Play or pray
Los Angeles Dodger and Sandy Koufax wannabe Shawn Green has two games that will conflict with Yom Kippur this weekend and says he will miss at least one of them.
For Hillel’s sake, he’d better skip both games. The college Jewish outreach organization presented Green with a Hillel baseball jersey last month. Hillel Board of Directors Chairman Randall Kaplan thanked him at the time for sitting out an important Yom Kippur game in 2001. “You are a role model for students who often have to choose between school, sports and observing Jewish holidays,” Kaplan said.
“Hillel will not be reclaiming the jersey if Mr. Green decides to play a game this year,” jokes Kaplan. “For all of us, this High Holy Day season is an intensely personal time of self-reflection and choice.”
Um, would that be the choice to sacrifice your faith or sacrifice a fly ball?
Shawn Green is dating a non-Jewish women. I do hope that Randall Kaplan doesn’t consider him a roll model in that regard…
Either you are observant or you aren’t. You can’t have it both ways Green. Even the most reform Jews (like yours truly) takes the holiest day of the year off. He’s actually married, Reb.
Considering that he’s batting .267 this doesn’t seem like such a tough decision…
I had my ‘Join Hillel!’ table set up yesterday and a guy came over asking me if I heard about this fellow from the Dodgers who isn’t playing on some Jewish holiday this weekend. He proceded to ask me about the holiday and if most Jews take off of work for such things. He was familiar with Sandy Kaufax, but wasn’t sure why it was important. Is it a big deal that this goyim knew about it before I did? Not really, Shawn Green’s just a guy doing what he feels he needs to do.
I think that it’s admirable that Shawn Green is observing (mostly) Yom Kippur. Everyone prays in their own ways. I think that if he has wrestled with this decision and came to this outcome. Judaism is all about wrestling with G-d (heck, that’s what Yisrael means). I would only have a problem if he’s doing this for the media attention, which, doesn’t seem to be the case (especially since he’s not that great of a player).
My Yom Kippur wrestle with Judaism: Should I go to the Rock Against Bush concert after I get out of Kol Nidre services tonight?
If you hate Bush for Jewish reasons, the Jewish thing should come first.
Your attendance at a rock concert won’t help shit.
What Shawn does is betweem him and Adonai…not us.
Observance is none of our business. Shawn can pray on the field as well as he can pray in front of the bimah.
Some people go to shul for appearances , to appear in front of friends and family, but not G-d.
My kids don’t need role models , they have my husband and me.
I always found Hank Greenberg’s quiet observance more meaningful. Instead of taking his kids to shul on YK, he took them to the woods…explained to them that they were with G-d etc. and prayed.
Shawn would be more of a role model if he married Jewish, had a Jewish home and took care of his parents. I don’t care waht his stats are…
“Shawn can pray on the field as well as he can pray in front of the bimah. ”
Its not a matter of where he is praying or if he’s going to shul. Its a matter of if he’s observing Yom Kippur, which involves more than just praying.
But more importantly, do many Jewish atheletes refuse to play on Shabbat? I would think that would be just as–if not more–important than observing Yom Kippur.
actually, the most significant thing about shawn from a jewish perspective is his marriage to a non jew. in la, a city of 700,000 jews, he could have found a jewish mate: he didnt. his children and his childrens children will be non jews; he has voluntarily done to judaism what hitler did with death camps to the jews. jews men who outmarry discrace their tribe, their religion, and themselves. 50% of jews nationwide outmarry, in la its over 70%. this seems more a problem of jewish males than jewish females, most of the latter more actively seek jewish mates than their male counterparts. thank g-g for the frum who bear a lot of children and for the most part keep them in the fold.
I hope I don’t fall in love with a Jew because then orthodoxy could decide I need I’m in their little system of marriage and need a get, the whole thing is so abominable, even if I don’t actually get married. The only really safe thing to do is be with a gentile.
I think Jewish men who keep up this system are a disgrace to Judaism.
I’m sure that Mr. Kaplan wouldn’t discard shawn Green’s roll model status simply becuse he’s dating/married to a non-Jew. That would be thoroughly ridiculous. I’m a Jew who is willing to admit that there’s a chance I may marry a goy. Are yall going to try to banish me to interfaith marriage propogator’s hell along with Shawn Green?