This is not the title I selected for my article. It is the title of a piece written by Dr. Ari Berman, the president of Yeshiva University. I love it…not just the title but the motivation behind it. It begins with these words, “As we transition to a virtual YU and continue to learn how to cope during these deeply challenging times, I want to send some positivity by sharing words of thanks and appreciation to a group of students who have inspired great Jewish pride throughout the world.”
Are these students from Yeshiva’s rabbinical seminary? NO! Are they from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work from which I received my MSW? NO! Are they from YU’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine? NO! These students are the Maccabees, nicknamed the Macs, the Yeshiva University BASKETBALL TEAM! They are ranked #8 in the country.
During this crisis I’ve seen many other messages from Jewish sources: seminaries, Federations, agencies, organizations. They highlight its dire nature, what they are doing to prevent spread of the virus. I am sure all of you have seen such messages from institutions with which you are involved. You’ll admit…this one from YU’s president is unique (not that I’ve replicated it in its entirety…just trust me)! It mentions the honors received by the coach, individual players and the team in general.
How, you asked, is this appropriate today?
Truth be told, this is VERY Jewish, steeped in our tradition.
No, we didn’t have basketball during the time of the original Maccabees; “Thou shalt play soccer” was not one of the Ten Commandments; Queen Esther didn’t organize an ice hockey team against the Haman Horrors of Shushan. That’s not the Jewish connection. Rather, it’s the attitude that is, and it’s rooted in the Talmud (Jerusalem Talmud Kiddushin 48b).
In there we find that God insists happiness is our duty, “and God will hold us accountable for it. It shows that happiness is not just a pleasant state to pursue and occasionally be in, but our responsibility to ourselves, our families, our communities, our world.” (Olga Gilburd in the Forward).
Now we aren’t always happy; there are reasons to feel just the opposite, and this health crisis is an example. Nevertheless, we have to find things in our lives that will lift us up…our spouses, our children, our congregation, music, art, literature. In tough times we have to focus on those and other good things that are a constant for they are the ones to which we shall return with fullness of heart. Go MACS!
(A random joke told by the wife of a colleague: When a Reform rabbi falls off a horse, people ask, “Did he hurt himself?” When an Orthodox rabbi falls off a horse, people ask, “What was he doing on a horse?!”)
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