I was putting Tefillin on someone whom I had met on the street.
After he had finished saying the Shema and we were unwinding the Tefillin, I began to talk to him.
"How are you; what brings you to Prague?"
To my surprise, he was silent!
I tried again, but he just stood there, calmly unwrapping the Tefillin.
When he had finished taking the last strap off his arm, he looked at me and asked, "What did you say?"
He's a Russian Jew, living in New York. Every week, some nice Chabad boys come over to his workplace to share a Jewish thought and help him with Tefillin. They taught him that when one is wearing Tefillin, one should concentrate on their sanctity and not speak of mundane matters.
For this reason, while wearing Tefillin, he did not even notice my question, let alone answer it.
Now that is a lesson that I can learn!
