The midair misunderstanding that led a US Airways Express flight crew to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia sent droves of people to the Internet and airwaves for more information about a Jewish teenager’s biblically-mandated prayer boxes.

All Caleb Leibowitz wanted to do was pray on his early morning Jan. 21 flight from La Guardia Airport in New York to Louisville International Airport in Kentucky. But when a flight attendant saw him donning the very items necessary for his prayers – his tefillin – the crew member saw two black boxes and straps and thought, “bomb.”

Charges were not filed, and passengers were rebooked on other flights, but newspapers and radio stations got on the story, reaching out to local rabbis – often Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries – to explain the “mysterious” black boxes.

The search term “tefillin” was the hottest trend as tracked by Google that day, and according to Rabbi Naftali Silberberg, an editor at the Jewish Web site Chabad.org, the site’s section on tefillin received the most hits of its history.

“It’s amazing how many people want to learn about tefillin,” said Silberberg. “This incident allowed people around the world to learn about Jewish prayer.”

Essentially a pair of small hand-crafted leather boxes worn on a man’s arm and head during daytime prayer, tefillin contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with Torah verses that proclaim G‑d’s Oneness and kindness. Black leather straps ensure the fulfillment of the Torah’s injunctions to “bind them as a sign upon your hand” and have them “be a reminder between your eyes.”

For more information about tefillin, including interactive videos on their use, click here.