First Day of Sukkot 5765-2004

Sermon: Rabbi Philip Pohl

Shawn Green’s decision to miss one game on Yom Kippur, but to play in the other is a yes and no decision, and it really doesn’t satisfy. The fact is, he did play, and he did go to work on Yom Kippur. And he also took off on Yom Kippur, for part of the day.

I’m not going to criticize him for this decision – it is a personal decision, just as we all make personal decisions about the ways in which we observe Judaism. He’s not saying that it’s the right thing to do for all Jews, just that it was the right thing to do for him.

On the other hand, while I don’t criticize him, I certainly will not emulate him as anything more than a ballplayer. His decision does not bring to me any special amount of pride.

It really represents that which is much more typical than atypical.

While it is unusual for a Jewish athlete to make a decision that even remotely promotes his sense of Judaism to the public, what Shawn Green had to determine was very much the same type of determination we all have to make.

I don’t emulate him, but I relate to him as a Jew who lives in a secular society. He, and all of us, have to make similar decisions, frequently.

I do not think his decision is more difficult or complicated than a similar decision for most of us – his role, his work, his profession, is not any more valuable or important than what most of us do in our professional lives.

And, just as for each of us there are capable substitutes ready to take our place if and when we are called away from our professional duties, so it certainly is with Shawn Green. There is another professional athlete, another outfielder, who is paid also to do exactly what he did on Saturday, and that is play in place of Shawn Green.

Shawn Green quipped that it might be better and more convenient if Yom Kippur was scheduled for April, in other words, at the beginning of the season, when a game would not take on quite the drama as it does in late September. The implication is that he would then be more willing and able to skip the game.

I often hear very similar and more serious comments from members of the congregation. Every fall I receive at least a few requests to intervene with the scheduling of certain events that come into conflict with the major holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I am asked to write a letter or make a phone call to some group or organization and try to explain the “holiness” of these days.

What works best, of course, is just not showing up and being willing to sacrifice attendance at the scheduled event. That is why public school is not held on the first day of Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur in Montgomery County – too many teachers just don’t show up to school, and it becomes impossible to hold class.

Maybe Shawn Green can request that next year the Los Angeles Dodgers not be scheduled to play on Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur will be on a Thursday in October. This would mean the Dodgers would have to qualify for the playoffs, but if they did (as they have this year) maybe the Dodgers could play on Wednesday afternoon, Erev Yom Kippur, or Thursday night after the end of Yom Kippur at an 8 o’clock start time. Such a request, from my perspective, would be an even greater sign of solidarity with the Jewish people than playing in one game even while skipping another on Yom Kippur.

Rabbi David Wolpe, a well-known rabbi in Los Angeles, and the author of many books on Judaism, wrote the following in an article explaining the type of person and athlete we should emulate when looking beyond his or her athleticism –

“…I should remind you of Eli Herring, an offensive tackle for Brigham Young. Herring is a devout Mormon who turned down a multi-million-dollar contract with a professional football team because he refuses to play on his holy day, Sunday. Today Herring teaches high school math for $25,000 a year.”

A reporter questioned Herring’s decision. “Wouldn’t he be a role model to more kids as a famous football player?”

Wolpe continues, “I hope someone has mentioned to Shawn Green what this faithful Mormon said to the reporter. Quoting the old hymn, Eli Herring answered, ‘You can’t be a beacon if your light don’t shine.’”

I’m reminded of Larry Miller, the owner of the Utah Jazz and his unswerving devotion to his religion, also a Mormon. In 1997, when the Jazz were playing the Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals, Larry Miller, the owner of the team, didn’t attend the games in the finals that took place on Sunday – he didn’t even watch them on TV.

I’m reminded of Joe Lieberman, recent presidential candidate and the vice-presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in 2000.

I have a four-page document that I received called, “An Amazing Adventure,” by Joe and Hadassah Lieberman. It describes some vignettes from the 2000 campaign.

These stories explain Joe and Hadassah Lieberman’s commitment to observing Judaism in the midst of a campaign, in the midst of a culture which says that a person’s religion is not to get in the way of the so-called “larger, work issues,” especially if you’re Jewish. Let me share just one paragraph to give you a taste of the positive influence an observant Jew can have on society at large –

“During one private moment in the 2000 campaign, Al Gore, who takes his religion seriously, told me, (Joe Lieberman) that earlier in his career he had thought about not doing any political events on Sunday. Now, watching my Sabbath observance, Al said, made him wish he had done it. He knew he couldn’t stop working on Sundays in the middle of the campaign but he said, ‘You know, if we elected, I’m going to really think about it.’”

“That would be great, Al, I joked. You watch the store on Saturday and I’ll watch it on Sunday.”

Rabbi Wolpe mentions one idea which is especially appealing to me. He tries to understand the message Shawn Green might have been able to promote had Shawn Green decided to skip both games and not play at all on Yom Kippur.

In Rabbi Wolpe’s words, had Shawn Green skipped both games, “he would have honored the Giver above the gift. God gave him great gifts, but they do not override reverence.”

There is beautiful theology behind such a decision, had it been made. I’m not sure how much Shawn Green was thinking about God. It seems that his concerns were his connection to the Jewish people.

Nevertheless, this holiday, the holiday of Sukkot, does exactly what Rabbi Wolpe suggests Shawn Green should have done – honor the Giver above the gift. We come into the sukkah ready to enjoy the gifts of our harvest. We offer thanksgiving to God for the ability to enjoy and appreciate the simple, but necessary gifts of life, good food, good friends, shelter and, a connection to the history of our people which extends back thousands of years.

At least we owe our thanks to Shawn Green for bringing this issue into the debate of our culture. We have to admire his deliberation, whether we agree with his final decision or not. He struggled with trying to bring honor to his people, the Jewish people. That is something we can all relate to, as we also struggle in our own personal ways to bring honor to God.

Hag Samayah