Late in the 1934 season, Greenberg announced that he would not play on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, or the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Fans grumbled, "Rosh Hashanah comes every year but the Tigers haven't won the pennant since 1909." Greenberg did considerable soul-searching, and discussed the matter with his rabbi; finally he relented and agreed to play on Rosh Hashanah, but stuck with his decision not to play on Yom Kippur. Dramatically, Greenberg hit two home runs in a pennant-clinching 2–1 Tigers victory. The next day's Detroit Free Press ran the Hebrew lettering for "Happy New Year" across its front page.
So, thus the scholars have spoken, and playing baseball, even for pay, is ok on this day. Amongst the prominent Jewish major leaguers of the current day, the Rangers' Ian Kinsler is playing tonight - going 0-for-5 in Toronto. Kevin Youkilis' Red Sox, Ryan Braun's Brewers, Jason Marquis' Nationals, and Ike Davis' Mets have the night off. And it appears Brad Ausmus is not in the lineup tonight for the Dodgers.
Happy New Year.
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Thoughts also turn to Koufax, who faced similar criticism, but Hank made his path a bit smoother.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Lindsay, I command you to play Wiffleball whenever possible.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
God
PS--You also might want to consider dropping the silent h in "whiff"...my other name has TWO silent h's, and it's a real headache. Sure, it looked cool in the ancient Hebrew, but now it just makes ordering takeout a hassle.