Why a Visitor Refused to Put on Tefillin at the Ohel

By Rabbi Eliyahu Shweka, Chabad Shliach in the Gush Hagadol neighborhood of Tel Aviv

One morning, as I was sitting and learning at the Ohel Chabad-Lubavitch Center in Queens, New York, an Israeli family entered. There was a father, mother, and three children.

I turned to the father and asked, “Would you like to put on tefillin?”

He politely replied, “No, thank you.”

“Did you already put on tefillin today?” I asked. He shook his head no.

Now, it’s rare to find someone this stubborn at the Rebbe’s Ohel. Usually, those who come have either already put on tefillin in the morning or are willing to do so at the entrance desk. But someone who comes to the Rebbe and outright refuses to put on tefillin? That’s unusual.

So I asked him again, “Why don’t you want to put on tefillin?”

He answered, “Look, I’m a Christian Arab from Akko (Acre), Israel. I lived in New York for a short time. While all my friends had already found their matches and started families, I struggled to find my own.

“A Jewish Israeli friend of mine who lived in New York suggested that I come here—to the Ohel of the Rebbe—and pray. I followed his advice and prayed that I would find a wife and have children. Shortly after, I met my wife, and here are my children.

“Now, I didn’t come here to ask for anything. I came here to give thanks and to introduce my family to the Rebbe.”