Several weeks ago, Robert and I were walking home in South Miami Beach from Lincoln Road, the hotspot for restaurants, shops, and clubs, when two young obviously Orthodox Jewish boys stopped us and asked if either of us were Jewish. Though I wasn’t sure if I should respond, since there are a lot of somewhat “iffy characters” who often ask for money along that route, but I replied that indeed I was, at which point they asked if I might perform a Mitzvah, or Good Deed,  with them. Still a little unsure, I decided to go along with it and found myself having one boy wrapping a black leather strap many times around my right arm, while the other attached the Tefilin ( a small leather box attached to a strap which contains scriptures written on vellum) with a strap to my head. They then handed my a prayer book and asked me if I remembered how to read Hebrew. Just as I was about to say “No”, they began to recite a prayer which I recognized as the words seemed to jump off the page to my lips. And when we finished, one boy asked if I knew the Shamah which, not only did I know, but I recite at least once a day every day along with a prayer of thanks for all the miracles in my life.
When we were through, the boys thanked me for allowing them to do a Mitzvah with me and I replied that it was truly my pleasure. 

Reading From The Prayer Book While Wearing The Tefilin

My Mitzvah With Yossi

And that it was, for they really did not know how much joy those few moments brought me as I thought of my youth and my own Bar Mitzvah.
So guys, THANK YOU VERY MUCH and SHALOM!

RD

Posted: Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Filed under: Everything Else