I’ve been a bit behind on sports/parsha blogging (the best I could come up with last week was that Chanukkah coinciding with Boxing Day meant we should “rededicate” ourselves to the world of boxing).  Not to say that I’ve given up on the concept of connecting parasha and the sports world, but with the sports world (here in Jacksonville, FL) quieting down for the offseason, I thought I’d focus a few posts on the Song of the Week (or really bi-week).  Here are two thoughts from the past few weeks.

Each day of Hanukkah we read of the special offerings of each day, followed by the offering for the following day.  We get some great new characters represented in the book of Numbers (may favorites are Shlumiel ben Tzurishadai and Pagi’el ben P’datzur) to represent the tribes of Israel.  The longer hebrew names (many contain names for God or the nation of Israel), for me, represents a hyphenated name always connected with nation and the divine.  It’s not Jones-Drew, but Jones-Jew.  Well there you go, I got parsha/sports in there.  It’s more importantly a constant reminder that in Judaism we must appreciate the past/present moment as well as the future.

Looking back (week of Dec 19th),

In honor of Leora Rosenblum Holzer’s bday, a tribute to my Eshet Chayil (Woman of Valor text here). My favorite line: “She fears not for her household because of snow.” What up Duuuval!?

And looking forward, I’d love to do this in our schools next year for one of my favorite Hanukkah Ladino melodies, Ocho Candelikas (For New year’s week):