A quick thought on Parshat Vayeira and the Cubs Managerial search. 

Vayeira has a lot of meat to it, but the opening story is that of 3 men visiting Abraham and Sarah to share the news that Sarah will have a child in the coming year.  The Talmud identifies these three “Angels” as Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael. 

These three angels are like 3 coaching candidates vying for the open Cubs managerial job.  The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham (coincidence?)  reports that the Cubs will be interviewing Pete Mackanin, Dale Sveum, and have interest in Mike Maddux.  Thats Michael Maddux, the only match of the three “visitors” and the only one who coaches in the same division/league as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Just saying….

In the beginning, God created partnerships- distinctions of a two sided nature.  These were unconventional shidachim (matches). They were actually more along the lines of yin and yang, polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces interconnected and interdependent in the natural world.  Opposites that only exist in relation to each other.

On the first day, God created light.  Chapter 1 Verse 4 states that God saw the light that it was good, and he separated, vayavdeil, between light and darkness.  On the first day God makes the first havdalah, a distinction between light and darkness.  The word, “lihavdil” means to separate but also “on the contrary”, showing the interconnected faces of the same coin.  Without darkness there is nothing to stimulate our minds to comprehend the level of brightness in the world.  One cannot exist without the other.  And as such, we view God, the creator of light and darkness, as a deity of duality- the God of both sides.

On the second day, God makes a distinction between “mayim l’mayim”, between the waters below and the waters above.

On the third day, “hayabasha”, dry land, is created when the boundaries are formed from the waters.  And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.  A day, as well, built on both evening and morning.  Later on in Chapter 2 verse 5 (chapter 2 being the a 2^nd telling of the creation story) we learn about the partnership between aretz (earth) and shamayim (heavens), for without rain there are no crops.

Bringing us to day four: “lhavdil ben yom uvein halaila”- making a separation between day and night.

Skipping ahead, when God has created everything by the end of the sixth day, he remarks that it is all not just good but “very good.”

Which brings us to that partnership between the 6^th day, the seemingly culminating day of creation, and Shabbat.  When chanting at home, Kiddush begins with the last section of this verse, the last verse of the first chapter of Genesis: Vayihi erev vayihi boker yom shishi, and Kiddush concludes with the first verses of the second chapter.  Tradition teaches that Shabbat, is not another story but an integral part of creation.  It goes beyond the “Jewish cycle” where we finish the fifth book and start a Genesis immediately afterwards.  This shows again the polarities of creation- without the work, resting on Shabbat means nothing. And in turn, without resting, work is just…life.

We do find a disturbing theological debate in the second telling of the creation story in chapter 2.  The Book of Isaiah 45:7 writes, “yotzer or u’voreh choshech, oseh shalom u’voreh et ha’ra.” Some may notice that outside of the final word, this line looks familiar, used following the bar’chu prayer in our morning tefillot.  The liturgists found the parallelism troubling- God could yotzer or u’voreh choshech- fashion light and create darkness, but oseh shalom u’voreh et hara- making piece and creating trouble, seemed, ironically, troublesome.  But in reading these chapters from Genesis, there’s the realization that things can only be “tov” or “tov m’od” if there is a concept of something “lo tov” and “lo tov m’od.”  And so we find Genesis 2:9 stating, “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.    A new concept: a deity responsible for both the good and the troublesome.

One partnership with potential greatness is the one between God and humanity.  We are created btzelem elohim, in the image of God, in Chapter 1.  In Chapter 2:7, the text states that God “vayipach b’apav nishmat chayim”, and the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.  We are partners with God.  God is part of everything we do.  The land produces fruit only when God causes the rain to fall and humanity tills the land.  For a modern understanding, we can look back at the Kiddush that we visited earlier.  The initials of God’s name, Yud hei vav and hei, are found in the linking words yom hashish vayichulu hashamayim.  God is part of our work, part of our rest.  And in the spirit of duality, we are part of his work, part of God’s rest.

It is common for the Torah to anthropomorphize God, to give God human qualities. It gives us context for an omnipotent being who was seemingly far far away compared to the other deities thousands of years ago. Psalm 115 states “peh lahem v’lo y’dabeiru, einaim lahem v’lo ir’u”.  How does God stack up to these other deities? Does God speak? Does God see? In a brief rundown of God’s humanlike actions and emotions, we have the following:

1:3 Vayomer- God says let there be light

1:4 Vayar- God sees the light, that it was good.

1:5 Vayikra: God calls the light day, and the darkness night.

2:3 Vayvareikh: God blesses the 7^th day and sanctifies it.

Jumping to after the story of Adam and Eve, and of Cain and Abel.

6:5 Vayar- God saw that man’s wickedness was great in the land

6:6 Vayinachem  And God “reconsiders what to do”- relationship changes. The root here (nachem) means comfort as well.

Vayitatzev el libo- grieved at his heart

In reading this first parsha, God has a “plan”.  He wants to have children, be it the world and all its inhabitants. God has children. God names them.  God blesses them.  Down the road God is upset, a little disappointed in how things have turned out.  God is sad. God needs to be comforted.

God has attempted to construct order amidst chaos, a delicate balance of distinct ying and yangs in a world that has tovu vavohu, everything upside down, even before he starts creating.   Like God, we all have plans in life.  This is what my life is going to look like.  This is where I’d like to be today, tomorrow, next year.  Over the high holidays, we think of how we’ll change in the coming year and create set parameters for how to achieve those goals.  We, too, find that the world is not always catered to our master plans.  There is chaos; there are outside factors that inhibit our ability to stick to the plan.

When we find that life is living outside these pairings of good and bad, outside the order God established during creation, what do we do? How do we get out of the tovu vavohu? How do we found grounding when we lie somewhere that’s neither yin or yang?

If our relationship with God is one where one cannot breathe without the other, like these other partnerships of creation, then our vision of how we view ourselves and how we view God must be the same. If we are to anthropomorphize God to give him human traits, Gods actions, emotions, and attributes should be our own aspirations.  What a powerful statement- that we can do Godly things in this world.  Why not start with God’s first act- “or”, light.  We bring light to the world. The Jewish people are known as “or lagoyim,” a light unto the nations.

Reb Elemelekh of Lizhensk wrote in the 18^th century that the reason the Prophet Isaiah said “yotzeir or u’voreih choshech” in the present tense and not in the past, is that God is continually creating light in this world. So too, then, is this our responsibility to do the same, to enlighten those dark gloomy places.

This past Tuesday, the State of Israel brought Gilad Shalit m’afeilah l’orah- from five years of darkness, from calamity, from gloominess to light. The debate will continue for some time- is one life worth that a thousand? All I know is that it is up to us to enlighten this world.  The Shalit family’s life was turned upside down, tovu vavohu. Today, the light has returned.  The State of Israel now stands on uneasy ground, knowing the delicate nature of the moment.  In a poll conducted Tuesday, 80% of Israelis agreed with the exchange for Gilad Shalit, while roughly half believed that the released prisoners would return to violence. So is the importance of pidyon shvu’im, the return of captives. In this broken world, we must not assume someone else will make tough decisions to bring those from distress to relief, to deliver them from darkness to light.  In this broken world, where God’s yin and yangs become unhinged by unbalanced chaos, there are individuals who suffer oppression and imprisonment.  How can we bring light to this world?

Many of you have the prayer Acheinu, recited every Monday and Thursday.  The words may sing true this week more than others for the State of Israel, for the Nation of Israel…..

If we are true partners with God, we must also bring those in darkness to light, from stress to comfort. AsGod is “yotzer or” (fashioner of light) may we become fashioners of light, yotzrei or. As God is oseh shalom (maker of piece) may we also be the counterpart, osim shalom, makers of peace as well.

This semester, I’ve decided to take a few Lambeau leaps of faith by teaching electives for our MAKOM Hebrew High program that do not revolve around music.  I’ve loved teaching History of Israeli Music, JJGlee and even Modern Jewish Music a few years back.  What else could I teach about you ask? Well, as you could guess, Jews and Sports! No, this is not a class on memorizing the top Jewish baseball players by position (although I do recommend the book  The Baseball Talmud for that), but rather an exploration into how sports have shaped our cultural our identities, for better or for worse.

As I’ve tried to figure out how to frame our sessions, two books on my bookshelf have become more and more helpful: Judaism’s Encounter with American Sports by Dr. Jeffrey Gurock and Ellis Island to Ebbets Field by Peter Levine.  Both works speak to the history of sport as an avenue to acculturation and the sensibilities we must have to those who paved the way for us to live in a world where you don’t have to choose one religion, be that Judaism or Sports (one could argue that sports is in fact a religion- its sacred sanctuaries, places of worship, fanatic followers,set of rules, personalities worth emulating etc).

The class’ opening session was modeled after a Jews and Sports  class taught at Temple University by Rabbi Rebecca Alpert.  I made reference to a scene from the movie Airplane (also made reference to in the documentary Jews and Baseball).

Rabbi Alpert had been surprised that the stereotypes she thought might still exist were no longer prevalent among her students. Our MAKOMers, did feel that a strong stereotype still exists.  What ensued was a brief discussion on how stereotypes are formed and how we can find ways to get rid of them.

Living in Jacksonville, we still experience many of the issues brought up by Gurock: “The problem for Judaism with this belief system has been that, until very recently, the sports world’s clock, calendar and social group dynamics were highly inimical to the religious sensibilities of many Jews and most certainly their rabbis.  When Jews were chosen in, they were admitted at the expense of their religion.  Game or practice schedules that clashed with the Sabbath or Jewish holidays were an issue for all that hallowed that day.” Our Sunday sports leagues here in town have aided in this effort, but major sporting events and especially High school events (be they sports, theatre etc) are all on Shabbat. This will definitely be a fun topic to discuss….

Be it Samson battling the Philistines or a Jewish sportsman who wanted to feel like a Hellenized man in ancient Greece,  sports have always acted as a gateway towards acceptance in society.  Even if you can’t play every sport, our society makes it known that you must be in the know about sports.  As clergy, sports metaphors and references in sermons or even in dialogue with students, makes us “legit. ” How can we make that bond between Judaism and Sports stronger so its not “pick one or the other.” I won’t give too much more away, but I’m looking forward to a semester of spirited discussion and learning.

Parshat Shoftim (meaning “Judges”) deals with many legal scenarios- the role of the prophets, the clergy, and royalty to name a few.  We are also introduced to the notion of “cities of refuge.”  Above all, the torah teaches the importance to help those who are most vulnerable against those who are most powerful.  As we are to pursue justice, we learn that law knows no favorites.

One concept that might appear harsh is that of multiple witnesses to a crime.  An Israelite could be found guilty of an offense only on the testimony of two or more witnesses.  On one hand, this law doesn’t show the law protecting those most vulnerable.  I interpret it differently.  The onus is on us as law abiding citizens to always keep our eyes peeled.  We have the responsibility to protect each other and not to judge without being witnesses ourselves.

As we look to the Jaguars opening their season in a few weeks, I hope we will all find the importance of “bearing witness” by attending as many games as we can.  Blackouts on television imply that not only are we not attending the games, but that we can’t bear witness on television as well.  We have the responsibility to protect our vulnerable yet precious asset- the Jaguars.  By being present, by bearing witness, we can also properly judge their performance on the field- to better serve the team and our community.

 

This week’s torah portion Re’eh, states the following: “If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen in any of your settlements in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against your needy kinsman. Rather, you must open your hand and provide him that which is sufficient for all he is lacking.”

Most interpretations of these two verses focus on the needs to give monetary assistance to those who don’t have enough (focusing on the “needy person” ).  It can easily be interpreted to mean that we must come forward to aid those who are in any kind of need- financial, emotional, spiritual.  How do we create a culture where we volunteer, no strings attached, to help those who are in need? Maybe its a task as simple as opening a door or as complicated as going to battle.

With all of the great mascot names in college sports (horned frogs, artichokes, banana slugs, fighting camels to name a few), one mascot, above the lions, bears, and tigers, shows this need to step up to the plate. No matter the score, come out to play and play hard. I’m talking about the Tennessee Volunteers.  Tennessee is known as the “Volunteer State,” a nickname earned during the War of 1812 because of the prominent role played by volunteer soldiers from Tennessee.

Amidst the scandals that have marred the men’s basketball and football programs, the Lady Vols basketball team, and its longtime coach Pat Summitt, have shown that you can create a powerhouse program without breaking the rules. A charismatic, insightful and caring coach is all a program needs to recruit the best and brightest athletes. The Lady Vols are a blessing to the University of Tennessee.   It was difficult, then, to hear Pat Summitt deliver the news yesterday that she has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia.  Her response? “There’s not going to be any pity party and I’’ll make sure of that.” Coach Summitt is a fighter and I’m confident she will stand up and fight; she will thrive and overcome any obstacle in the foreseeable future. But it’s in these moments that we often ask- why her? A brilliant basketball mind- it’s as if God is playing some cruel joke.  In a somewhat unrelated story, Coach Dean Smith of UNC has also struggled with memory loss and other health issues.

The opening line of this week’s parsha states “See this day before you a blessing and a curse.”  On the surface, the parsha seems to contend that if you follow God’s ways, you are blessed; if you don’t follow, you are cursed.

First off, the word bracha, often translated as blessing, can also mean “bounty” or “plenty.”  When faced with an adversity, a disease in this case, we have a choice- to wake up each morning and think of this disease as a curse- to shut down, to stay down when we’ve been pushed over.  Or, we can consider looking at our lives- seeing the blessings and the bountiful sources of love and support around us.  As Coach Summitt fights this battle, there will be days that she wants to curse out to the world.  Pain, and more significantly public pain, is hard to handle at any moment.  Summitt always has the summit on her mind- to remain at that championship level, to teach young basketball players the fundamentals of basketball and of life.  Summitt stated “If anything, it’s going to inspire me more to help them.” May we all take a moment to look out at our lives- to count the bountiful riches of strong friendships and families, to see every day as a blessing.

This week marks the beginning of a new book- the final one in fact, of the five books of Moses.  It’s name “Dvarim” is taken from the first phrase uttered in the book: Eilu Hadvarim- These are the words or “things”.  Moses recaps a long journey with his family throughout the dessert land as he begins to embark on his farewell tour.  Moses never did get to the Promised Land.  He died at the mountain top, viewing his dreams from afar.  It’s tough for any individual to be told, “hey! You did a great job doing all the work, but we’re going with the young gun to lead us to the promised land!” How does Moses respond? Can he be a mentor to Joshua?

The same questions arise from this past week’s barrage of free agent signings and trades in the NFL.  Three teams stick out as undergoing major facelifts at the quarterback position- the Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, and Jacksonville Jaguars.  While the Jaguars have been able to ponder the dynamics of their quarterback duo over the past few months (one can contemplate even during the lockout), the Vikings and Titans signed veteran quarterbacks this week- Donovan Mcnabb in Minnesota, Matt Hasselback in Tennessee.  Both men have started Superbowls, but both are being asked to be mentors to Christian Ponder and Jake Locker.  This is always a dicey predicament- what happens when the veteran charged with the task of leading a squad for one or two years happens to lead them to the promised land (see Kurt Warner)? Do you give up on the young talent? These men are asked to play for mediocre teams without line protection when, ironically, their speed has left them long ago.

Once in awhile, we encounter a scenario like the one in Green Bay- a veteran qb (Brett Favre) who held back another future star (Aaron Rodgers) from leading his team to the promised land.  It’s important to recognize the power and wisdom of “upper management” – to realize that leading an NFL franchise is a gift, a privilege.   Hopefully, teams like Jacksonville, Minnesota, and Tennessee will find their veteran qbs to be strong role models, knowing that that when the time comes to hand over the team, they will do so gracefully and graciously.

The other day, my wife Leora asked me what it meant that the NFL was in a lockout.  In that moment, I turned into my father- giving her a lot more information than she probably had expected or wanted (I love you dad!).  I discussed what a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is, how the NFL is actually a 501 (c) non-profit (irony anyone?), and the different issues in each of the four major sports.  For baseball, it’s salary cap- keeping the little guy in the race.  For football, it’s revenue sharing.  With all that surplus, how do you divide up amongst owners AND players?

In Parshat Pinchas, named for the man who took justice into his own hands (comparable to the qb who runs a player led workout? a stretch…), we get a second census of 20+ yr olds, taken to figure out numbers not only for the forming of militia groups, but designed to figure out the breaking up of land.  The division of land amongst the tribes was decided based on lots as well as this census number.  It’s as if this was the first and only CBA- there’s no mention that a census after this moment in time would reshape the borders, giving growing tribes more space.  Under this provision, we may have been able to keep more teams like the Green Bay Packers for the long haul.

The torah portion does not end there.  The parsha also includes topics such as Jewish holiday observance (thanksgiving football?), laws of succession (making sure that owners are accountable so a Mccourt situation doesn’t occur in football), and laws of inheritance.  It’s in the section of inheritance that we meet Zelophahad’s daughters.  They ask to inherit his land- and the torah grants them his inheritance because he had no male heir.  It’s these times of details- unprecedented situations, that could be vital to preserving football this season and beyond.  Finding contingency plans for every situation means that the NFL- it’s players and owners, will be prepared down the road.  It’s also getting something in a contract earlier rather than later- it’s always harder to add in stipulations as time goes on.

Pinchas is a parsha about details- dotting the ‘i”s and crossing the “t”s. May this be the week that we finish completing those last details.  May the lawyers restore the NFL to health and to vigor.  We hope and pray that football is at hand. And let us say Amen!

You shall count for yourselves — from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving — seven Shabbats, they shall be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count, fifty days… -Leviticus 23:15-16

In Jewish practice, we count each night from the second night of Passover until Shavuot, with Shavuot beginning on the 50th night.   (Learn how to count the homer here )

One tradition states that we should live each day of the omer to its fullest- never bringing in a new day until nightfall is upon us.  On an even greater level, we are told to say “today/yesterday was the 16th day” as opposed to looking ahead by stating “tonight begins the 17th day.”  A few days ago, I got the idea to introduce the Omer using sports stars jersey numbers.  I let the congregation know that yesterday was Michael Jordan, and tonight begins Kobe Bryant.  Why stop there? Here’s a list of some of the greatest Jewish athletes based upon their jersey number. I focused mostly on the 3 major sports taking place at this time of year (baseball, basketball, hockey), though a few exceptions creeped into the list.  Please note that some of the greatest Jewish players of all time did not make the list because they played before numbered uniforms existed.  Some portions of the list will be updated over the coming weeks to include anecdotes and honorable “menschen”

1. Amare Stoudemire (basketball)

2. Red Auerbach (basketball)

Honorable Menschen: Shay Doron

3. Mel Hirsch (baseball)

Honorable Menschen:: Dick Sharon

4. Dolph Schayes (basketball)- factoid: when he retired from the NBA, Dolph was the all-time  leading scorer with over 19k points

Honorable Menschen: Donna Orender , Nadav Henefeld

5. Hank Greenberg (baseball) – I’m curious if the honorable menschen picked #5 in honor of the great Hank Greenberg. Food for thought.

Honorable Menschen: Ian Kinsler, Lou Boudreau, Mike “Super Jew” Epstein, Jordan Farmar, Sam Fuld (on rays)

6. Sid Tannenbaum (basketball)- I may be biased since he went to my alma mater.

Honorable Menschen: Tal Brody

7. Al Rosen (baseball) one of the easiest picks to make.

Honorable Menschen: Steve Yeager

8. Ryan Braun (baseball)

Honorable Menschen: Lior Eliyahu

9. Ralph Kaplowitz– wore both #5 and #9 in his career

10. Lennie Rosenbluth

Honorable Menschen: Sue Bird, Max Zaslofsky

11. Larry Brown (basketball)

Honorable Menschen: Doron Shefer, Brad Ausmus

12. Ron Blomberg (baseball)

13. Michael Cammalleri (hockey)- our first hockey player on the list.  I’ll pause here to recognize Coach Red Holzman, who has his jersey , corresponding to his number of wins as Knicks coach (613- the same as there are commandments) hanging from MSG.  One could argue Holzman deserved either spot #6 or #13.

14. Sonny Hertzberg (baseball)

Honorable Menschen- Ernie Banks*- while note a Jew himself, Banks did call up my father in law on behalf of a congregant requesting that he chant a certain L’dor Vador tune.  Sounds like an honorable mensch to me!

15.  Shawn Green (baseball)

Honorable Menschen: Jeff Halpern (hockey)

16. Harry Boykoff (basketball)- wore the #16 Jersey in 1951.

Honorable Menschen- Red Holzman wore #16 for the Rochester Royals from ’49-’53.

17.  David Newhan (baseball) This is by far the greatest stretch on the list. Newhan wore #17 in 2007 for the Mets, plus while he considers himself Jewish, he has accepted Jesus into his life….

18. Omri Casspi (basketball) – not that he’s undeserving, just surprising how few Jewish athletes wear #18.

19. Moe Berg (baseball/spying) While Berg had a few numbers on his back, he wore #19 for both the Indians and Red Sox (the only number he had on both teams).

Honorable Menschen: Danny Valencia

20. Kevin Youkilis (baseball)- he gets the nod for his defense.

Honorable Menschen: Joe Horlen, Sid Gordon

21. tie- Jason Marquis, Elliot Maddox    (baseball)

22. Ernie Grunfeld (basketball)

Honorable Menschen: Tamir Goodman

23. Jesse Lavis

24 Art Shamsky (baseball)

Honorable Menschen:  Ossie schectman, Amit Tamir, Mike Lieberthal

25. Art Heyman (basketball)

26. Danny Schayes – wore #24 for most of his career, but did wear #26 for the ’94 Lakers.

27. Sam Fuld (baseball)- when he broke out with the cubs, Fuld made #27 a fan favorite.

28. Richie Scheinblum (baseball)

Honorable Menschen: David Justice- though not a Jew, a great Jewish name!

29. Ike Davis (baseball)

Honorable Menschen: Dave Newmark (baseball)

30.Ken Holtzman (baseball)

Honorable Menschen: Jon Scheyer (basketball)

31. Bernie Fliegel  (basketball)

Honorable Menschen- Scott Radinsky (baseball)

32. Sandy Koufax- ‘nough said.

Honorable, though distant menschen- Steve Stone, Cal Abrams

33. Gabe Kapler (baseball)

34. Norm Sherry (baseball)- personal MVP for Sandy Koufax as his catcher

35. Rudy Larusso (basketball)

36. Scott Schoenweis (baseball)- although he wears #60, did wear #36 briefly for the Mets

37. #73 Adam Goldberg (football)- Since most Jewish football players wore numbers higher than 50, the easiest place to put one is here at spot #37. I could not find history of a Jewish athlete adorning this number.  Props to Adam Goldberg for being the lone football player on the list.

38. Adam Henrich (hockey)

39. Scott Feldman (baseball)

Honorable Menschen: Skip Jutze

40. Dave Roberts (baseball) – no not that Dave Roberts, the other Dave Roberts.

41. Neal Walk (basketball)

42. Dylan Reese (hockey)

43. John Grabow

44. Aaron Poreda (baseball)

Honorable Menschen: Rick Fox.  JCC basketball camp represent!

45. Eddie Zosky (baseball)

46. Jacoby Ellsbury- though not a Jew, I did grow up on Aylesbury Rd.  Therefore I shep naches for him

47. Steve Ratzer (baseball)

48. Jason Hirsh (baseball)

Honorable Menschen: The other Jose Bautista

49. Brian Horwitz

Stay tuned for a special Shavuot #50.

Having a wonderful Passover here in balmy Jacksonville Fl, I thought I’d share a few links to make it through my email/facebook the past few weeks. Think of it as inspiration for next year’s seder.

First up, the Idelsohn Society’s listing of the top Passover songs of all time: check it out here

Next we have a few videos:

Here’s one from my good friend (and groomsman) Rabbi Jeremy Ruberg and his A Capella group Trey Kaley

Six13 presents Passover:

Best Seder in the USA:

And of course, my alltime favorite Passover parody song: