because I’m Hebrew
Centuries of heartache for me

I run from the cops in fear
Maybe I can give them a schmear
And be allowed to go on my way
So what if I pray here
They just shouldn’t interfere
I’m davening so just let me pray

Morning, noon and evening I will pray to God
Because I’m a Jew
Forever and ever I always am awed
But I don’t understand you
So tefillin, tallitot, together they must be
Because I’m Hebrew
Centuries of heartache for me

[Shmarya]

The original is a great song, BTW. Bacharach and David wrote it for Warwick, who I really love, but Aretha Franklin's version is by far the best ever recorded:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtBbyglq37E

[lematameasara]

It's OK to where any attire one pleases, but where a talit snd phylacteries and you break the law. What law? On what basis should these be an exception? It's OK to talk to a fellow passenger and even have a heated debate (at least I am unaware of anyone being penalized for such) but talk to G-d and you're gonna getcha a ticket for endangering others.
What a joke!

[Jeff]

What if he were on a cell phone? Should he have been arrested then? What if he were talking to his rebbe? Would that violate his religious freedom?

The only joke here is you.

[Jeff]

Scott, I agree; it's a great version. I have it on a CD, "Aretha's Best". If I had to choose between that version and Dionne Warwick's, I'd be hard-pressed.

[David]

+++What law?

lematameasara | March 08, 2015 at 06:08 PM+++

He wasn't charged with "praying". He was charged and found guilty of "endangering other motorists and pedestrians" because you can't possibly have a tallis over your head with teffillin, be davening and focus on your driving at the same time.

Most frumma have extremely poor driving skills and poor situational awareness at the best of times, plus poor compliance with road rules and poor road courtesey. They should not be on the road at all anyway.

[David]

Show me a frumma car not full of scratches and dents and pieces hanging off. It will be the first 5 mins after they drove ut out of the showroom.

[Maskil]

It's illegal to talk in a phone while driving, unless it's "hands free." Iit's." It's illegal to text while driving. Now it's apparently illegal to talk to God while driving, even if it's "hands free." Yet, it is still legal to write an old-fashioned letter with a pen and paper while driving a motor vehicle on a public road. Go f***king figure.

[Abracadabra]

"It's OK to where any attire one pleases"

lematameasara -

It's actually never okay to "where" any attire one pleases, unless you only received one hour of secular studies in yeshiva, WHERE you were given all the answers to the questions so that you can pass the "goyish" tests, and your yeshiva could then distribute state approved high school diplomas without having provided any real secular education.

Even with skipping all those secular studies, you obviously didn't learn enough Torah in yeshiva. Every yeshiva bochur knows that the Torah contains all knowledge in the whole world. So go back to yeshiva and learn more Torah, and eventually you may get to the part in the Torah where it teaches the difference between "where" and "wear." Then come back and comment on English language blogs.

Until then, stick to what you do best - learning Gemara and davening with tallis and tefillin on while driving a car - a brilliant time saving technique that will enable more davening and Gemara learning to take place which will surely bring the Geula faster. Which is a good thing, because all those people you maim and injure along the way will need Moshiach's superpowers of instantaneous medical recovery.

[Steven]

Melbourne Australia, man not charged

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-22/bomb-squad-officers-called-to-monash-freeway-in-melbourne-cbd/5469328

[Alter Kocker]

The joke is that these idiots believe that Israel is beholden to them. He is so over frummed that it made total sense to him to be driving while davening. In a Darwinian sense, if the state of Israel did not exist, then this kind would soon be extinct. Israel keeps the species intact by feeding it, and keeping it out of danger.

[WoolSilkCotton; I must be seen to be believed]

Why doesn't he just wake up an hour earlier, so he can daven in a shul with a minyan, and be able to fully concentrate?

No wait, that would require waking up earlier and really caring about davening properly.

God must really enjoy the prayers of frumma idiots who daven while driving.

[singlemalt]

http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/289178/ramat-beit-shemesh-toddler-left-in-a-parked-vehicle.html

[Shayna G in New]

http://www.vosizneias.com/165524/2014/05/23/melbourne-tefilin-wearing-man-mistaken-for-bomber-in-bazaar-highway-scare-in-melbourne/

Shmuel Potash took his clothes off because in Israel that's what you do to prove you're not carrying a bomb.I presume he forgot which country he was in,hence driving into oncoming traffic!

[Heblew]

The Haredim criticize this judge for the verdict. But the reality is that a Haredi judge would have fined the Orthodox man for not wearing both Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam tefillin before getting pulled over.

[jake]

It is a driving violation drive without two hands on the steering wheel in Israel .

I was always a news because there's certain time 9/10 of all cars in Israel were manual transmission , which means that people frequently did not have their hands or one hand on the steering wheel .

[JACK]

Most frumma have extremely poor driving skills and poor situational awareness at the best of times, plus poor compliance with road rules and poor road courtesey. They should not be on the road at all anyway.

Posted by: David | March 08, 2015 at 07:29 PM

Show me a frumma car not full of scratches and dents and pieces hanging off. It will be the first 5 mins after they drove ut out of the showroom.

Posted by: David | March 08, 2015 at 07:31 PM
================================================
David,
This disgusting antisemitic Nazi like racist comment,is the reason why this blog is considered
a vile stinkin antisemitic sewer inhabited by self hating sewer rats,and that includes you.
SHAME ON YOU,and shame on Shmaryah for hosting you rats.

[Foust]

This is just rediculous. what kind of fool would think its okay to endanger peoples lives by praying and driving. i suppose you could have a chat with G-d while driving, provided you werent rocking back and forth and bending at the knees. it is in fact illegal to do anything disruptive while driving, even writing a letter with a pen and paper. doesnt matter what religion you are, crazy is crazy

[lematameasara]

Abra
A grammatical error made by many. Wear ware where and even we're are words that are prone to be improperly composed by the hasty writer's hand. Toddle off you great fool.

[lematameasara]

Abra
I don't condone driving and davening, especially while wrapped in a prayer shawl and phylacteries. 100% focus should be on the road at all times and any distraction should be illegal. However, I feel that there is a double standard in place. Should one wear a wide scarf or a qefiya over his/her head and part of the upper torso, s/he would not be in violation of traffic law even while praying. Yet a silly individual who davens in his tallit and tefillin is a criminal in that country.
Your hatred towards the frumma know no bounds and you are blinded by it.

[Jeff]

"This disgusting antisemitic Nazi like racist comment,is the reason why this blog is considered
a vile stinkin antisemitic sewer inhabited by self hating sewer rats,and that includes you."

Actually, it's only the batshit insane frumma like yourself who consider it thus. It's considered a legitimate news source by people with functioning brain stems.

[Jeff]

Something else puzzles me. How can prayer protect an entire nation from nuclear attack when it apparently can't even protect a man from a traffic ticket?

I realize I'm an am ha'aretz and don't understand these things, so perhaps some of you could help me out.

[Adam Neira]

Prayer can come in the form of quiet contemplation, meditation or musing. Some people have little rituals to prepare themselves for such "space". Prayer can and does lead to mind expansion, just as good rest, work and play does. Mindfulness and higher cognitive functions should increase after really meaningful prayer. Thus prayer can be an antidote to stupidity.

But applying phylacteries on the head and arm, (which even in normal circumstances requires a certain degree of co-ordination and contortion of the limbs) whilst driving is crazy stuff.

When driving one must be mindful. Driving on a road is actually one of the most dangerous things many people have to do in life. 99.999% of the time things pass smoothly. But on the rare occasion when one makes a mistake, i.e. nods off, gets distracted etc. and/or another driver, cyclist or pedestrian makes a mistake the consequences at best may be a close shave or a little bingle whilst at worst it can lead to injury, maiming or death.

So the bloke doing this was a little "insane in the membrane". He was not increasing his mindfulness. He was actually decreasing it. (The very opposite of what prayer is about.) Ecclesiastes also states that there is a time and place for everything under the sun.

[Garnel Ironheart]

Joke's on the judge. The guy didn't show up for his trial, he'll probably never pay his fine and even if he has no licence he'll probably still drive around unless they impound his car. And if they arrest him there will be a pidyon shevuyim campaign.

[surprised]

"there is a time and place for everything under the sun."

:)

[moses]

Next thing youll know is a mohel doing mbp on babies while hes driving and wearing tefillin

[Alter Kocker]

What, nobody's ever seen the SNL commercial with a mohel doing a bris in the back of a Lincoln Town Car?

[JACK]

Jeff,
As usual you are changing the subject being discussed,it seems you have a problem in reading and comprehending the English language.
My problem was not with Shmaryah posting this story,as a matter of fact I agree that this MESHUGENER driving with his tallis,needs to be locked up in a insane asylum for the criminally insane,my problem was with David's particular vile racist antiisemitic comments,and if you don't see anything wrong with comments of his then you belong in the same insane asylum

[Dr. Dan]

Wear a tallit doesn't pose any danger to other drivers, no more than wearing a shawl or a poncho.

Tefillin? That depends if you're wrapping it while driving (WWD).

[Jeff]

Jack, you have no point. You have nothing of value to say. You are an embarrassment even to your fellow frummies, who are no bargains themselves. Do all of humanity a favor and kill yourself.

Here, I'll save you the trouble: "Filth! Sewer! Nazi!"

You're welcome.

[JACK]

Notice again how Jeff is acting like a spoiled little kid,who after losing an argument and has nothing to answer,resorts to throwing a temper tantrum
By foaming from the mouth and vomiting obscenities and curses,
How pathetic can you get

[Jeff]

I'm pathetic? Even your fellow frummies can't stand you. How often do they come your aid?

Foaming at the mouth? I'm not the one screaming "Nazi! Sewer! Filth!" in every single comment. What's the matter - they didn't teach the concept of projection at your indoctrination factory?

And in the other thread, you tell Shmarya,

"Hey Scotty,if you would get your fat behind out of that basement of yours and put your talents to work and get yourself a good paying job,maybe just maybe you wouldn't resent someone else"s success"

Yeah? What are you always doing at home in the middle of the day? Why do you have time to comment on every thread?

Every comment you post is a pitiful bid for attention. You're profoundly mentally ill, but you're such a piece of genetic garbage that it's impossible for anyone here, including your fellow frummies, to feel sorry for you.

[noname]

@JACK
I thought you agreed to refrain from calling all comments you don;t like Nazi propaganda. I thought you had agreed that calling all silly stereotypes "Nazi racist" dilutes what the Nazis actually did. (Halevai they had merely made derogatory comments) And by the way, the frum, including you who like to scream Nazi at every negative comment thrown their way have no problem stereotyping all 'others' on a regular basis.

For example, you have often referred to me as a 'sewer rat' for reading this blog when you know nothing about me other than I consider this blog a serious (although not necessarily perfect) news source.