The police would not let Moshe Feiglin on Har Habayit this month, which technically is illegal because bureaucrats cannot by law tell Knesset members where and where they cannot go within Israeli borders. While I’m not fan of laws that aren’t the non aggression principle or applications of it, this one kind of is, because it has to do with freedom of movement, if only for one specific kind of person, being an MK.

I wasn’t going to go up this month since I usually go with Moshe, I got a text last night that someone in my neighborhood wanted to go and wanted to know if I wanted to join. Since he was offering a ride there and back and I didn’t have to drive, I went along.

It was good to see the Arabs all energetically praising Allah at us. That was normal. What was abnormal were two things. First, I actually got in trouble with one of the policeman for doing literally nothing. As a davener, I am habituated to shuckling, the Jewish rocking back and forth that Jews who are used to praying three times a day while standing generally do. I’m also a bit high strung, not terribly so, but mildly, so I don’t like staying perfectly still while standing. So I have a habit of shuckling mildly.

I remember as far back as 8th grade standing over my math teacher’s shoulder while she was helping me with a homework problem. I was shuckling back and forth as she was explaining it to me and she suddenly turned to me and said, “Stop DOING that! It’s driving me crazy!”

I guess the shadows from my rocking were moving on the paper, but at first I didn’t even know what she was talking about, because I do it automatically.

Same thing happened here. I was just standing there, and suddenly the cop descends upon me and screams that I’m praying. I really had no idea what he was talking about, but he said ״תפסיק את התנועות! אתה מתועד, יש לי מצלמה! אם אתה לא תפסיק אעקב אותך, וחבל.״ Stop those movements, you’re being recorded, if you don’t stop I’ll arrest you, and you don’t want that!”

This happened twice. The first time I really had no idea what the hell his problem was. The second time I figured it out that it was my shuckling that he thought was praying. I was just listening to the impromptu tour guide.

The second time though was even more ironic. A teenage kid with peyos was actually doing a siyum masechet on Chagiga, reciting the whole thing as if being a tour guide, without the Waqf understanding what he was saying so the cops didn’t stop him.

Davka then, while this kid was in the middle of all of Rav Papa’s 10 sons, the cop yells at me. Wrong target dude.

Anyway, he did the siyum, and I had a bite of mezonos for the Seudas Mitzvah, which I don’t normally eat but for a Seudas Mitzvah on Har Habayit, I’ll take a bite.

That was a first for me. Thanks kid!