The Short Vort
Good Morning!
Today is Friday the 23
rd
of Tammuz 5779 and July 26
th
2019
The Aisle Seat
As all of us know, the expectation of spending 12 hours in a cramped airplane in the company of 300 “new-friends” can be about as exciting as going to the dentist.
The thought of being crammed into a seat which is exactly 17.3 inches wide is not something to look forward to.
Certainly, for me, the thought of flying solo back to the US from Israel can be a daunting challenge.
In the past, I have been privileged to sit in-back of someone who attempted to utilize the reclining mechanism from take-off to touch down. This caused me must discomfort.
With about twelve inches of legroom, when the individual seated in front of me decided to recline their seat back and I had just opened my table to eat my triple-wrapped hermetically sealed Regal Kosher Meal, I felt the unpleasant sensation of having my tray-table piercing my chest.
My breathing was extremely hampered and I was literally speechless.
After I regained my ability to move, I hand-signaled to the stewardess that the reclining passenger in front of me was precluding me from breathing. The stewardess seemed a little annoyed, however, thankfully the realization of my inability to breath, persuaded her to inform the passenger sitting in front of me to return their seat to the upright position before I lost consciousness.
Therefore, much thought and planning went into my seat decision before I left Eretz Yisroel on Thursday, July 18
th
.
After much deliberation and debate, I decided to request a window seat.
My reasoning was simple.
A middle seat is certainly the worst of all seats when traveling alone.
You cannot look out the window, you cannot get up to go to the restroom without stepping over the person to your right and you are hemmed in on both sides.
That was a no-brainer.
Now the decision to make is: do I take a window seat which has the advantage of being able to snuggle into the space between the seat and window, however, it has the disadvantage of causing two people to stand up when I have to get up.
Nevertheless, I realized that an aisle seat is worse.
My reasoning is as follows. When you are a person like me who is not of the petite persuasion, I have found that no matter how hard I try the food-carts which the crew wheels down the aisle will undoubtedly crash, nick or outright bang into my leg.
Another disadvantage of the aisle is that if I miraculously fall asleep and my foot accidentally extends ever so slightly into the aisle, I am sure to trip some unsuspecting passenger as they saunter down the aisle.
I, therefore, made a clear and certain decision to request a window seat.
To my surprise and glee, I was awarded 22 C- a quiet window seat.
I boarded the plane as early as I could as I have found in the past that my attempt to store my carry on and my tefillin and my hat and my frock in the overhead bins causes eyebrows to be raised as I can almost hear people saying, “Why does that guy have so many things to put in the overhead bin?”
By arriving on the plane as early as possible, I reduce the stares and the glares.
Finally, after all of my paraphernalia was safely stored above, I sat back, opened a sefer and was prepared to mind my business for twelve hours.
Suddenly I hear a woman speaking to me in accented English.
“Excuse me, are you flying alone?”
I look up to see a diminutive woman who had to be in her eighties standing near me and asking me if I am flying alone.
At first I wondered if she was taking some sort of poll, however, I quickly ruled out that possibility and answered her, “Yes, I am”.
“Can I please ask of you a favor, you seem like a nice man. You are seated in 22 C by the window. I am seated in 22 B next to you. For some reason, my husband was given 23 A, an aisle seat in the row behind us. Would you mind switching seats with him so he can sit in 22 C and be next to me?”
I looked at her and wondered why she didn’t ask whoever is seated in 22 A to change with her husband. However, she looked so pitiful and her husband looked so helpless.
I so did not want to sit in the aisle.
However, I also realized that I could really make her and her husband very happy.
I looked at her and said, “Sure, no problem.”
“Thank you so much, you are a fine gentleman.”
Neither the wife nor the husband appeared Jewish. I thought to myself, “All the more reason to help out.”
I quickly began to squeeze myself out of row 22 and make my way to row 23.
Suddenly as I moved into the aisle and began to transfer my stuff to the row 23 overhead bin I was converged upon by a horde of flight attendants of every gender and size.
“Mah Atah Oseh? What are you doing?”
I quickly preempted any false presumptions by calmy explaining that I was changing seats to allow this elderly couple to sit together.
Suddenly the demeanor of the flight attendants changed radically, “Yafeh M’od, Kol HaKavod!”
I finally reached my new aisle seat and helped my elderly companion move his belongings to the overhead bin in his row. When I handed him his two canes, he and his wife would very grateful.
I sat down in my new aisle seat, expecting the worse, but accepting His decisions and happy to help out others.
Suddenly, I looked up and saw the elderly woman was looking at me again.
She looked at me and with a sense of determination said, “Thank you so much!” with a big smile.
One of the stewardesses who passed by looked at me and said, “
He Omeret L’cha Todah Rabah
”. (She is saying to you “Thank you”)
I looked at the elderly woman and I looked at the stewardess and said, “
devarim hayotzim min halev, nichnasim el halev
”.
Words which emanate from the heart, enter the heart and no translation is needed.
I was still worried about the position of my feet, however, I knew at least my heart was in the right place.
“If Not Now, Then When?”- Hillel
Ron Yitzchok Eisenman
Rabbi, Congregation Ahavas Israel
Passaic, NJ
