Oct. 29th, 2007
Of Baseball and Rituals
Oct. 29th, 2007 01:10 pmThere's a lot of talk this morning about baseball, rituals, and those crazy things fans do to help ensure their teams' wins in big games. I have a baseball-related ritual, but it doesn't really have anything to do with my team's chances. In fact, it started when my team's wins were few and far between.
I first met![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
donovanstitch in 1992, while we were both students at BU. A fellow baseball fan, donovanstitch had the dubious pleasure of living within screaming distance of Fenway, and here he was, a Yankees fan.
For reasons that I can no longer remember, at the end of the sixth game of the 1996 World Series, I picked up the phone and calleddonovanstitch to wish him congratulations on his team's win. I made an identical phone call at the end of game 4 of 1998, and a tradition was born. As the Yankees took the World Series in 1998, 1999, and 2000, I called donovanstitch at the end of the final game to wish him congratulations.
In 2004, at the end of game 4, as I was sitting there in shock that the Sox had actually managed to win a World Series, the phone rang. This time, it wasdonovanstitch calling to wish *me* congratulations.
Fast forward to last Wednesday night. Asmabfan and I are getting ready to settle in to watch game 1 of the World Series, mabfan picks up the phone and calls donovanstitch, leaving a message when he wasn't home. Somewhere around the 3rd inning or so, the phone rings, and it's donovanstitch. Despite it not fitting our usual pattern, we talk baseball for about 1/2 an hour (until mabfan got a call on the other line that I couldn't defer). I was, to be honest, a bit nervous as to whether varying our ritual would cause a rift in the space-time continuum and mess up the Sox' chances in the Series (what can I say? I'm a Sox fan born and bred; we're a superstitious bunch). The Sox ended up winning games 1-3. And then we got to last night.
And last night's game was a real nailbiter. And it went long. I kept wondering if I should go to bed, but I stuck it out. It was 12:06 AM when the Sox got the last out. I quickly posted and then began the process of getting ready to go to bed. And then the phone rang. I knew who it had to be. And I was right.donovanstitch knew I'd be up, he knew I'd be watching, and I was very pleased that he took the time to call and complete the ritual.
And, next year, who knows. I might be the one placing the end-of-Series call.
I first met
donovanstitch in 1992, while we were both students at BU. A fellow baseball fan, donovanstitch had the dubious pleasure of living within screaming distance of Fenway, and here he was, a Yankees fan.For reasons that I can no longer remember, at the end of the sixth game of the 1996 World Series, I picked up the phone and called
donovanstitch to wish him congratulations on his team's win. I made an identical phone call at the end of game 4 of 1998, and a tradition was born. As the Yankees took the World Series in 1998, 1999, and 2000, I called donovanstitch at the end of the final game to wish him congratulations.In 2004, at the end of game 4, as I was sitting there in shock that the Sox had actually managed to win a World Series, the phone rang. This time, it was
donovanstitch calling to wish *me* congratulations.Fast forward to last Wednesday night. As
mabfan and I are getting ready to settle in to watch game 1 of the World Series, mabfan picks up the phone and calls donovanstitch, leaving a message when he wasn't home. Somewhere around the 3rd inning or so, the phone rings, and it's donovanstitch. Despite it not fitting our usual pattern, we talk baseball for about 1/2 an hour (until mabfan got a call on the other line that I couldn't defer). I was, to be honest, a bit nervous as to whether varying our ritual would cause a rift in the space-time continuum and mess up the Sox' chances in the Series (what can I say? I'm a Sox fan born and bred; we're a superstitious bunch). The Sox ended up winning games 1-3. And then we got to last night.And last night's game was a real nailbiter. And it went long. I kept wondering if I should go to bed, but I stuck it out. It was 12:06 AM when the Sox got the last out. I quickly posted and then began the process of getting ready to go to bed. And then the phone rang. I knew who it had to be. And I was right.
donovanstitch knew I'd be up, he knew I'd be watching, and I was very pleased that he took the time to call and complete the ritual. And, next year, who knows. I might be the one placing the end-of-Series call.
That D'Var Torah What I Gave
Oct. 29th, 2007 10:27 pmBelow is the d'var Torah I gave last Shabbat in observance of mabfan's father's yahrtzeit.
D'var Torah -- Vayera
In this week's parsha, Avraham says to Hashem:
(B'raishit (Genesis), 18:25)
In this pasuk, we see two roots that are of interest: tzadi-dalet-kuf and shin-peh-tet. Mishpat, as used in the pasuk, can be translated as "justice." But tzedek -- from the same root as "tzadik" in our pasuk -- can also be translated as "justice."
In last week's parsha, Hashem tells Avraham to go out of his tent and to look at the sky and to count the stars, and then Avraham is told that his descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. After that, the pasuk says:
(B'raishit, 15:6)
On this, Ibn Ezra says:
"Tzedek" and "mishpat" are brothers. Like brothers, they are related. But also like brothers, there are differences between them.
Mishpat, the word in our pasuk, is often translated in other contexts as "judgment." Mishpat takes into consideration only the act of the guilty party but not the hardship that carrying out his punishment might involve. Nor does it consider the effect that the act and the penalty would have on the general welfare of the community.
Tzedek, however, does take all these factors into account, and tzedakah goes even further.
In our parsha, just a couple of pesukim back from the one I started with, we read:
(B'raishit, 18:19)
Practicing mishpat and tzedakah is the condition under which Avraham's descendents will be worthy of receiving that which Hashem promised Avraham.
Humans must balance mishpat with tzedek -- we must consider the consequences of a potential judgment, to see the ruling in the context of the greater community and the impact it will have on society.
When Michael spoke at his mother's funeral this past January, he talked about how in his family his father represented tzedek and his mother represented chesed. A better analogy might be to say that Michael's father, for whom Michael is observing yahrtzeit today, represented mishpat, his mother represented chesed, and together they represented tzedek.
mabfan's father's yahrtzeit.D'var Torah -- Vayera
In this week's parsha, Avraham says to Hashem:
Chalilah l'cha me'asot kadavar hazeh l'hamit tzadik im rasha, v'haya chatzadik k'rasha, chalila l'cha hashofet kol ha'aretz lo ya'aseh mishpat.
Far be it from You to do a thing such as this, to put to death the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous should be like the wicked. Far be it from You! Will the Judge of the entire earth not perform Mishpat?
(B'raishit (Genesis), 18:25)
In this pasuk, we see two roots that are of interest: tzadi-dalet-kuf and shin-peh-tet. Mishpat, as used in the pasuk, can be translated as "justice." But tzedek -- from the same root as "tzadik" in our pasuk -- can also be translated as "justice."
In last week's parsha, Hashem tells Avraham to go out of his tent and to look at the sky and to count the stars, and then Avraham is told that his descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. After that, the pasuk says:
V'he'emin b'hashem vayach'sh'veh-ha lo tzedakah.
And he believed in Hashem, and He (Hashem) accounted it to him as tzedakah.
(B'raishit, 15:6)
On this, Ibn Ezra says:
Tzedek umishpat achim. Rak b'divrei kadmoneinu zichronam l'vracha derech tzedakah acheret.
Tzedek and mishpat are brothers, but according to our Sages tzedakah is a different way.
"Tzedek" and "mishpat" are brothers. Like brothers, they are related. But also like brothers, there are differences between them.
Mishpat, the word in our pasuk, is often translated in other contexts as "judgment." Mishpat takes into consideration only the act of the guilty party but not the hardship that carrying out his punishment might involve. Nor does it consider the effect that the act and the penalty would have on the general welfare of the community.
Tzedek, however, does take all these factors into account, and tzedakah goes even further.
In our parsha, just a couple of pesukim back from the one I started with, we read:
Ki y'da'tiv l'ma'an asher yitzaveh et banav v'et beito acharav v'shamru derech Hashem la'asot tzedakah umishpat l'ma'an havee Hashem al Avraham et asher diber alav.
I have known him so that he will command his children and his household after him, and they will keep Hashem's way, doing tzedakah and mishpat. Hashem will then bring about for Avraham everything He promised.
(B'raishit, 18:19)
Practicing mishpat and tzedakah is the condition under which Avraham's descendents will be worthy of receiving that which Hashem promised Avraham.
Humans must balance mishpat with tzedek -- we must consider the consequences of a potential judgment, to see the ruling in the context of the greater community and the impact it will have on society.
When Michael spoke at his mother's funeral this past January, he talked about how in his family his father represented tzedek and his mother represented chesed. A better analogy might be to say that Michael's father, for whom Michael is observing yahrtzeit today, represented mishpat, his mother represented chesed, and together they represented tzedek.
