Boro Park Visitor's Kabbalah to Avoid Using Phone During Davening Saves Him From Exploding Battery

By BoroPark24 Staff

A personal kabbalah undertaken for the refuah of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe may have saved a man from serious injury Friday morning, after his cell phone suddenly exploded inside the Vizhnitz Beis Medrash in Boro Park, just moments after he had placed it away from himself.

R' Chaim Zelig Kornitzer, who serves as a meshamesh of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe during his travels abroad, had undertaken a personal kabbalah not to touch or speak on his cell phone during davening, as a zechus for the Rebbe's refuah. To avoid distractions and maintain proper concentration, he makes sure to silence his phone and place it away from himself before beginning to daven.

On Friday morning, while davening at the Vizhnitz Beis Medrash on 51st Street near New Utrecht Avenue, Kornitzer followed his usual practice and placed his phone at the end of a table.

Moments later, the phone's battery overheated and exploded with a tremendous bang, startling mispallelim throughout the Beis Medrash. The explosion caused a small fire and sent thick smoke spreading through the shul.

The smoke was so heavy that there were initially concerns about whether the Beis Medrash could be used for Shabbos davening. A professional cleaning crew was brought in, and following extensive efforts, the shul was ventilated in time for Shabbos.

B'chasdei Hashem, no injuries were reported.

Kornitzer later expressed his gratitude for the remarkable escape, explaining that had the phone remained in his pocket, the explosion could have resulted in serious injuries requiring hospitalization.

He credited his personal kabbalah with protecting him from what could have been a dangerous incident.

Reflecting on the importance of avoiding distractions during davening, Kornitzer also shared an observation about the recent meeting between leading Rabbanim and President Donald Trump at the White House.

He noted that none of the Rabbanim would have considered taking out a cell phone during the meeting with President Trump recently. If such respect is shown when standing before a human leader, he said, how much more so should one avoid using a phone when standing before the Melech Malchei Hamelachim during davening.