Jerusalem – Female Aide to Knesset Harassed by Early Morning Tefillin SMS

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    Jerusalem – For the past three weeks, Lior Finkel hasn’t needed to set an alarm clock – she’s gotten a wake-up SMS at 7 a.m. each day. Finkel, an aide to MK Ilan Gilon (Meretz), and many other parliamentary aides have been receiving daily text messages from an organization whose goal is to encourage Jews to put on tefillin in the morning.

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    Finkel said she considered the messages harassment, and reported “The Light for Tefillin,” the organization responsible for them, to Knesset security and the police.

    “Beginning in the middle of May, I received messages at 7 every morning – except Saturday – telling me to put on tefillin and bring redemption,” Finkel said. “I sent an SMS asking whoever is sending it to stop, but I was ignored, and when I called, no one answered.”

    “Security told us to go to the police, and the police said that there was nothing illegal about the text messages,” Finkel said. “It can’t be that someone can systematically harass people like this without consequences.”

    Finkel and her fellow aides notified “The Light” that they would be suing the organization, but the messages kept coming, until she came up with a creative solution.

    “I decided that I’d had enough, and I sent a message saying: ‘I put on tefillin, now leave me alone,’ along with a picture of myself, a woman, wearing tefillin,” Finkel said.

    “The next day, the harassment stopped,” she said. “I guess they were right – I put on tefillin, and redemption came.”


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    19 Comments
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    shredready
    shredready
    12 years ago

    “I decided that I’d had enough, and I sent a message saying: ‘I put on tefillin, now leave me alone,’ along with a picture of myself, a woman, wearing tefillin,” Finkel said.
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    “The next day, the harassment stopped,” she said. “I guess they were right – I put on tefillin, and redemption came.
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    smart woman

    12 years ago

    in chasidus we learn that this type of animosity,as opposed to apathy,shows that this woman has great potential in yiddishkait . powerful feelings are already there and only need to be turned around to kedusha.

    Anon Ibid Opcit
    Anon Ibid Opcit
    12 years ago

    Clever woman. I hope the harassers were shocked, hurt, angry and overcome with lust.

    BoruchN
    BoruchN
    12 years ago

    Sad…something like ‘Tefillin,’ which is a ‘hallmark’ of ‘Yiddeshkeit’ and ‘achdus,’ should be viewed as a threat and nuisance. How ignorant and backwards are many members of ‘The Knesset.’
    I was at ‘Lud’ airport about 6 years ago. I said to the ‘Israeli’ man i/f/o me. “What do you think of ‘The Torah?’ He responded: ‘Historia.’ I answered: “How can this be? There are large letters and small, letters added and also missing?” He had no response. The ‘Israeli’ lady two seats to his left said: “Oh! The man is correct. ‘The Torah’ has many interesting teachings and stories. But, today we can eat pork because then they didn’t have refrigerators.” I responded: “Not true. The reason is spiritual, not physical or related to health. When ‘Moshiach’ comes we can eat pork.” She anwered: “What! Not true!” I told her to ask a rabbi where in the ‘Gemmara’ it’s written.
    Amazing ignorance…these answers and statements by the ignorant are the equivalent to saying that ‘the moon is made of sour cream,’ or ‘the earth is flat.’

    charliehall
    charliehall
    12 years ago

    Would that all Jews would respond to harassment about tefillin by putting on tefillin!

    Renegade
    Renegade
    12 years ago

    Does anybody know if SMS spam is “normal” in Israel?

    I know here in the US that would be unacceptable, just wondering if it’s the same in Israel…
    (either way, once she asked them to stop they should’ve stopped)

    LGinsburg
    LGinsburg
    12 years ago

    So is this what we need – more women laying t’fillin to bring redemption? Well, I’m already doing my part – been laying t’fillin for more than a year.

    kopmaidel
    kopmaidel
    12 years ago

    Lol. This story made my day, smart woman

    newtransplant
    newtransplant
    12 years ago

    Oooh, this made my day – wonderful!!!!! This woman did just what I would have done, but I would have worn toy tefillin, I am frum. I’ve had such a good laugh. Maybe they’ll check gender at least next time. In any case, trying to get people to put on tefillin that way will just alienate them.

    MBYIsrael
    MBYIsrael
    12 years ago

    7 PM is late to rise in Israel. Big deal. If it were 5, which is when many men get up to daven I could understand, maybe but this is stupid. Anyway, the phone has an off button, no?

    GB_Jew
    GB_Jew
    12 years ago

    “Lior” is a name that could be used equally by both genders – hence the confusion.

    It does not excuse the harassment, though.

    georgewashingtonbridge
    georgewashingtonbridge
    12 years ago

    Now we know why cell phones with text messaging should be banned:

    It leads to women wearing tefillin!

    basmelech
    basmelech
    12 years ago

    I would also be annoyed because I don’t have a text plan and each text I open costs me. It hould not be legal to get unsolicited text messages, no matter from where.