I frequently travel within the United States for business. To ensure my protection and for her own peace of mind, my wife often sends me with a few dollars to give to charity.
Our Sages teach that “sheluchei mitzvah einan nizakin,” someone who is a messenger for mitzvah will not be harmed. And it has become customary, when a person is traveling, to give them a couple of dollars and appoint them as a messenger to give the money to charity when they arrive at their destination. In this way, they become an emissary to do a mitzvah (in Hebrew: a “shaliach mitzvah”), and they merit this extra level of G‑d’s protection.
As I said goodbye to my wife before my flight to a conference in California, she expressed a desire to send me with some charity, but she didn’t have any money on her. She decided to send me on a different mission instead: “While you’re on your trip,” she said, “try to find someone to put on tefillin with.”
I was hesitant.
“I’ll be staying at a hotel with 3,000 finance professionals. I’m not a rabbi, nor did I grow up surrounded by Chabad people. I’m unsure if I can fulfill this task. In fact, I think I’ve only helped one person put on tefillin in my entire life.”
My wife, however, was determined and refused to accept my reluctance. “Give it a try,” she insisted, “and make a sincere commitment. G‑d will guide you and make it easier for you.”
Encouraged by her unwavering attitude, I committed.
Less than 20 minutes later, while standing in line to board the flight, I overheard the guy behind me muttering something under his breath. It wasn’t clear if he was addressing me, talking about me, or something completely unrelated. He said, “I wish I had one of those.” I couldn’t figure out whether he was referring to my watch, sunglasses, or something else entirely.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I turned around. Judging by how he was dressed, he appeared to be heading to the same conference as I was. I asked him, “What did you wish you had?”
“That beautiful leather tefillin bag with a nice strap on it,” he responded. “If I had a tefillin bag like that, I would bring it with me on every trip.”
Never before had anyone commented on my tefillin bag, let alone while standing in an airport queue. I hadn’t even realized he was Jewish!
I asked him, “Have you worn tefillin today?” He replied, “No, I don’t wear it every day, only sometimes.”
Without hesitation, I blurted out, “Well, would you like to wear it right now?”
Excitedly, he agreed
We both stepped out of the line, and I helped Eduardo put on the tefillin.
In that moment, I felt like a million bucks. We took a photo, and once he finished saying Shema, we returned to the line to board the plane.
Five minutes after I found my seat, I turned around and discovered that Eduardo was sitting directly behind me. What a remarkable coincidence! If the story had ended at that point, it would have been astounding. But it continues ...
I shared a photo of Eduardo wearing the tefillin on my family chat 30 minutes later. I wanted my wife to see that I had successfully met her challenge, and I hoped that the rest of my family would find inspiration in it as well. Unexpectedly, my brother Ezra chimed in:
Ezra: Who is that?
Me: My wife didn’t have cash to give me for shaliach mitzvah, so she sent me on a mission to wrap tefillin with strangers instead. Twenty minutes later, I met this guy.
Ezra: So you’re now wrapping people with tefillin for Chabad?
Me: It was not for Chabad. It was for you to see and realize that you can do it too :)
Ezra: Got it, so you're doing it for me and not for Chabad, but you are doing it.
Me: Exactly!!!
Me: Ezra - Go wrap today before the sun goes down, if you didn’t already! And if you did, go find someone who didn’t and get them to wrap!! Take a picture and send it on the chat ;)
Surprisingly, Ezra then shared a photo of himself and one of his friends wearing tefillin.
Ezra: Can you get another one?
My Wife: Yudi – come on – another one on the plane!! Or is it too late in the day?
Me: Actually since we are flying west, it’s still good. Let me try. I’m not sure who I can get right now since the flight attendants are giving out drinks and snacks.
I showed the family chat to Eduardo to demonstrate how his act of wearing tefillin had inspired others. Eduardo read through the conversation and then suggested that we get the guy behind him to put on tefillin as well.
A few minutes later, I sent a photo of Jay wearing tefillin.
Remarkably, a total of four people ended up putting on the tefillin—all because my wife had urged me to commit, assuring me that G‑d would make it easier.
So I challenge each of you: Commit to doing something outside your comfort zone.
Commit to reaching out to another person, even if you’re used to saying: “The rabbis, the shluchim, they do that; it’s not for me.”
You and I can have a tremendous impact on a fellow Jew that others may not reach.
Join me in reaching out and inspiring more people to do a mitzvah, even while you are on a business trip somewhere. Jay, Eduardo, Ezra, and Ezra’s friend are all real people who would normally not wear tefillin every day.
As a result of this challenge, Jay, Eduardo and I connected on a personal level, even though we were each on our way to a work conference. We have kept in touch, and who knows what the future brings?
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