Taking faith, and baseball, seriously

BARRY KLUGER

Growing up in New York in the '50s and '60s, my Jewish sports heroes were limited, the most notable being Sandy Koufax. This quiet, unassuming guy earned a place in the "why I'm proud to be a Jew" book by refusing to pitch on Yom Kippur in the 1965 World Series. Suddenly, everyone knew what Yom Kippur was and what a Jew was, and the respect was overwhelming.

Up until then, the only other Jews linked to modern day baseball in the public mind were Bob Feller and Hank Greenberg - not to mention the notorious mobster Arnold Rothstein, who was accused of fixing the 1919 World Series.

It was only fitting that a Dodger made news again this past Yom Kippur when first baseman Shawn Green opted to sit out the Saturday afternoon game, one in a series of three games against the San Francisco Giants. Green had struggled with the decision, saying his faith was very important to him and that the team was very supportive.

Web sites started running message boards.

One contributor to a message board on NHL.com (I thought this was baseball!) wrote: "Heck yes he should play. I've never heard of an athlete wanting to not play on Christmas because of his religion." Another countered: "That is a totally respectable decision on his part. If he did not receive his athletic gifts from God in the first place, he wouldn't be in the major leagues at all. To honor Him by not playing is more than completely acceptable."

Web site www.Jewhoo.com discusses famous Jews throughout history, including athletes. The writers on the site opined that baseball is very much a Jewish sport, if not in the number of Jewish players then in spirit. They wrote: "Many immigrant writers have described how they studied Talmud in the morning and baseball players' 'stats' in the afternoon. Maybe, too, baseball is so Jewish because, unlike some team sports, the role of each individual is strongly valued. Then again, perhaps baseball appeals to the community simply because the object of the game is to score by 'coming home.'"

Before he went to the Dodgers, Green - the second-highest-paid ball player in the game - insisted that he play in a city with a large Jewish population. According to Jewhoo, he knew he was Jewish, but that was about it.

But while playing for Toronto, the news "broke" that he was Jewish. Everywhere he played, local Jewish communities opened their arms to him, and he realized that in a rather anti-Semitic world, he could be a role model for Jews all over.

Last week, Shawn Green played on Friday and sat out on Saturday. There are some who said he was hypocritical. I say his decision is between him and God. When I was growing up, my parents told me: Stay home from school and from work on Jewish holidays. If people see you take your faith seriously, perhaps they will too, and we will see a world more accepting of our people.

For centuries, we have chipped away at perceptions. And each time one of "us" wears our faith proudly and does what we think God expects of us, we make giant leaps.

Barry Kluger is managing partner of Kluger Media Group and a local columnist. Reach him at barry@barrykluger.com.

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