Capn Design Archives: Sandy and Yom Kippur

Sandy and Yom Kippur

September 22, 2004

This Saturday is Judaism's holiest day -- Yom Kippur. On this day you atone for your sins from the last year and fast for the entire day. If you practice Judaism at all, this is a day you don't miss.

Nonetheless, I seriously toyed with the idea of going to the Cubs game on Saturday. They're playing the Mets and, seeing as I live in New York, I rarely get to see them play. I was still going to fast, but I wanted to go to the game on Saturday so I could watch the Bears on Sunday. As of today I was making plans to buy tickets. Then I noticed that Shawn Green, baseballs most prominent Jew, is not playing on Yom Kippur.

Immediately I thought of the sermon I heard at Shul while I was home for Rosh Hashanah. My Rabbi spoke of his biggest heroes in American Jewish history. Sandy Koufax was one of his choices. He chose Sandy because on October 6th, 1965 the famous pitcher decided not to pitch the first game of the World Series in observance of Yom Kippur. It shouldn't be that surprising, given the gravity of the holiday, but in 1965 it was definitely a big deal. He brought Judaism to the forefront of the country's agenda and made a lot of Dodger fans into bigger anti-semites. More importantly, he showed young Jewish men that they should not hide their Jewishness, which made a huge impact on those who experienced this first-hand.

I'm guessing you can see where this is going.

Despite my love for the Cubs and Bears, I am going to observe the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Even when I put my not-terribly-firm religious beliefs aside, I believe that it is important to take a day out of the year to think about your actions, and sometimes that means giving up other things that are important to you. So, I will be at home for Yom Kippur and I will not eat any hot dogs, be them kosher or traif.

Oh, but I will be at the Cubs game on Sunday. Anyone want to join me?

Comments (2 comments so far)

Comment #1:

good yuntef (spelling?)

yeah...i'll be fasting...what now!

jessica blair jacobs

Posted by your sister on September 24, 2004 at 6:00PM

Comment #2:

Wise decision and good for you (not that you need any affirmation from a Catholic stranger from Ohio...).

It will be a nice day when Shawn Green's decision not to play on Yom Kippur is hardly noticed at all.

Posted by Chris on September 27, 2004 at 10:24AM

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