Chabad shluchim — some official airport chaplains, others who man “tefillin booths” — have been setting up shop in major international airports for years,On a Wing and a Prayer,Chabad shluchim — some official airport chaplains, others who man “tefillin booths” — have been setting up shop in major international airports for years
B ack in the early 1970s soon after the Lubavitcher Rebbe initiated mitzvah campaigns to encourage unaffiliated Jews to lay tefillin light Shabbos candles hear the shofar and participate in other basic Jewish practices a young Israeli bochur named Yekutiel (“Kuti”) Rapp decided to take the Rebbe’s instructions to the place where thousands of Jews passed every day — JFK airport. Initially he would engage El Al staffers but it wasn’t long before he was known as “the Rebbe’s man at the airport.” Rapp — who died tragically after being hit by a taxi two summers ago — might have been the first to tap into the huge potential of Jewish air travelers but his turf soon spread out internationally. Taking his cue Chabad shluchim — some official airport chaplains others who man “tefillin booths” — have been setting up shop in major international airports for years helping countless thousands of Jewish travelers to benefit from essential Jewish rituals — donning tefillin receiving Shabbos candles lighting menorahs and performing other holiday mitzvos.
A Jewish presence in airports hasn’t gone unnoticed.
A synagogue serving Jewish travelers passing through Moscow’s bustling Domodedovo International Airport was recently opened and among Chabad’s 11000 menorahs displayed in public internationally many are in airports. But there’s nothing like the personal attention of a black-hatted Jew who makes himself available to help every traveler with his needs. What does a day look like for those dedicated men who stand for hours behind their tefillin stands watching the world go by?
Ben Gurion Airport Israel
Rabbi Butman a mashgiach for over 300 talmidim at Chabad yeshivah in Lod manages the Beis Chabad at Ben Gurion International Airport a few times a week on the 3-7 a.m. shift one of about 150 rotating Chabad airport volunteers. Not everyone who stops by is a Jew interested in putting on tefillin for the first time though. Beyond the tefillin booth many religious travelers take advantage of an inner room in order to daven a late Maariv or early Shacharis or to have a chalav Yisrael cup of coffee before their flight.
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