Orthodox Jewish man photographed covering himself in plastic bag during flight

Orthodox Jewish man photographed covering himself in plastic bag during flight because faith forbids him to fly over cemeteries



An Orthodox Jewish plane passenger was seen wrapped in a plastic bag during a flight
It was believed the man is a Kohein, a religious descendant of the priests of ancient Israel, who are banned from flying over cemeteries
Fellow passengers strained to see the unusual sight and took pictures

It is not unusual for people to have rituals when flying on a plane, like wearing a St Christopher chain or keeping their eyes closed until they take off.
But one passenger took his beliefs a step further by covering himself in a plastic bag for the whole of his journey because his religion forbids him to fly over cemeteries.
This was the bizarre sight that greeted plane passengers when an Orthodox Jewish man covered himself under a plastic sheet.
It was believed the man is a Kohein, a religious descendant of the priests of ancient Israel, who are banned from flying over cemeteries.

Many wrap themselves in plastic bags as a compromise measure.
The startling photograph, which has now gone viral after being posted on Reddit, shows fellow passengers straining over their seats to get a look.
Beneath his plastic wrapping, the man is dressed entirely in black, and appears to be wearing a Jewish skullcap or 'kippah'.
As a controversial solution - not entirely allowed by those in the Jewish Orthodox - the plastic bag creates a kind of barrier between the Kohein and the surrounding tumah, or impurity.
Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser, of Temple Beit HaYam in Israel, explained: 'In orthodox and Conservative communities, Kohanim are expected to abstain from coming in contact with the dead, which includes a prohibition on visiting cemeteries except for the funerals of close relatives.'
Even if they can be secured by a seat belt, the passengers wouldn't be able to reach an oxygen mask or quickly escape the plane in the event of an emergency.
There is also the question of how they can breathe.
Pre-punched holes in the plastic are said to invalidate the barrier, according to Jewish newspaper YatedNe'eman.

'Only if when the kohein is putting on this bag it accidentally rips can there be some leniency,' the article claims.
'Kohanim have a duty to protect their taharah, purity,' according to the article.
'They have been bestowed with extra kedushah which makes them worth of being meshorsei Hashem. At times, there may be extra demands made upon them in order to maintain that standard of kedushah and taharah.'

Some flights go to great lengths to take specific paths to avoid cemeteries.
And passengers can also be made aware in advance if a body will be aboard the plane in cargo.
The photograph, which was posted on the Reddit yesterday, had a caption which read: 'An Orthodox Jew in an airplane with women - so he covers himself with a plastic bag...'
A strict code of conduct prevents Orthodox Jewish men and women from mixing in public, with Israeli airline El Al seeing an increase in the number of religious men demanding to be reseated away from women in recent years.

While ultra-Orthodox Jews do follow to strict guidelines which include gender segregation in public, it is claimed this photograph does not show that.
One user of the Reddit site wrote: 'This has nothing to do with women. He is a cohen, descendant from the high holy priests of the temple and they are not allowed to walk into or fly over a cemetery, which would render them impure.'
It is not known when the photograph was taken, or what airline the man was travelling on, but it is more than likely it was an El Al aircraft flying out of Tel Aviv, which is surrounded by a number of cemetries, according to internet users.
In 2001, El Al Airlines decided not to allow ultra-Orthodox Jews cover themselves in plastic because 'flight safety considerations do not allow for passengers to board while covered in sealed plastic bags.'
A year later it was reported that flight crew got into an argument with a passenger who attempted to fly wrapped in plastic. The confrontation eventually led the pilot to turn the plane around.
One woman even sued the airline after staff moved her to the back of a plane when an ultra-Orthodox man refused to sit next to her.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...dox-Jewish-man-covers-PLASTIC-BAG-flight.html

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Religious freaks. Seriously, WTF

 

I read something crazy about some ultra-orthodox Jews in NY where the rabbi sucks in the boy's foreskin when they perform a circumcision, supposedly because of some rule that says that's how it has to be done, and some poor boy got infected with herpes that way.

Just insane.

BRB, looking for article.

Edit:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...blood-sucking-circumcision-New-York-City.html

Two more babies stricken with herpes after ritual ultra-orthodox Jewish oral blood sucking circumcision in New York City
Since 2000 13 known cases of herpes have been contracted from the religious practice
Two deaths and two babies suffering brain damage have resulted
Department of health warns there being no safe way to perform the ritual that dates back more than 5,000 years

Two more infants have been infected with a deadly herpes virus in the last three months after undergoing a controversial religious oral circumcision in New York City.
The latest cases bring the count to 13 infants since 2000, two of which suffered brain damage and two died from the virus which can rapidly spread throughout its body.
The ultra-Orthodox Jewish practice of metzitzah b'peh requires a practitioner to orally suck the baby's penis to 'cleanse' the open wound following its circumcision, making them susceptible to the virus.

The department of health says one of the latest infants to contract the virus developed a fever and a lesion on its scrotum, seven days after the procedure. The boy later tested positive for HSV-1. That virus differs from HSV-2, the genital herpes, which is contracted during sexual intercourse.
'A herpes infection in a newborn baby has the risk of leading to severe illness and death,' Jay Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene told ABC News.

'The reason is that the baby doesn't have the same fully developed immune system as an adult. Instead of staying in the genital area, it extends throughout different organs in the body,' he explained.
He said it's too soon to tell whether the boys will suffer permanent effects.
The identify of the rabbi who performed the circumcision is being withheld by the boys' parents, preventing the health department to step in, they said.

The religious practice that dates back to more than 5,000 years defies warning by the city's department of health which says there is no safe way to perform the oral suction on an open wound.
More modern Jewish practices use a sterile aspiration device to clean the wound or a pipette opposed to the oral sucking.
But some rabbis stand grounded behind the practice, calling it a religious freedom while noting its long history.
In September the department voted to require parents to sign forms consenting to the risks of the practice after the death of two children who contracted the virus through the practice.
The parents of those newly infected boys are said to have not signed those forms.
According to Rabbi David Zwiebel, executive vice president of the Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel of America, two-thirds of boys born in New York City's Hasidic communities are circumcised in the oral suction matter.
The health department claims they've had complaints in past by parents who say they weren't made aware that the oral practice would be performed on their child.