Video: Rabbi Explains Prayer Mixup

Rabbi Ira Stone from Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel explains what a Teffilin is and how it may have caused confusion on a plane diverted to Philadelphia.

Police officials told Fox 29 that a passenger was using the prayer icon during a flight from New York to Louisville, and someone mistook it for a bomb.

Rabbi Stone says Teffilin is an important part of the daily routine for observant Jews.

“They're called tefillin, the Hebrew plural for the word filla, which means prayer,” Stone said. “They contain within them some parchments that contain words from the holy scriptures.”

Rabbi Stone said he wasn’t upset by the incident.

“Innocently, he is saying his morning prayers. If one travels on El Al airlines, for example, one would see a dozen people standing up in the morning.”