Tefillin Shel Yad or other Jewish prayer methods

[utsusemia]

Setting: 1920s New York City, Lower East Side. Technically alternate universe with vampires and other supernatural creatures, but I don't think that matters for the purpose of this question. It's late at night on a weekday--between 11 and midnight

Comments

[dragonbat2006]

If he isn't normally observant and doesn't know the rules, you might be able to get away with it, however you are correct that tefillin (and one always wears both he shel rosh and shel yad together) are only worn during morning prayers.

There are certain prayers which are not part of the usual liturgy. They are known as 'segula prayers' http://www.kivreizadikimprayers.com/pl_product~237~13~30.htm. Maybe the visitor could notice the appropriate one in a conspicuous place. (Like taped to the wall)

[lamiel_writes]

Tefillin are only worn during the morning prayers (exception is Tisha B'Av, but that clearly doesn't apply in your situation). It's highly unlikely that any Jew would wear them at night, even in a moment of crisis. It's possible your character might put them on if he's extremely ignorant of the custom -- if, for example, they were his father's tefillin and he takes comfort in them but doesn't know much about them -- but if he knows how to wind the shel yad around his hand my guess is he knows enough not to wear them at night.

If he isn't religious, then having him still wearing his kippah (skullcap) when he answers the door should be a pretty good give away to your main protagonist. Even non-religious Jews generally know to put on a kippah when praying, but only observant Jews wear it all the time. He could also possibly be holding a prayer book in his hand -- it's customary to recite the book of Psalms in moments of crisis.

I hope this helps!

[utsusemia]

Thanks! This was very helpful. I already had him wearing a kippah, so I think the inclusion of a prayer book would serve my purposes very well.

[antongarou]

You can have him answering the the door with a folded Talit under his arm, especially if he has been studying rather then praying: there is a custom of rabbinical scholars studying while wearing a Talit(otherwise it's only worn during morning prayers and when you're leading the prayer). Another option is that he answers the door while obviously praying and if the character starts a conversation he shushes them until he's finished praying.

[americanleaguer]

Seconding lamiel_writes, holding a prayer book was my first thought. If he's on the lower end of observance he's unlikely to have much in the way of prayer objects; Jews don't tend to be too big on things like that anyways.

Lots of Jewish folks will have prayer books, but a less observant Jew would probably not have it out unless they were actively using it at the time. I know I have one around somewhere, but I only break it out when I actually bother to go to temple, and sometimes if we're doing some Jewvent in the household and need a guide for certain prayers. If it's out, that means it's in use, and it might be seen as a sign of extraordinary, 'extreme' circumstances (in the sense that normal, everyday prayers are well-known enough to not require a guide, but more involved prayers, or more rarely invoked ones, would).

[utsusemia]

Thanks! The prayer book sounds like my best bet.

[dhole]

Depending on the time of year, he might have started, or have been getting ready to start Tikkun Chatzot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikkun_Chatzot); it's a relatively rare custom, but it's possible. In which case, he'd have his shoes off, and might have set up a low chair or a cushion to sit on.

There's also a specific text, which he would have been using, which would look like a thin book with "Tikkun Chatzot" written on the spine and cover in Hebrew. Well, either that or it'd be in some of the more comprehensive prayer books.

[parmalokwen]

The obscurity of the custom, especially in the Ashkenaz community, makes this unlikely for a man who isn't ordinarily very religious. It's also a prayer of fairly specific purpose- to mourn the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash (holy temple) rather than something appropriate for a personal crisis.

A kippah along with a siddur (prayer book) or book of tehilim (psalms) would be better props for this scene. Tehilim are customary for a crisis, and if the guy is about to do something dangerous or thinks he is in danger, he might also say selichot (the prayer for forgiveness) which will be in the siddur.