חולין סא

In the middle of standing שמונה עשרה in a Shul in Paris, a man pulled an unlit cigarette out of his pocket, lifted it up, and then put it back in the pocket. Afterwards, one of the מתפללים approached him and asked him to explain his odd behavior. “Well,” he said, “I have a flight tomorrow from Paris to Tel Aviv. In the middle of the תפילה, I couldn’t get my mind off of the flight. I was thinking about the packing, the trip to the airport, and the check-in. Then, just before מודים, the ticket agent asked me “Do you want the smoking or non-smoking section?” Since I was in the middle of the תפילה and couldn’t answer her, I pulled out the cigarette.”

06/10/2021