Parshat Noach - 5764

 Parashat Noach and the World Series – 5764

(Please forgive outrageous comparisons between N.Y. Yankee History and Jewish History)

Late October; time again for my annual column on the World Series. Alas! The Yankees lost. But the sadness arising from that mini-event does not in any way compare with the universal sadness arising from the World Calamity that was visited upon the human race in the time of Noach, for its inability to tear itself away from immoral and violent behavior. Wait till next year! The perennial rallying cry from the losing team and promise to do better on the baseball field. The rainbow! That appeared when the floodwaters receded, symbolizing the second chance that humanity received to prove itself worthy of inhabiting G-d’s world.

Megilat Kohelet, which we read last Shemini Atzeret, was almost excluded from the Sacred Canon. One of the reasons given is that in many cases, its observations contradict each other, and some contradict reality. It was included only because its bottom line, expressed in the next-to-last verse, is “The end of the matter, when all is said and done; Fear G-d, and keep His commandments, for that is the whole duty of Man” (Kohelet 12:13). One of the questionable observations is “Money answers all things” (Kohelet 10:19). Money can buy anything! I think the outcome of the World Series disproves that one. The owner of the Yankees was willing to spend money almost without limit in order to build a team that would win the World Series. But even though the payroll of the Yankees was about double that of the Marlins, it was the team from Florida that achieved victory.

Human frailty was another lesson taught by this year’s World Series. In the fifth game, David Wells, one of the better Yankee pitchers, started the game and was doing well during the very brief time (just one inning) that he remained on the field. While he pitched, he experienced back spasms, and had to be removed from the game. Jose Contreras, an excellent relief pitcher when properly “warmed-up,” was brought in prematurely, and was visibly frustrated by his lack of control and consequent ineffectiveness, causing the Yankees to lose that game.

From a positive perspective, being a baseball fan, or maintaining an active interest in any sport, allows one to re-visit his or her childhood. There is value to be found in the joy of winning the game, enduring the temporary sadness of defeat, the enjoyment of playing or watching the game. The ability to play on a team, to perform under pressure, to exhibit sportsmanship (a corollary of courtesy or “mentschlichkeit”) are all lessons for life.

Human error is a fascinating aspect of sports. Umpires are necessary because somehow, whenever there is a close play (“safe” or “out,” “ball” or “strike,” “fair” or “foul”) each team perceives the reality of the event to its advantage. And sometimes, the umpire’s judgment is objectively wrong, as shown by replay of the event by modern photographic means. But no matter! The umpire’s word stands. Somewhat comparable, if on a vastly different scale, to the fact that a Sanhedrin’s (the Jewish Supreme Court) determination of the calendar is binding, even if astronomical reality says otherwise. “Lo bashamayim hee;” the Torah (or, again, on an infinitely different scale, the baseball decision), is not in the heavens; it has been given to Man.

Curses! It is amazing that the N.Y. Yankees have been so successful (twenty-six world championships; the most recent in 2000), while other teams, at first glance with similarly talented players, have not been anywhere near as successful. Since 1918, the last year they won the World Series (and the year that they traded the great Babe Ruth to the Yankees), the Boston Red Sox have become perennial losers to the Yanks in late-season play (some theorize that it is because of a “curse” put upon them by Babe Ruth himself). Similarly, the Chicago Cubs, Rabbi Berel Wein’s team, backed by all the merit that gives them, have not won a Series since 1908.

Life is full of unpleasant surprises, and baseball has provided metaphors. When one is expecting to receive a nice “fastball” to hit, all-of-a-sudden, the pitch that one receives is a “change-up” (a slower pitch, that throws off the batter’s timing). Even worse, the pitcher may throw a “curveball,” where the ball seems to be going in one direction, but it changes course to a different direction. Worst of all, a “knuckleball,” where the pitch seems to move in random directions.

Decision-making is the job of the manager. He “plays the percentages,” inserting right-handed batters against left-handed pitchers, and vice versa, using “pinch-hitters,” and all the myriad decisions that have to be made. Sometimes the decisions are good; sometimes less so. One decision made by the usually very astute Yankee manager, seems to have been a costly mistake. A substitute second-baseman could not reach a ball that the regular second baseman probably could have reached, and threw another ball wide of the mark, allowing an opposing player, trapped in a run-down(!), to reach base safely. “The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray” (from “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns). Baseball (like life) is an arena for the exercise of “What if...” and “If only..., things would have been different” scenarios. Baseball (and life) teach that one must make peace with reality, and not live in the world of the “might-have-been.”

It was fun when there was a chance to watch the World Series with my future son-in-law. I would cheer every Yankee triumph and groan at every Yankee mishap; he, a Marlins fan, would do the opposite. May this year be a year of great success and only semachot for Klal Yisrael in arenas far larger than Yankee Stadium, and may we see the arrival of the great hero we hope for.

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel
Rabbi Frankel is an Educational Coordinator at the OU

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