Last year I compiled a list of the days of the Omer corresponding to famous Jewish athlete jersey numbers. If I had not done so, we would be celebrating Lag Ba’omer as Larry Bird Day and not the greatest #33 Jewish athlete of all time, Gabe Kapler.

Here’s my post from last year:

A few thoughts:

a) A real discredit to those athletes who play sports without official jersey #s- shout out to Swimmers Dara Torres/Mark Spitz/Jason Lezak/Lenny Krayzelburg (amongst others), Gymnast Kerri Strug, Tennis stars Andy Ram and Shahar Pe’er, and Figure Skaters Sasha Cohen/Sara Hughes/Oksana Baiul/Irina Slutskaya

b) How could I omit two great QBS #18 player, Sage Rosenfels and #9 Jay Fiedler My apologies

c) Another omission at #10, Nancy Lieberman

d) Where’s the Jewish hockey presence? Lacking at #23 was Mathieu Schneider

e) Sid Luckman at #42!!!

This week’s torah portion, Emor, outlines the special holidays in the Jewish Calendar: Shabbat, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot.  We are also given an explanation of the omer (grain) offering that inspires the counting of the Omer- 7 weeks between the 2nd day of Passover (our liberation from Egypt) to Shavuot (the receiving of revelation at Sinai).  All of these yearly events (and in Shabbat’s case, weekly) deal with the Sacredness of time.  We can only appreciate these “holy”days, however, by understanding the regular, the mundane days; the work days.  Bein Kodesh L’chol is recited after each of these holidays as part of our Havdalah (separation) ritual.  We can’t have holy without the ordinary. And so the most difficult part is to transition from holy and awesome; to get back to work!

Each of these major Jewish holidays deals with the “day after” in a different way.  After Rosh Hashana, we encounter The Fast of Gedaliah and the 10 days of Repentence- a time for introspection and reflection.  After Yom Kippur, we are charged with having that renewal of faith and community charge us forward for the new year.  In every holiday mentioned in this week’s torah portion, we use the spices- the sweet memories of our holiday experience, to inspire our daily lives.

This morning we begin the difficult transition from our sacred experience from this past weekend to the holy and important work we must do from here on in. What an amazing weekend!  Such LOVE permeated our building- alumni, students, faculty, supporters.  One could argue that we could’ve just sat here all weekend and the love would be felt by all, but the events were perfectly orchestrated, the remarks poignant, and the music breathtaking. (For those who missed out on an amazing celebration at last night’s gala here’s a taste of the spices that occurred- feel free to sing along).

Today is a day we are charged with taking all of those good feelings, having marked this weekend as a holy one for our congregation and community, and spring forward to go back to work. If we ever question why we do what we do, we can look to this weekend for guidance and inspiration.  The sweetness that we shared will continue to enrich our schools and our community for years to come.  Yasher Koach and I feel so blessed to be a part of this holy community!

I am a loyalist.  Most of you know my loyalties to Boston sports teams, but alas there are other loyalties as well.  Amidst the success of reality singing competitions like “The Voice”, “The Sing-off”, “X-factor,” I remain a devoted fan to the first lady of reality tv, American Idol.  For those interested, I’m rooting for Jessica Sanchez (Update: She was saved last week- hurray!!)

Why the loyalty? Almost ten years ago, my sister and I auditioned for American Idol.  Camping out for 3 days at NY’s Jacob Javitz Center parking lot in the late August heat became bearable only when those camping around us joined in a sing down.  As seven or eight thousand contestants were sardined inside the Center for the first day of auditions, we sat there anxiously awaiting our numbers to be called for the judges.  In that angst, the entire group broke out in jubilant song to the tune of “This little light of mine”- granted it’s a 1920s song that takes its inspiration from the New Testament.  But imagine-  8,000 fairly decent voices as one.  What power! What energy! Where else would you find such a large uninhibited group of singers chanting the same melody in the same place?

The answer lies at Fenway Park, celebrating her one hundredth anniversary this weekend.   The jumbotron illuminates the words of the Neil Diamond classic “Sweet Caroline,” a staple of the 8^th inning exchange at Fenway since owner John Henry purchased the team some ten years ago.  Many on hand chant the entire melody at the top of their lungs, while others join in with “bum bum bum” or “so good so good so good” In all 39,928 spectators and hundreds of staff join in this fairly new ritual.  To show I’m unbiased about how magical a major league ballpark can be, travel west to Arlington or Houston Texas to find more than 50,000 chanting the 1941 class “Deep in the Heart of Texas” during the 7^th inning.  On a given weekend, over a million people nationwide could be belting out the 7^th inning standard “Take me out to the ballgame.”

Having experienced the sensation of Diamond’s “So Good So Good So good” just a few weeks ago at a Red Sox Spring training game at Jetblue Park, I wondered “Could this moment possibly be recreated within the realm of Judaism?” The simple answer is yes. It actually happened a few years back.  3000 years ago, the Israelites transitioned from slavery to freedom- and their first act as a people? Jubilant cheering- as if they had double eagled the 17^th hole of the Masters, avoiding the water hazard en route to the Promised Land. Imagine the roar from the gallery when Miriam took a timbrel in her hand and led hundreds of thousands of Israelites in song.

Singing among the Israelite Nation and even today in Red Sox Nation. What about in synagogue? Can we reach that musical crescendo in a house of 435 packed chairs?

It’s a two part issue- to get more of the over 2000 individuals in this congregation to shul, and to get them singing.  As you may imagine, I’d like to take a stab at the singing part first. Let’s see how difficult this second part really is.

The boss, Bruce “Horovitz” Springstein, delivered an inspiring keynote address last week at the annual tech and music festival SXSW. Springsteen quotes the legendary music columnist Lester Bangs upon learning of Elvis’ death. In 1977, Lester Bangs said “Elvis was probably the last thing we were all going to agree on, Public Enemy not counting. From here on in, you would have your heroes and I would have mine. The center of your world may be Iggy Pop, or Joni Mitchell or maybe Dylan. Mine might be KISS, or Pearl Jam, but we would never see eye-to-eye again and be brought together by one music again.”

Springsteen highlighted just a few of the musical genres that threaten to divide our musical preferences more and more:

two-tone, acid rock, alternative dance, alternative metal, alternative rock, art punk, art rock, avant-garde metal, black metal, black and death metal, Christian metal, heavy metal, funk metal, glam metal, medieval metal, indie metal, melodic death metal, melodic black metal, metalcore, hard core, electronic hard core, folk punk, folk rock, pop punk, Brit-pop, grunge, sad core, surf music, psychedelic rock, punk rock, hip-hop, rap rock, rap metal, Nintendo core, rock noir, shock rock, skate punk, noise core, noise pop, noise rock, pagan rock, paisley underground, indie pop, indie rock, heartland rock, roots rock, samba rock, screamo, emo, shoe-gazing stoner rock, swamp pop, synth pop, rock against communism, garage rock, blues rock, death and roll, lo-fi, jangle pop … folk music. Just add neo- and post- to everything I said, and mention them all again. Uh, oh, yeah, and rock ‘n’ roll.

So if we all had the same lyrical and musical sensibilities, would we all sing along in one song?

In an article in The Atlantic entitled “How Communal Singing Disappeared From American Life: And why we should bring it back.” author Karen Loew states:

Adults in America don’t sing communally. Children routinely sing together in their schools and activities, and even infants have sing-alongs galore to attend. But past the age of majority, at grown-up commemorations, celebrations, and gatherings, this most essential human yawp of feeling—of marking, with a grace note, that we are together in this place at this time—usually goes missing. The reasons why are legion. We are insecure about our voices. We don’t know the words. We resent being forced into an activity together. We feel uncool. And since we’re out of practice as a society, the person who dares to begin a song risks having no one join her.”

The National Association for Music Education addressed this reality with its “Get America singing…Again!” campaign in the 1990s, which put forward 88 songs as a shared repertoire for Americans. Dr. Will Schmid, the former leader of the music educators’ association, created the folk song list along with Pete Seeger. Schmid states “Any singing is good singing. Anywhere we can find it. Those places become the new community centers.” Belting at baseball games is an example of something essential, Schmid said. “No one there is worried about whether they’re good enough.”

What makes people sing out at a song about Caroline Kennedy at a baseball game amidst total strangers but shy away from singing worldly messages of harmony and love in a crowd of their peers? Don’t they know that for all the powerful soloists out there, they pale in comparison to the strength of sheer numbers singing at the top of their lungs.  For any singing is good singing.  That should be the rule and not the exception in our service. We must all act as ambassadors of our national pastime and its cathedral, or rather, the synagogue. Even if we offered free peanuts and cracker jacks, we live in a world where many might chant ‘hey take me OUT of the sanctuary!” This morning, we find ourselves in the midst of the 7^th day, nay the middle of the 7^th inning of Pesach. And every Holiday or Shabbat is a 7^th day stretch from a busy work week; a 7^th inning stretch to chant “Come JOIN ME IN the sanctuary.”

Which FINALLY brings us back to issue #1- attendance- starting a rallying cry to come and worship at the house that WE built.  This is all about our ballpark and the performance we put out there each service.  Our ballpark, like Fenway, has a rich history- we can run gimmick after gimmick, promotion after promotion to get people into the park: Rabbi Olitzky bobblehead Shabbat, a Rabbi Lubliner led- rain-delay bibliodrama.  Beneath the service, however, we need people to understand the product on the field.  It is up to us to increase attendance.  Statistics show a direct correlation between attendance and successful performance on the playing field.  When we pray for a packed house, we are transcended to a different place, we pray like a different team. This is one of those cases where “more is better’, where quantity equals quality.  The packed house can happen elsewhere as well. It can happen in our farm system, aka the chapel- when the sound reverberates off the walls when 40+ singers join in song.  For if we never support our farm system, there won’t be players to play in the big leagues here.

Email, call a friend, or 20. Buddy up with another couple.  Make post-game Shabbat lunch plans built around services.  Say “God is pitching today- you gotta see this God pitch!” I’ll make sure that in between each inning of the service, we’ll select some oldie but goodie melodies interspersed amongst some contemporary ones, neatly displayed for your viewing pleasure in our siddur or transliterated booklets.

We can experience the “you had to be there” moments- amazing musical events like the crossing of the Reed Sea – to experience a game-winning hit- to cheer and sing together; one powerful voice. Did you like listening to and singing with Harmonia during Hallel? They’re doing a doubleheader with Hallel tomorrow!  Or come next Shabbat, it’s just simply gameday- get your game face on, be a fan of Judaism, and express that love of our national pastime through communal song.  People want to feel united; to share even for a moment, in words of peace, words of joy and praise, words of love.  We have those words right here in our tefillot. The melodies follow a simple progression, enabling the text to speak those words of harmony and love.

Passover is the beginning of our redemption, leading us to the ultimate block party on Shavuot.  Let us field those calls to worship, so all can bear witness to something transformative.  Like Bar Kochba before us, let us light a signal fire to those near and far, letting them know how important this place and this experience is for us and can be for them.  For this is Zman Cheiruteinu, the time of our freedom; a time to freely express ourselves as individuals with our own musical sensibilities, a time to realize the strong musical collective we were meant to be.  Chag Sameach!

Isaiah 28:11 states:

“Vehayah lahem devar-adonai tzav latzav tzav latzav kav lakav kav lakav ze’eir sham ze’eir sham lema’an yelchu vechashlu achor venishbaru venokshu venilkadu.”
“The word of the Lord shall befall them commandment by commandment, commandment by commandment; line by line, line by line; a bit here and a bit there; so that they will go and stumble backward and be broken, and be tripped up and caught.” This poetic line, read as part of the Haftarah for Parshat Sh’mot, highlights the danger of thinking of God’s commandments as “mutter upon mutter, now here, now there.” The text explains how God’s words sound like murmuring, but I would contend that the text argues something else.  Law after law, we sometimes get caught up in the mundane details rather than seeing the overall picture.

This is the context in which I read Parshat Tzav (totally unrelated other than the use of the word “tzav”).  What’s the big picture here? The text describes the sacrificial worship system: the burnt offering,the grain offering, the grain offering of the high priest,the purification offering, and the sacrifice of well-being. While this may sound like the 4th book of the Hunger Games trilogy, it is not!

The word that sticks out amongst all these offerings is “torah”, derived from the verb “yarah”, or “to instruct, cast, shoot, or aim.”  The big picture here is the importance of listening to instructions, of executing x’s and o’s.  My bold prediction for this year’s Final Four is simply, in the big picture, that whomever follows instructions, makes their coach’s directions seem clear and natural (rather than murmurs), whomever shoots/aims the best, whomever scores the most points, at the end of the day, they will be champion.  Who knew that whomever scores more wins!?!

On a somewhat side note, this week we read a double torah portion, Vayakhel Pikudei, which highlights the giving of donations for the construction of the Tabernacle.  Skilled artisans were then hired to use these gifts to enhance the space, the bible’s version of an HGTV show Design to Pray or Bang for Your Brakha.  The Israelites gave and gave and gave some more.  This may have been done out of guilt for the sin of the Golden calf, but I would argue that the Israelites saw the importance of giving in order to enhance the community.  They gave to the pool voluntarily and graciously.

In a season known as March Madness, we often have those office pools where we pool our money to see who can guess who is this year’s VCU or Butler University.   What would happen if half of the pool went to charity.  Or better yet, if we spent the money on a different pool entirely in order to enhance our work spaces, our community spaces, our worship spaces.  Yes, you still have time to contribute according to the IRS (at least to your IRA accounts), but God forbid we give for the sake of giving and not for a tax write off!

Just a thought.

While I normally do not participate in March Madness office pools myself, I still fill out a few brackets.  ESPN gives your account 10 or so brackets to fill out, so one is always a bit quirky each year- head to head matchups are decided by overall record, alphabetically, or even by school population.  I even have a colleague who picks based upon how Jewish the team might be (players, coaches, alumni base).  My favorite, however, is the mascot bracket- each matchup is chosen based upon who would win in a fight.

This week also happens to be Shabbat Parah, referring to the Red Heifer sacrificed in the Temple so that those who were unpure could eat the Passover sacrifice.  I was lucky enough to attend a High School (known as New Jew at the time) that had Red Heifer as its mascot (I still say we should have picked “Pioneers” as the mascot).  It was always a great conversation starter with other teams when they asked what our mascot was.  Very intimidating to say the least.  Here’s my mascot bracket on ESPN: (it will be viewable after the 1st set of games)

Today marks the NFL’s deadline to “franchise” a player.  When teams and their respective free agents are unable to come to terms on a new contract, the team has the option to “franchise” a player, thus locking them in to playing for the team for another year, and thus creating an irresolvable tear with that player (note: each team can only franchise one player total).

This week we encounter some very long torah readings dealing with the sin of the Golden Calf.  Long story short, the Israelites miscalculate the amount of time Moses has spent up on Mt. Sinai writing on the two tablets.  There was no internet to figure out when the deadline would pass- no ticker on ESPN.  They believe the time on their original agreement with their boss has run out, allowing them to become free agents.  Moses begs God for forgiveness, and in turn God “franchises” the Israelite nation.  Like all franchised players, the Israelites present that day would be doomed to not make it into the holy land, for their rift with the ownership was too damaged to heal.

My question today is two fold:

1) What kind of things in our lives to we “franchise”? Are there items we put on a to do list and slowly but surely move to the back burner and say “sure I’ll do that later”?  Do we set timelines and deadlines that become meaningless once they’ve past?

2) Can we focus on one of those resolutions, one of those long term goals, or bucket list items- committing to a timeline and vowing that if we don’t begin to at least work on them (baby steps count) then we won’t “franchise” them , dooming them for failure?

On January 9, 2011, Debbie Friedman (zichrona livracha, may her memory be for a blessing) was taken from this world.  Her music inspired generations of Jews to sing unto God in a new way.   When it comes to Jewish liturgical composers, we often speak of how music can live on even when we are gone.  It’s hard to compare Jewish composers from years ago to an individual who was so much more than the notes she jotted on the page.  Debbie commanded the attention of those assembled, whether it was in a concert hall or an intimate camp setting.  Influenced by the folk stars around her, Debbie Friedman was a remarkable musician and master song leader.  Those attributes that made Debbie the person she was may always be remembered, never duplicated.

I had the honor of conducting a memorial sing-along last night at the Jacksonville Jewish Center. Being the 1 yr anniversary of her passing is not the same as a yartzeit (corresponding to the hebrew date), but then again there was nothing typical to how Debbie Friedman made Judaism relevant for so many contemporary Jews. I was humbled at the amazing turnout, many of whom did not really know what to expect from my “Monday Night Musicale” title.  We watched a tribute video created a few years back by URJ, and I followed by giving some personal reflections of how Debbie Friedman influenced my musical tastes, both in the synagogue and outside of it.  Debbie Friedman’s music spans beyond the walls of a synagogue, beyond the set matbea (order) of the ritual service.  If there was a prayer to be made, whether in Hebrew or in English, her music spoke in a profound way.  In many Conservative congregations, Friedman’s influence seems limited to a few liturgical settings, with the occasional addition of her powerful Mi Shebeirakh prayer.  Friedman’s songs such as “Kaddish D’rabbenan” are inspired by liturgy but speak to the common congregant through Friedman’s own words.  Other selections are inspired by quotes from famous Jewish figures (e.g “Im Tirtzu”) Tanakh (e.g “Not by Might”).  Friedman had a great sense of humor in writing “I’m a Latke” and amongst others.  I’ve come to realize that in all her works, no matter the language or context, Debbie Friedman made you feel like you were praying. The songs become relevant prayers by speaking to those who sing them.  We don’t need to be in a chapel to thank God for the gifts in our lives.  We can bless our families, teachers, and God through the notes we sing anywhere and at anytime. It makes a powerful statement that in everyday life, we can sanctify the mundane, make the ordinary spiritually uplifiting, and make any space where music is played a sacred place.

We concluded our evening with the singing of Debbie Friedman’s Birkot Havdalah.  “Havdalah,” meaning separation, is sung Saturday evening (and following festivals) as we transition from holy to mundane, from the sacredness of Shabbat to the ordinary of the week.  Just we created that sacred space last night, I hope that as we reflect on Debbie Friedman: the teachings, the lyrics, the music and the person, we can find moments within the ordinary to create the extraordinary, to bring music to life, to bring holiness to this world.

At last week’s Jaguar’s game, I bought two (very) small cups of macaroni and cheese and two sodas for $24.  That same day, I purchased a week’s worth of healthy food for $31.50.

Since Sunday night, I’ve participated in the Jacksonville Jewish Center’s 1st ever food stamp challenge.  Throughout the course of the week, I’ve had to find healthy, kosher options at a fraction of the price that I’m used to paying for my daily meals.  I’ve had to think of creative dishes and become more mindful of how much each grocery item costs.  Food stamps are equivalent to roughly $1.50 a meal, $4.50 a day, $31.50 a week.  There were challenges to the budget- giving up on cheese and milk from the getgo meant I needed a good source of nutrition somewhere else in my diet.

By buying in bulk, I was able to make the same meal last for a few days. While boring, it meant I had proper nutrition.  Unfortunately,  if someone suggested a better, more cost efficient option, I was locked into whatever I had purchased at the beginning of the week. What you buy is what you eat.

How to save?

Places like WalMart have the most inexpensive canned food items, but one cannot ignore the .  Again, you can’t live on buy one get one free since it’s a crapshoot to find similar items each week.  To that effect, I was stuck with 8 cans of cream corn for a week, when in reality 3 was more than enough.  That’s what Publix had, that’s what I ate.

While many circulars have great coupons, the online age of extreme couponing means that many awesome deals are not available to the general consumer who lacks a smartphone or even an internet provider.

Best Bang for Buck: Tie between Bag of Potatoes $2.50 and Tofuya Tofu $2.38.

Best item to eat as a full meal: Potatoes again. Heating up 3 potatoes for 12 minutes goes a long way. No butter needed.

Favorite meal: Pasta shells with chunks of tuna and a side of apple sauce.

Reflections of Kashrut: While Heinz beans are quite affordable (and very healthy), many of the other inexpensive soups lack proper Kosher certification (or are not kosher at all).  It’s understandable that a kosher symbol costs $$, but many items like instant meals or cheese (which would be affordable otherwise)  don’t make the Kosher police’s cut. Buy one get one free at Publix may be an issue with regard to Kashrut: there may not be kosher options (or kosher and healthy options) that week.  That’s the luck of the draw. Same goes for free samples at places like Publix, WalMart, or BJs Wholesale.

Reflections on Allergies: I have a legume allergy (to peas and lentils), immediately crossing off two inexpensive and healthy options on a tight budget.  I can’t imagine what allergies must do to someone actually living on food stamps.

Reflections on Nutrition: Nutritious items can be inexpensive, but there is no guarantee that one has the time or the means to make such meals while on food stamps. There is scarcity of resources, scarcity of time.

Food for thought and a new year’s resolution:

The scarcity and therefore the sacredness of time.  Just as we take one day out of our week to rest, we can take time out of our week to make meals rather than purchasing them on the go.  I am hoping to commit more time to home-cooked meals- to eat healthier and to save a little money in the process.  My greek pasta salad for $6 can be a home cooked one for $2.

The sacredness of time also allows for meaningful family and friend experiences.  Making food together is much more magical than ordering it in the take out line.

These are choices are hope to make in the coming year.  I chose to “be on food stamps”, and tonight I am no longer on them.  I choose to be more careful with both my wallet and my stomach. I choose to reach out to those who are hungry in our community- to support them with time and means. I hope you can join me this coming year to beat hunger.

Shabbat Shalom

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):

Newsflash: Khan in (ball), Del Rio Out

In this week’s torah portion, Jakob dreams of a ladder to heaven on which angels ascend and descend.  God promises to be with Jacob wherever he goes, to give the land to his descendants and to bless that earth as well.  In response,  Genesis 28:20-22 states that Jacob vowed that if God would stay with him, give him bread and clothing, and return him to his father’s house in peace, then God would be his god, the stone pillar would be God’s house, and he would give God a tenth of what he received.

Back in 2003, it seemed like a match made in heaven.  Jack Del Rio (his last name meaning “of the river”) would lead JACKsonville, the RIVERcity, to the promised land.  In many ways, however, Jack del Rio is Jakob.  Living a dream of being an NFL Head Coach, he envisioned a ladder in which the only place to go was up.  As the biblical narrative goes, even the angels descended the ladder.  Amidst the bumpy up and down seasons, it was up to Del Rio to play linebacker again, to spot HIMSELF on the ladder.

Two major issues have plagued Jack Del Rio’s coaching career, one a more recent phenomenon and the other a long term dilemma.  The short term issue has been clock management in end of game situations.  Del Rio has had the opportunity to call time out, survey the playing field, and make a well orchestrated play call. Del Rio was unable to figure out what he really had because he didn’t pause the game to take a deeper look.  The long term issue is quite similar.  Del Rio’s thoughts on quarterbacks often differed from the general public’s view (not always a bad thing).  By not taking a deeper look, however, he released capable quarterbacks and  switched starters, calling on unproven quarterbacks at the most inconvenient of times.

Jakob has the same issue in this week’s parasha.  He lacks time management skills, agreeing to 7 yr contracts with Laban to work for his marriages to Rachel and Leah.  Taking a deeper look would’ve resulted in Jakob figuring out he was going to marry the wrong woman in the first place. One lesson this torah portion teaches is that we all should take a deeper look sometime.

So am I making Jakob out to be the bad guy (he did just finish up tricking his father/brother out of a birthright too)? Not necessarily.  We return to those opening verses.  There is a partnership made between God (owner) and Jakob.  Jakob will serve with distinction (and give 1/10 of this salary to charity) if God takes care of him. Did the general manager supply Jack Del Rio with all that he would need for a winner?

As rumors fly about the selling of Wayne Weaver’s majority share of the team, may our ownership supply our future coaches with the resources- players, personnel, etc, to reach the top of the ladder.  I hope that the verses ring true that Jakob’s descendents (hopefully 1st generation) will reach the promised land.  Yes we (Shahid) Khan!!