My first taste of Abby Horowitz was delicious:
Into his shoulder bag goes Jonathan's box of tefillin, along with his toothbrush. Yael's roommate is away for the weekend, so it will be one of those nights. A night of sharing her bed. By his twenty-sixth year, Jonathan has learned to weigh which obligations you will follow and which you will forsake. With his tefillin in his shoulder bag, he plans on reciting his morning prayers, even if he does overlook another commandment or two during the night preceding those prayers.
............
Luke says: It reminds me of the time in 1994 when I crossed the street from shul one morning. I was still wearing my tefillin. I saw my shiksa girlfriend. She liked me in tefillin.
We gathered up my washing and took it to the washing room. We stuffed it in the washer. We turned it on. My girlfriend sat on the vibrating washing machine. I closed and locked the door. Still wearing my tefillin, I climbed on top of the machine and explained to her all the detailed halachot regarding the wearing of tefilin, several of which I proceeded to violate.
She eventually went to the rabbi, on her own initiative to begin the process of converting to Judaism.
Then I moved from Orlando to LA. She married an atheist and never finished her conversion.
