Sports Shemitahs
April, 2015
What are Jewish People known
For?
• Intelligence…
• Who is the symbol of intelligence?
• A Jewish guy born in Ulm, Germany…
How many Jews are there?
• Jews currently make up approximately
0.2% of the world's population
• and 2% of the US population.
23% of all Nobel Prize Winners…
• At least 194 Jews and people of half- or
three-quarters-Jewish ancestry have
been awarded the Nobel Prize,
• accounting for 23% of all individual
recipients worldwide between 1901 and
2014,
• and constituting 36% of all US
recipients during the same period.
• In the scientific research fields of
Chemistry, Economics, Physics, and
Physiology/Medicine,
• the corresponding world and US
percentages are 27% and 39%,
respectively.
Women and organizations…
• Among women laureates in the four
research fields, the Jewish percentages
(world and US) are 35% and 50%,
respectively.
• Of organizations awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize, 23% were founded
principally by Jews or by people of
half-Jewish descent.
And recently?
• Since the turn of the century (i.e., since
the year 2000),
• Jews have been awarded 27% of all
Nobel Prizes and 29% of those in the
scientific research fields.
Muslims?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
From a pool of 1.4 BILLION Muslims which are 20% of the world's population
(2 out of every 10 people) From 2006:
Literature
1988 - Najib Mahfooz
Peace
1978 - Anwar El-Sadat
1994 - Yasser Arafat *
2003 - Shirin Ebadi
Chemistry
1999 - Ahmed Zewail
Physics
Abdus Salam
* NOTE: Norwegian, Kaare Kristiansen, was a member of the Nobel
Committee. He resigned in 1994 to protest the awarding of a Nobel "Peace
Prize" to Yasser Arafat, whom he correctly labeled a "terrorist."
Jewish winners?
• http://www.jewishmag.com/99mag/nobel/n
obel.htm
• “After reviewing this list, can you supply a
reason for the large discrepancy between
the Arab/Islamic population's contribution
to the world body and that of the Jew?”
(from 2006)
• 2015: I think I can. (J. Scotto)
Jewish Comedians…
• Many Jewish people have made us laugh
over the years… all of these were
Jewish…
• Fanny Brice
• The Marx Brothers
• The Three Stooges
Jewish Comedians…
• Phil Silvers, Milton Berle, Jerry Lewis, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Sid
Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Jackie Mason, Myron Cohen, Alan King,
Jerry Seinfeld, David Steinberg, Eugene Levy, Gene Wilder, Zero
Mostel, Gilda Radner, Garry Shandling, Jon Stewart, Billy Crystal,
Jerry Stiller, Ben Stiller, Larry David, Woody Allen, Albert Brooks,
Andrew Ginsberg, Andy Kauffman, Joan Rivers, Anne Meara, Bette
Midler, Bill Maher, Chelsea Handler, Christopher Guest, Danny
Kaye, Don Rickles, David Brenner, Ed Wynn, Ed Asner, Jack Benny,
George Burns, Goldie Hawn, Harold Ramis, Henny Youngman,
Rodney Dangerfield, Irwin Korey, Jack Black, Jason Alexander,
Jonah Hill, Lenny Bruce, Louis Black, Lorne Michaels, Marty Allen,
Morey Amsterdam, Mort Sahl, Paul Reiser, Red Buttons, Richard
Lewis, Rita Rudner, Robert Kline, Sarah Silverman, Seth Rogen,
Shecky Green, Shelley Berman, Steven Wright, Tom Lehrer, Totie
Fields, Victor Borge, Mayim Bialik, Adam Sandler, Laraine Newman,
Paul Reubens, Madeline Kahn, Gabe Kaplan, Joe Besser, Mel
Blanc, Bert Lahr …
Jewish entertainers
• Jewish people have been successful in
entertaining us – and the world – for a long
time…
• The list of well-known, successful Jewish
entertainers is even longer than the list of
Jewish comedians…
Jewish Entertainers…
•
Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, Harry Cohn, Irving Thalberg, Al Jolson, Barbra Streisand, Eddie Cantor, Neil
Diamond, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Lorenz
Hart, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Elliott Gould, Amanda Bynes, Zac Ephron, Harrison Ford, Joseph GordonLevitt, Jake Gyllenhaal, Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Shia LaBeouf, Marla Sokoloff, Michelle Trachtenberg,
David Arquette, Elizabeth Banks, Alex Borstein, Corey Feldman, James Franco, Dustin Hoffman, Dustin Diamond,
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Joachim Phoenix, River Phoenix, Pink, Leah
Remini, Wynona Ryder, Fred Savage, Tori Spelling, Paula Abdul, Patricia Arquette, Hank Azaria, Matthew
Broderick, Mindy Cohn, Robert Downey, Jr., David Duchovny, Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Joel Grey, Jennifer
Grey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Curtis, Lisa Kudrow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Camryn Mannheim, Marlee Maitlin, Debra
Messing, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Penn, Jonathan Silverman, Ally Sheedy, Kyra Sedgewick, David
Schwimmer, Rob Reiner, Rob Schneider, Adam Arkin, Alan Arkin, Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Barkin, Kate Kapshaw,
Tovah Feldshuh, Harvey Fierstein, Carrie Fisher, Jeff Goldblum, Steve Guttenberg, Amy Irving, Julie Kavner, John
Landis, Joan Lunden, Don Most, Bebe Neuwirth, Mandy Patinkin, Katey Segal, Jane Seymour, Howard Stern,
Deborah Winger, Mare Winningham, Richard Belzer, Peter Coyote, James Caan, Richard Dreyfus, Bob Dylan, Lou
Reed, Bonnie Franklin, Art Garfunkel, Barbara Hershey, Judith Light, Wallace Shawn, Harry Shearer, Paul Simon,
Leslie Ann Warren, Henry Winkler, Anson Williams, Jill St. John, Barbara Barrie, Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon,
Charles Grodin, Estelle Harris, Judd Hirsch, Harvey Keitel, Walter Koenig, Yaphet Kotto, Piper Laurie, Steve
Lawrence, Linda Lavin, Shari Lewis, Hal Landon, Tina Louise, Suzanne Pleshette, George Segal, Elizabeth Taylor,
Ed Ames, Bea Arthur, Lauren Bacall, Tom Bosley, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Falk, Eddie Fisher, Monty Hall, Judy
Holliday, Werner Klemperer, Jack Klugman, Harvey Korman, Al Lewis, Bill Macy, Walter Matthau, Marilyn Monroe,
Charlotte Rae, Tony Randall, Rod Serling, Mel Torme, Abe Vigoda, Shelley Winters, Martin Balsam, John Banner,
Lee J. Cobb, Kirk Douglas, John Garfield, Paulette Goddard, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Hedy Lamarr, Luise Rainer, Dinah
Shore, Mike Wallace, Eli Wallach, Keenan Wynn, Jack Albertson, Howard Da Silva, Natalie Schafer, Lee
Strasberg, John Houseman, Peter Lorre, Hermione Gingold, Sam Jaffe, Paul Muni, Edward G. Robinson, Mae
West, Theda Bara, Douglas Fairbanks, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Sophie Tucker, Peter Bogdanovich, Fritz Lang,
Barry Levinson, Mervin LeRoy, Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Michael Curtiz, Billy Wilder, William Wyler, Barbara
Walters
• And those are just the people I know
about! There are many famous Jewish
people that I left off the list because I don’t
know who they are!
• Despite the tough circumstances Jewish
people have faced in this world, Yahweh
has blessed us with them in so many
ways!
• Jewish people, at least in our American
culture seem to be blessed (many times) in
three ways: intelligence, humor, and
success at whatever they do.
What is the Shemitah?
• When Yahweh established the nation of Israel as His people and
desired to rule them as a theocracy (where He is the king), He set up
two time frames:
• One was the week: there were six days of Creation, then Elohim
rested, so His people were to honor Him by not working on every
seventh day, the only day of the week to have a name in the
Scriptures, the Sabbath.
• Working on the Sabbath was supposed to be a capital offense,
deserving of death by those who violated it. The real message Yahweh
wanted His people to get, however, was the idea it was He who
supplied all their needs, not just their needs every seventh day.
• Faith meant to rely on Him and trust Him – and show that they loved
Him by obeying His Law. That’s still a New Testament principle: Jesus
said “If you love Me, keep my commandments.”
What is the Shemitah?
• But there was a second cycle of seven: seven years, or a
week of years.
• They were supposed to rest from planting crops every
seventh year – for the same reason as the weekly
Sabbath: to show the world that they relied completely on
Yahweh for everything.
• The seventh year also meant a release of debts – a way
of recycling the economy every seventh year.
• The Hebrew word for “release” is Shemitah. Property was
to revert back to its original owner; debts were released,
and those who had been blessed with riches and
abundance were to give to the poor people of the land.
What is the Jubilee?
• OK – but, is there anything special about the
seventh seven of years? Yes – the next year are
the seventh Shemitah was referred to as a
Jubilee year.
• They were to happen every 50 years. Jubilee
was supposed to be a year of celebration of
Elohim’s provision.
• It involved even a higher level of release – slaves
were to be freed, also.
• Above all, the Shemitah was supposed to be a
blessing for Israel, Yahweh’s people.
So, what happened to the
Shemitah?
• The Israelites did practice the Shemitah… at least for a time.
• Despite the hideous sin committed by God’s people in the Promised
Land in the Book of Judges, they at least kept the Shemitahs,
apparently.
• We know because, at the very end of the Book of Second
Chronicles, we’re told by the writer that the people of Israel were
going into exile in Babylon because they had to let the land catch up
on its rest.
• They had violated the Shemitah for 490 years, which meant 70
Shemitahs, which is how many years they were in Babylon.
• Jerusalem fell and the Temple was destroyed (for the first time) in
586 BC. 490 years earlier puts us into the reign of King Saul – the
earthly ruler Yahweh reluctantly gave them when they begged
Samuel for a king “just like the other nations.” Samuel, the last
Judge, didn’t want to do it, but Yahweh told him to proceed.
• The rest is (mostly not good) history…
So what about today?
• It means, dear friend, that Elohim’s cycle of years
still continues today!
• Modern Jews, even liberal Jews, recognize the
Shemitah. For most today, its meaning is only
symbolic.
• But Yahweh knows exactly what He’s doing. Just
like in the old days, Abba Father is in control of
all things.
• And one of the key manifestations is Yahweh
continuing to deal with His people in judgment
and in blessing. He still has blessed His people
in Shemitah years, despite their continued
disobedience.
And speaking of continued
disobedience…
• The USA was a nation dedicated to Yahweh from
the beginning
• We have been blessed by Him in our history, but
we have also suffered judgment when we
disobeyed.
• All of America’s 20th Century woes are
connected very strongly to the Shemitah – again,
Shemitahs were a time of blessing for the faithful,
and a time of judgment for the unfaithful –
whether that be the people of Yahweh, Israel, or
the people of the nation He has especially
blessed to be His servant nation in modern
times, us – the United States of America.
How is America Yahweh’s nation?
1) We have been a “shining city on a hill”, a
connection made by the Puritan John
Winthrop in a sermon as early in our
history as 1630
2) We were dedicated to Yahweh at the
inauguration of George Washington on April 30,
1789.
He declared, “The propitious smiles of Heaven can
never be expected on a nation that disregards the
eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven
itself has ordained.”
As our nation was dedicated, our first President
declared a curse – a warning of judgment against
this nation if its people turned away from the
moral laws ordained in the Scriptures.
Sadly, that day has come. It’s been coming for a
long time now;
3) It was a nation that recognized Yahweh as the
One who controls our destiny by none other than
that great American free-thinker, Benjamin
Franklin.
When the Constitutional Convention in 1787 was at
an impasse, and it looked like it would never be,
he gave a speech in which he proposed the
appointment of “a chaplain to this Convention,
whose duty it shall be uniformly to assemble with
us, and introduce the business of each day by
and address to the Creator of the universe, and
the Governor of all nations…
Ever since, our Federal legislative houses have
always opened in prayer.
4) America has been the source of
missionary work all over the world for at
least the last 150 years
More Christian missionaries have gone out
to more nations to more people all over the
world than any other nation even comes
close to
If the gospel needs to be preached to the
ends of the Earth before Jesus returns,
missionaries from and supported by the
American people have certainly hastened
His coming
5) America has been the greatest friend and
defender of the reborn nation of Israel.
America has played a key role in protecting
Israel.
Yahweh has blessed us abundantly for that.
How does the Shemitah manifest
Yahweh’s Providence?
• The Shemitah can be a blessing or a
curse, depending on whether the people
have been faithful or disobedient
• Yahweh often blesses His people, the
Jews, in the national life of a nation
Yahweh’s Sovereignty
• Yahweh shows His sovereignty over
events by:
• Blessing or cursing
• Being involved in the most well-known
events
• Showing many connections to the Biblical
number of completion: 7
• Shemitahs involve 7 years; the Jubilee
comes after the 7th seven.
Freedom!
• Lincoln signed the
Emancipation
Proclamation on
September 22,
1862, a Shemitah
Year,
27 Elul 5622
Freedom!
• It went into effect
on the first day
of 1863 January 1,
1863, a Jubilee
Year,
10 Tevet 5623
And what about Baseball?
• Does Yahweh show His hand of
Providence in our all-American game of
baseball?
• In a word…
• YES!
What about Baseball?
• Out of the horror of the War Between the
States, a national pastime was born…
• Union prisoners playing baseball in 1863
Professional Baseball begins…
• The first professional baseball team
• The 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings
First game…
• May 4, 1869
• 26 Iyyar 5629 (a Shemitah)
Lip Pike
• Named “The Iron
Batter", he was one of
the first stars of 19th
century baseball in
the United States.
• He was one of the
first professional
players, as well as the
first Jewish player.
Lip Pike
• Pike was one of the premier players of his day.
• He was one of the first great sluggers, who was
known for hitting home runs
• Stories about balls he hit were told for a long time
after he stopped playing.
• Pike first rose to prominence playing for the
Philadelphia Athletics, joining the National
Association team in 1866.
• He had both power and speed, hitting many
home runs as well as being one of the fastest
players around.
• On one occasion he hit 6 home runs in one game
Lip Pike
• Official records were first kept when Lip was 26
years old, playing for the Troy Haymakers in the
National Association in 1871
• At age 31, he played in the first year of the
National League for the St. Louis Brown
Stockings. He was ranked the fourth best player
on the team.
• They won their first game on April 29, 1876 – 5
Iyyar 5636 (a Shemitah)
• He led the team with a .323 BA, 19 doubles, 10
triples, a .472 SP, and tied for the lead with 1
home run and 50 RBI’s
National League established…
• February 2, 1876
• 7 Sh’vat 5636
• A Shemitah…
April 22, 1876
Play ball! Redcaps win first NL
game ever played
• 28 Nisan 5636 (a Shemitah)
No. 1 April 22, 1876
Play ball! Redcaps win first
game
• Boston beats Philadelphia
• In front of curious onlookers at Philadelphia's
Jefferson Street Grounds, Boston held on for a
6-5 win
• As they checked into the new league and began
a new era, Boston had changed its nickname to
the Red Caps.
• The Philadelphia boys, however, remained the
Athletics -- and it is noteworthy that nickname is
the only one of the original eight Major League
teams still in use.
The Philadelphia Phillies
• First played in the National
League in 1883 officially
named the Quakers
• They won their first game on
May 14, 1883 (7 Iyyar 5643,
a Shemitah)
• They beat the Cubs 12 – 1,
after having lost their first 8
games
• They finished their inaugural
season 17 – 81, for a winning
percentage of .215 (worse
than the 1962 Mets)
1883 Philadelphia Quakers
• Their ace pitcher was 20-year-old John Coleman, with a record of 12
wins
• And 48 losses (an all-time record!)
• His ERA was 4.87 (not too shabby, compared to some of his future
Phillies teammates) and better than the Number 2 pitcher in 1883,
Art Hagan
• Art Hagan was 1 and 14, with an ERA of 5.45
John Coleman
Casey Stengel
• Casey Stengel born in Kansas City
• On July 30,1890, (13 Av 5650), a
Shemitah
• Wait a minute… Casey Stengel was not
Jewish!
• Or was he?
• More on THAT later…
The First Zionist Congress
The First Zionist Congress
• 1 Elul 5657 (August 29, 1897)
• The First Zionist Congress, convened and
chaired by Theodor Hertzl in Basel,
Switzerland in a Shemitah year
• The Basel Declaration stated: "Zionism
seeks to establish a home for the Jewish
people in Palestine secured under public
law."
Barney Pelty
“The Yiddish Curver”
• Barney Pelty was one of the first Jewish players
in the American League.
• He leads all Jewish pitchers in lifetime ERA
(2.63), ahead of Sandy Koufax. He is 7th among
Jewish pitchers in strikeouts with 693.
• He debuted in the Shemitah year of 1903,
getting his first win over Bill Dinneen of the soonto-be World Champion Boston Red Sox.
• July 1, 1910 (24 Sivan 5670, a Shemitah), he
shut out the White Sox in the opening game at
Comiskey Park, beating Hall of Famer Ed
Walsh, 2 – 0.
The American League
• The American League started play in 1901, but
didn’t reach stability until 1903, a Shemitah Year,
after reaching an agreement with the National
League
• The teams would stay the same for the next 51
seasons, when the New York Highlanders (later,
the Yankees), started play April 15,1903 (18
Nisan 5663, a Shemitah).
• For the first two years of the AL’s existence, they
had been the Baltimore Orioles.
• Ironically, the first team to move in the AL was the
St. Louis Browns… who became the Baltimore
Orioles
The New York Highlanders
• After they officially became the Yankees in 1913,
they still were not a successful team until 1920.
That’s the season when they, of course, bought
Babe Ruth from the Red Sox.
• Despite a spectacular year in 1920 by the Babe,
however, the Yankees didn’t win a pennant until
1921.
• After winning their first Championship in 1923,
the Yankees became the best team in Major
League Baseball until the present day, winning a
total of 27.
1916 World Series
• Boston Red Sox (4) vs Brooklyn Robins (1)
• “Casey Stengel shone on offense for the Robins
in the 1916 Series but the Red Sox pitching core
ultimately proved too much for the denizens of
Flatbush." (Wikipedia)
• Stengel lead all hitters in the Series with a .364
average
• Red Sox win on October 11, 1916 (15 Tishrei
5677, a Shemitah)
Casey Stengel in Brooklyn
• In the minors, he developed a reputation
as an eccentric player.
• Scout Mike Kahoe referred to Stengel as a
"dandy ballplayer, but it's all from the neck
down."
1923 World Series
• The New York Yankees win their first of 27 World
Championships
• Giants player
Casey Stengel
slides home with
the winning run on
an inside-the-park
home run in the first
game of the 1923
World Series.
The Giants won 5-4.
Casey Stengel
• Star of 1923 World Series, despite losing
• From the Baseball Reference website:
• He hit game-winning home runs (one
inside-the-park) to win the 2 games that
the Giants won in the 1923 Series. He
holds the distinction of hitting the first
World Series home run ever hit in Yankee
Stadium, which opened in 1923.
Casey Stengel’s numbers from the
1923 World Series
• BA: .417
• SP: .917
• OBP: .563
How is Casey Stengel Jewish?
• Fact: He didn’t claim to have any faith
(that I could find). He certainly didn’t
practice Judaism.
• Fact: Casey Stengel had a funeral in a
Christian church, and was buried in Forest
Lawn Memorial Cemetery, a Christian
cemetery. In fact, for many years, Jews
were not permitted to be buried in Forest
Lawn.
So… how was he Jewish?
• 1) People who are not Jewish, or are not
practicing Judaism, can have a Jewish
ancestry. Even Adolf Hitler was ¼ Jewish.
Ralph Branca is (he’s still alive and active
at 89) half Jewish and had relatives who
died in the Holocaust. Up until 2011, he
thought his mother was Hungarian… but,
just that recently, he found out she was a
Hungarian Jew.
So… how is he Jewish?
• 2) Stengel is a German name, and so are
Greenberg, Braun, Rosen, Goldstein, and
many other names that are also Jewish.
The Ashkenazy Jews of Germany took
German-sounding names to better blend
into their culture. Many Christians in
Germany had Jewish ancestors because
many Jews genuinely converted to
Christianity over the years.
So… how is he Jewish?
• 3) One of his nicknames was “Dutch”, a
common name given to baseball players
with German ancestry. But, just because
he was German doesn’t mean he wasn’t
also of Jewish ancestry. He could also be
Jewish from his mother’s side (but her
family was said to be Irish). It didn’t
necessarily come from his father’s
paternal side, either – his paternal
grandmother could have had Jewish roots.
So… how is he Jewish?
• 4) Many Germans “Americanized” their
names, either by mistake (by officials
along the way who didn’t speak German
and misspelled their names), or
deliberately, so as to blend in to the
American culture. So, “Kremer” became
“Kramer” or “Cramer”; “Baumgartener”
became “Bumgarner” (in the case of
Madison) or just “Garner” (as in James).
So…how is he Jewish?
• There’s a website to a Rabbi Reuven
Stengel at:
• http://congshaareyisrael.org/Rabbi_Reuve
n_Stengel_Web_page.htm
So… how is he Jewish?
• 5) He had all the characteristics we associate
with Jewish people…
• He was very intelligent. His nickname “the Old
Perfessor” was not ironic; many people have
noted that his bumbling “Stengelese” was just an
act… he was known to be a baseball genius.
But, not just in baseball – remember, he started
playing so he could pay his way through dental
school. He had the academic ability; he quit
mainly because he was left-handed and had a
hard time using dental tools made for righthanded people.
So… how is he Jewish?
• “Casey (Stengel) knew his baseball. He
only made it look like he was fooling
around. He knew every move that was
ever invented and some that we haven't
even caught on to yet." – Sparky Anderson
So… how is he Jewish?
• He was also very funny, another characteristic
we associate with Jewish people. In fact, when
the MLB Channel voted on the “Prime Nine”
Greatest Characters of All Time, Casey Stengel
was voted as Number One! When the Yankees
hired him as manager in 1949, “The public
thought of Casey, if they knew him at all, as
‘colorful’ at best and ‘clownish’ at worst. The
Babe himself, who had succumbed to cancer a
few months before Stengel’s appointment, called
Stengel ‘one of the daffiest men I ever met.’”
(The Casey Stengel Official Website)
So… how is he Jewish?
• “During a Pirates game against the Dodgers in 1919, Stengel
entertained the fans with what became a famous stunt. While sitting
in the dugout he acquired a sparrow and put it under his cap. At bat,
he tipped his cap to the crowd, releasing the bird and delighting the
fans.
• In 1920, after he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, he repeated
the trick, among other antics, including popping up from a manhole
to catch a fly ball.
• In 1921, Stengel was traded to the New York Giants, where he
would play for John McGraw, his greatest teacher and the manager
by whom Stengel would set his standards in the future.”
•
Casey Stengel - Clown And Hero - Game, Hit, Home, and Series - JRank
Articles http://sports.jrank.org/pages/4598/Stengel-Casey-ClownHero.html#ixzz3ew6afkZx
So… how is he Jewish?
• He was very successful… His lifetime averages
were a .284 batting average, a .356 career on
base percentage, and a .410 slugging
percentage.
• His World Series numbers were a .393 batting
average, a .469 on base percentage, and a .607
slugging percentage
• He played a total of 14 (SEVEN x 2) seasons,
playing in more than 100 games in 7 (that’s
SEVEN seasons).
So… how is he Jewish?
• As a manager, he was the most successful of all
time!
• In his first five years as the New York Yankees
manager, he won five World Championships! No
other manager has won 5 straight World Series.
• He set the All Time record of 7 (that’s SEVEN)
World Series wins as a manager. In just 12
years with the Yankees, he won 10 pennants,
losing 3 World Series in 7 (SEVEN) games.
So… how is he Jewish?
• His Hall of Fame election was announced
on March 8, 1966 (16 Adar 5726, a
Shemitah).
• He gave his Hall of Fame induction
speech in August of 1966, still in a
Shemitah.
What about… Honus Wagner?
What about… Honus WAGNER?
•
•
•
He was the son of German immigrants, and he
was not Jewish… but many Germans have
Jewish ancestry.
Many Jewish people are named Wagner,
including Rabbi Israel Wagner of the Jewish
congregation at Beach Haven, New Jersey.
Honus Wagner was nicknamed “The Flying
Dutchman” for his phenomenal speed and his
German heritage (“Dutch” for “Deutsch”),
Casey Stengel’s other nickname was “Dutch”
for the same reason.
Honus Wagner
•
•
•
•
He played 21 seasons (21 = 3 x SEVEN)
He had enormous success on the baseball
field; he tied with Babe Ruth for second
(behind only Ty Cobb) when the first Hall of
Fame election was conducted in 1936
Honus Wagner is, even nearly 100 years after
his retirement, considered the greatest
shortstop of all time.
He was such a good fielder that he was the
best at any position he played.
Honus Wagner
•
•
He debuted in a Shemitah (19 Tamuz
5657, or July 19, 1897)
He played his last game on the very day
of Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah) of the
Jubilee year directly following a seventh
Shemitah, a day that only occurs twice in
a century
Honus Wagner
•
•
•
•
•
He led the Pirates to a National League pennant in
1902 (there was no World Series that year).
He led the NL in runs scored, doubles, RBI’s, stolen
bases, slugging percentage, and getting hit by a pitch.
In 1903, he led the Pirates to another pennant and led
the NL in triples, along with winning his second of eight
batting titles, with an average of .355.
The end of the 1902 season and most of the 1903
season took place in a Shemitah.
After the end of the Shemitah, in the 1903 World
Series, Wagner struggled as the Pirates lost to the
Boston Pilgrims (now the Red Sox), 5 games to three.
Honus Wagner
•
•
•
•
He led the Pirates to victory in the next World
Series to be played in a Shemitah: 1909.
He batted a crisp .333 (to Ty Cobb’s anemic
.231) and drove in 7 (that’s SEVEN) runs.
Take a look at his pictures – notice anything
about his face? Italians are known for tending
to have large Roman noses.
Now, which other ethnic group is known for
having prominent noses? No, I don’t think it’s
Germans…
The Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration
• Issued November 9, 1917 (24 Cheshvan 5678),
in a Jubilee Year
• “His Majesty's government view with favour the
establishment in Palestine of a national home for
the Jewish people, and will use their best
endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this
object, it being clearly understood that nothing
shall be done which may prejudice the civil and
religious rights of existing non-Jewish
communities in Palestine, or the rights and
political status enjoyed by Jews in any other
country.”
Al Schacht
Al Schacht
• “The Clown-Prince of Baseball”
• He wrote: "There is talk that I am Jewish—
just because my father was Jewish, my
mother is Jewish, I speak Yiddish, and
once studied to be a rabbi and a cantor.
Well, that's how rumors get started."
• Pitched for the Washington Senators for
three seasons (1919 – 1921)
• Won exactly 14 games (2 x SEVEN)
Moe Berg
Moe Berg
• Moe Berg played one season for Brooklyn in
1923, then returned three years later in 1926
and played 14 seasons after that.
• He graduated from Princeton University and
Columbia Law School
• Berg spoke several languages and regularly
read 10 newspapers a day.
• During World War II, he was valuable as a spy
for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services)
Buddy Myer
• Buddy Myer played with the Washington Senators (and a year and a
half with the Red Sox) for 17 seasons from 1925 to 1941.
• He played 80 games or more in 14 seasons.
• He had several very good seasons, including 1935, when he won
the American League batting title with a .349 average.
• He ended his career with an outstanding total of 2131 hits and a
.303 career batting average.
• One of his last best seasons was in the Shemitah year of 1938,
when he, at the age of 34, he hit a career-best 6 home runs. His
batting average of .336 didn’t lead the league, but it was certainly
excellent.
• His on-base average was also a career-best .454, and his slugging
percentage was a career-second-best .464. That gave him an OPS
of .918, also a career-best.
Ike Danning
• Ike was the brother of Harry Danning, a
Jewish player for the New York Giants in
the 1930’s and ’40’s
• Ike only lasted a brief time, in 3 games for
the St. Louis Browns in 1928…
• enough for only 7 plate appearances…
• that’s SEVEN plate appearances.
Ike Danning
1930 World Series
• George Earnshaw was from a wealthy New York
family, but was not known to be Jewish. There’s
not enough about him on the Internet to know if
he had Jewish blood or not, but I suspect he did.
• For one thing, he started late – he signed with
Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics at the age
of 28 (a multiple of 7) and ended early, in 1936
at the age of 36. Here’s what it says about him
on the SABR (Society for American Baseball
Research) website:
George Earnshaw
George Earnshaw
• “Earnshaw contributed a 7-7 record and betterthan-average 3.81 ERA in 22 starts, but walked
100 batters in 158 innings. As he remembered it,
he was so wild he never got past the seventh
inning in his early outings.
• He credited catcher Cochrane's tough-love pep
talk for turning his season around. He won his
first game in his seventh appearance, a 5-0
three-hitter over Boston, and later pitched
another three-hit shutout against the St. Louis
Browns.”
George Earnshaw
• George Earnshaw was the star for the Mackmen in
the Shemitah year World Series of 1930. He pitched
brilliantly in three starts, winning two over the NL
Champion St. Louis Cardinals.
• “The 1930 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals
marked the pinnacle of Earnshaw's career. He pitched 22
consecutive scoreless innings. He won the second game,
6-1, giving up only a second-inning homer to George
Watkins, then pitched seven shutout innings in Game
Five before he was lifted for a pinch-hitter in a scoreless
tie.
• Grove relieved him and got the victory when Jimmie Foxx
delivered on his promise to "bust up the game right now"
with a ninth-inning homer.
George Earnshaw
• “Earnshaw came back on one day's rest to win the deciding sixth
game, surrendering just a ninth-inning run. In 25 innings he gave up
two runs on 13 hits, and struck out 19.
• An NBC radio microphone, in the Athletics clubhouse for the first
broadcast of a victory celebration, picked up Earnshaw's teammates
shouting "Iron Man" when he was introduced. The losing manager,
Gabby Street, said, "It was just a case of too much Earnshaw."
• Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes, who pitched against Earnshaw in the
Series, said years later, "We'd heard about Grove, how hard he could
throw. But I'll tell you, the guy we thought threw the hardest was
Earnshaw."
• His World Series ERA was a stifling 0.72.
• In the Shemitah season of 1931, he won 21 and lost 7. He
finished his career with a total of 127 wins.
George Earnshaw
• There IS evidence that there are Jewish
people named Earnshaw:
• Congregation Beth Torah in Overland,
Kansas, had a meals-on-wheels event to
feed the hungry. Among the people
thanked is one “Jessica Earnshaw”
• http://bethtorah.org/social_justice/joels_ride_wheels
_for_meals.aspx
George Earnshaw
• Hasmonean High School is a secondary
school and sixth form with academy status for
pupils from Orthodox Jewish families, situated in
the London Borough of Barnet, England.
• The school was founded by the late Rabbi Dr.
Solomon Schonfeld in 1944 as Hasmonean
Grammar School. ... On the faculty is Susi
Earnshaw of the Theatre School
Morrie Arnovich
Morrie Arnovich
• Morrie Arnovich played Major League
Baseball for… 7 seasons.
• He played 4 ½ years with the Phillies, ½
season with Cincinnati, and two years with
the Giants. His primary position? Left field
(7).
• In his career, he had 771 total bases.
• One of the most religious Jewish major
leaguers, Arnovich kept kosher his whole
life.
Phil Weintraub
Phil Weintraub
• Phil Weintaub played in 7 seasons all together – that’s
SEVEN – including for the Phillies in the Shemitah year
of 1938.
• After playing a number of games for the New York Giants
and Cincinnati Reds in left field – that’s position 7 – he
played only at first base for the Phillies.
• In 1938, he had one of the best seasons of his career –
batting .311 with 4 HR’s and 45 RBI’s in 100 games.
• Very oddly, his OBP and his SP were exactly the same –
both at .422.
• He didn’t play in the Majors again until 1944 (the end of
which was a Shemitah) and he retired before the end of
the 1945 season, before the Shemitah ended. He was
37 in his last game.
Harry Danning
Harry Danning
• Harry played his entire career for the New York
Giants, from 1933 to 1942
• He was an All Star for 4 years, from 1938 to
1941
• After the 1940 season, he was chosen as the
catcher on The Sporting News’ All Star team
• He entered the military after his final season of
1942
• Harry Danning played 7 seasons with more
than 100 at-bats/plate appearances
Hank Greenberg
• Hank Greenberg is considered the
greatest Jewish superstar in any sport
• He was born on January 1, 1911, just after
a Shemitah, and died on September 4,
1986, just before a Shemitah
Hank Greenberg
• In 1934, his second major-league season, he hit
.339 and helped the Tigers reach their first World
Series in 25 years. He led the American League
with 63 doubles, and also hit 26 home runs
• Late in the 1934 season, he announced that he
would not play on September 10, which was
Rosh Hashanah, or Yom Teruah (the Day of
Trumpets, also the secular Jewish New Year), or
on September 19, the Day of Atonement, Yom
Kippur.
Hank Greenberg
• The Detroit fans were upset, "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 2–1 Tigers victory
over Boston on Yom Teruah. The next day's Detroit Free Press ran
the Hebrew lettering for "Happy New Year" across its front page.
• Columnist and poet Edgar A. Guest expressed the general opinion in
a poem titled "Speaking of Greenberg," in which he used the Irish
(and thus Catholic) names Murphy and Mulroney.
• The poem ends with the lines "We shall miss him on the infield and
shall miss him at the bat / But he's true to his religion—and I honor
him for that."
• The Detroit press was not so kind regarding
the Yom Kippur decision, nor were many
fans, but Greenberg in his autobiography
recalled that he received a standing ovation
from congregants at the Shaarey Zedek
synagogue when he arrived.
• Absent Greenberg, the Tigers lost to the
New York Yankees, 5–2. They did,
however, win the AL pennant.
• The Tigers went on to face the St. Louis
Cardinals in the 1934 World Series (where
they lost in 7 games).
• In 1935 Greenberg led the league in RBIs
(170), total bases (389), and extra base
hits (98), tied Jimmie Foxx for the AL title in
home runs (36).
• He also led the Tigers to their first World
Series title. (However, he broke his wrist in
the second game.) He was unanimously
voted the American League's Most
Valuable Player.
• He set a record (still standing) of 103 RBIs
at the All-Star break – but was not selected
to the AL All-Star Game roster.
• He missed nearly the entire season of 1936, healing
from the broken arm he suffered playing in the 1935
World Series
• In 1937, he was voted to the All-Star Team.
• Rosh Hashanah (Yom Teruah) was on September 6,
1937, the start of the Shemitah year 5698.
• On September 19, 1937, he hit the first-ever homer into
the center field bleachers at Yankee Stadium.
• He led the AL by driving in 183 runs (3rd all-time, behind
Hack Wilson’s 191 in 1930), while batting .337.
• He was 2nd in the league in home runs (40)
• Still, Greenberg came in only 3rd in the vote for MVP.
Picture: 1937 AL All Stars
Picture: 1937 AL All Stars
• What a great group of hitters got together that day in
Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C.
• From left to right: Lou Gehrig, Joe Cronin, Bill Dickey, Joe
DiMaggio, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, and Hank
Greenberg – all Hall of Famers
• Do you notice who is the 7th player from left to right – yes,
Hank Greenberg.
• Do you notice how much taller he looks? It’s an optical
illusion – he was 6’4”, but he wasn’t as much taller as he
looks. Jimmie Foxx, for example, was 6’ tall, as was Lou
Gehrig. Or… do you think there are all these
coincidences by accident?
• In 1938, Greenberg narrowly missed
breaking Babe Ruth's single-season home
run record with 58, leading the league for
the second time (he had a 59th home run
washed away in a rainout).
• From September 5, 1937 to September 25,
1938 – a Shemitah “season” – Greenberg
actually hit 64 home runs (more than the
Babe’s 60, but over 171 games, not the 154
games played per season at that time).
The Shemitah ends…
• So the judgment commences…
• 29 Elul 5698
• 25 September 1938… Munich Accords
“Peace in our time…”
• Neville Chamberlain on October 5, 1938
• 10 Tishrei 5699
• Yom Kippur… The Day of Atonement
Kristallnacht
• November 9, 1938
• 15 Cheshvan 5699
• The unofficial start to the Holocaust
• In 1940, Greenberg was voted to the AllStar team for the fourth year in a row. He
led the league in home runs (for the third
time in 6 years) with 41 and in RBIs (150)
• He batted .340 (fifth best in the AL).
• He also led the Tigers to a pennant, and
won his second American League MVP
award, becoming the first player in majorleague history to win an MVP award at two
different positions.
HOWEVER…
• In May of 1941, Hank got drafted and went
into the Army, long before the US got into
World War II.
• He was just about to be discharged
when… Pearl Harbor was attacked and he
re-enlisted, becoming the first Major
League Baseball player to sign up to serve
his country in war-time. Many others would
soon follow.
The Beginning of the End of the
Holocaust…
• In the Shemitah of 5705
• 13 Sh’vat 5705 (January 27, 1945)
• Soviet Union’s Army liberates Auschwitz
The Holocaust ends…
• 16 Iyyar 5705
• April 29, 1945
• American forces liberate Dachau
Also in a Shemitah…
• 27 Av 5705
• August 6,1945
• First atomic bomb
dropped on
Hiroshima
• Greenberg remained in uniform until the summer of 1945.
• In Greenberg's first game back after being discharged, on July 1, he
homered.
• Without the benefit of spring training, he returned to the Tigers, was
again voted to the All-Star Team, and helped lead them to a comefrom-behind American League pennant, clinching it with a grand slam
home run in the dark—no lights in Sportsman's Park in St. Louis—
ninth inning of the final game of the season.
• It came after the umpire allegedly told Hank that he was ready to call
the game due to darkness, because the ump—former Yankee
pitching star of the 1920s Murderers Row team, George Pipgras,
supposedly said "Sorry Hank, but I'm gonna have to call the game. I
can't see the ball." Greenberg replied, "Don't worry, George, I can see
it just fine," so the game continued.
• It ended with Greenberg's grand slam on the next pitch, clinching Hal
Newhouser's 25th victory of the season. The slam allowed the Tigers
to clinch the pennant and avoid a one-game playoff (that would have
been necessary without the win) against the now-second-place
Washington Senators.
• The Tigers went on to beat the Cubs in the
1945 World Series in seven games.
• Only three home runs were hit in that World
Series. Phil Cavarretta hit one for the Cubs
in Game One (still the LAST home run hit in
the World Series by a Cub player).
• Greenberg hit the only two homers by the
Tigers—one in Game Two, where he batted
in three runs in a 4–1 win; the other—a
two-run shot—tied the game in the eighth
inning of Game Six, making the score 8–8,
but the Cubs won that game with a run in
the bottom of the 12th.
Hank Greenberg, 1945
The end… 1947
• In 1947, Greenberg and the Tigers had a
lengthy salary dispute. When Greenberg
decided to retire rather than play for less,
Detroit sold his contract to the Pittsburgh
Pirates.
• Greenberg played first base for the Pirates
in 1947 and was one of the few opposing
players to publicly welcome Jackie
Robinson to the majors.
Hank Greenberg
• Hank Greenberg lost playing time to both
injuries and military service.
• In all, he played just 7 seasons of 130 or
more games. That’s SEVEN.
• His lifetime batting average is .313 (which
add up to SEVEN) and his career home
run total is 331 (which also adds up to
SEVEN). He holds the Jewish records in
both categories.
Charlie Gehringer?
Charlie Gehringer?
• He was born to German Catholic parents,
but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have
Jewish ancestry (like so many other
Germans).
• He was intelligent, attending the University
of Michigan, leaving only because the
Detroit manager Ty Cobb saw how good
he was and signed him to a contract after a
tryout in 1923.
Charlie Gehringer?
• He was a quiet man (not a typical Jewish
characteristic, but he had a sense of humor
about his reputation.
• At a civic banquet in his honor, Gehringer's
entire speech consisted of the following: "I'm
known around baseball as saying very little, and
I'm not going to spoil my reputation." When
asked why he signed his name "Chas.
Gehringer," he responded: "Why use seven
letters when four will do?" On another occasion,
when
Charlie Gehringer?
• On another occasion, when asked about
his closed-lip reputation, he responded:
"Not true; if somebody asked me a
question, I would answer them. If they
said, 'Pass the salt,' I would pass the salt.“
• He was nicknamed “The Mechanical Man”
by Lefty Gomez, because of his quiet
demeanor and his consistency on the
baseball field
Charlie Gehringer?
• Widely regarded as one of the greatest second
basemen of all time, he compiled a .320 batting average
and had seven seasons with more than 200 hits.
• He was the American League batting champion in
1937 with a .371 average and was also named the
American League's Most Valuable Player. [The
Shemitah began on September 5, 1937, so he finished
his greatest season and was voted MVP during a
Shemitah].
• He was among the Top 10 vote recipients in the Most
Valuable Player voting for seven straight years from
1932 to 1938.
• He was the starting second baseman and played every
inning of the first six All Star Games…
Charlie Gehringer?
• Gehringer was also one of the best-fielding
second basemen in history, having led all
American League second basemen in
fielding percentage and assists seven times.
• His 7,068 assists is the second highest total in
major league history for a second baseman.
• He also collected 5,369 putouts as a second
basemen (the 6th highest total for a second
baseman) and 1,444 double plays (the 7th
highest total for a second baseman).
Charlie Gehringer?
• Charlie Gehringer was born in a Shemitah
year (May 11, 1903 = 14 Iyyar 5663).
• He debuted in a Shemitah year
(September 22, 1924 = 23 Elul 5684).
• He performed very well in three World
Series (1934, 1935, and 1940), with a total
of 7 RBI’s and 7 walks.
Lou Boudreau
Lou Boudreau
• Born to a Jewish mother on July 17, 1917,
during a Shemitah year
• That date is 7 – 17 – 17.
• He debuted in the Shemitah year of 1938. He
played in only one game that season…
• then he played for 14 seasons after that.
• He played his last game in the Shemitah year of
1952,
• and died in a shemitah year (a month before
9/11, in 2001).
Cal Abrams
Cal Abrams
• Born on 1 Adar 5684 (March 2, 1924), a
Shemitah year (3 days after Al Rosen was born
– also in a Shemitah)
• Was thrown out at home plate by Richie Ashburn
with two outs in the bottom of the ninth on
October 1, 1950 to keep the score 1 – 1o Dick
Sisler could hit a three-run homer to win the
1950 pennant (not a Shemitah = no blessing)
• He played in 7 seasons with more than 100
plate appearances/at-bats
Ralph Branca…
Ralph Branca
• Played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from
1943 – 1953
• In 1947, he helped welcome Jackie
Robinson to the National League
• He openly supported Robinson from early
in the season, standing next to him on
opening day when other players refused
Ralph Branca
• Although Branca was raised Roman Catholic, in
2011 reporter Joshua Prager revealed in the
New York Times that his mother was Jewish.
• His mother, Kati (née Berger), immigrated to the
United States in 1901 from Sandorf, Hungary
(now Prievaly, Slovakia).
• His uncle Jozsef Berger was killed at the
Majdanek concentration camp, and his maternal
aunt Irma died at the Auschwitz concentration
camp in 1942.
• His father was John Branca, a trolley car
conductor from Italy.
The Shot Hit ‘Round the World
• 3 Tishrei 5712 (a Shemitah)
• October 3, 1951
• Bobby Thomson homers to “win the
pennant” off of Ralph Branca
• Has frequently been voted the Greatest
Sports Moment ever…
1951… and 2015
Lou Limmer
Lou Limmer
• Was up with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1951 and 1954;
Limmer holds the distinction of having hit the last home
run and last base hit for the Athletics before their move
to Kansas City.
• Limmer was involved in the only all-Jewish confrontation
in Major League history. On May 2, 1951, Limmer was
batting in a game against the Detroit Tigers. Pitching for
the Tigers was Saul Rogovin, and catching for the Tigers
was Joe Ginsberg.
• He played 11 years in the minors
• According to his Wikipedia entry: “He was in the top five
for home runs seven times during his minor league
career.”
Al Rosen
Al Rosen
• American League MVP in 1953
• Known as : “The Hebrew Hammer”
• Slugging 3rd baseman for the Cleveland
Indians; played in 1948 and1954 World
Series
• played full time from 1950 to 1956, until he
had to retire because of injuries
• Yes – that’s SEVEN years!
• Died in March 2015 (in a Shemitah year)
Nathan “Joe” Ginsberg
Nathan “Joe” Ginsberg
• Nathan (Joe) Ginsberg started his career
behind the plate with Detroit in 1948.
• He ended with the 1962 New York Mets.
• He bounced around, playing for 7 (that’s
right – SEVEN) different Major League
teams.
• In his career, he didn’t steal many bases
(not many catchers do). He finished with a
lifetime total of 7 (that’s SEVEN).
Sandy Koufax
• The greatest Jewish pitcher of all time!
• Maybe one of the greatest of all!
Sandy Koufax
• Sandy Koufax became the dominating pitcher he
became famous for in the 1959 World Series, in
Game Three which he lost, 1 – 0.
• From 1960 to 1966, when he retired at the age
of 30, he was so phenomenally successful that
he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972 with
a very low number of career wins, compared to
others enshrined there.
• And, yes, he dominated baseball for 7 years,
from the Shemitah in 1959 to the Shemitah year
of 1966. That’s SEVEN.
Sandy Koufax
•
•
•
•
Sandy Koufax refuses to pitch in Game
One of the 1965 World Series on Yom
Kippur.
He the pitched in Games Two, Five, and,
on two days rest, in Game 7.
By helping his team win the Series, and
despite sitting out Game One, Koufax
was voted MVP.
And, yes, it was in a Shemitah.
After the 1963 World Series…
• I can see how he won twenty-five games. What I
don't understand is how he lost five." - Yogi
Berra
• After the 1965 World Series…
• … Koufax is murder. Great! The best I believe I
have ever seen. You hate to lose, but we didn't
disgrace ourselves. We were beaten by the best
pitcher that there is anywhere." - Minnesota
Twins Manager Sam Mele
• "(Sandy Koufax) belongs in a higher league." Roger Craig (teammate on the 1959 Dodger
champions)
Nostra Aetate
Nostra Aetate
Nostra Aetate
• 2 Cheshvan 5726(October 28, 1965)
• Pope Paul IV releases “Nostra Aetate”,
declaring “peace” with Jews, but not yet
recognizing Israel as the Jewish nation; he
absolved them of being “Christ-killers”
Moe Drabowsky
Moe Drabowsky
• Was born in Poland to Jewish parents
• He left Poland with his mother in 1938
• On 5 Kislev 5726 (November 29,1965),
he signed with the Baltimore Orioles (a
Shemitah)
• On 21 Tishrei 5727 (a Jubilee year),
October 5, 1966, he struck out 11 Dodgers
in the greatest relief appearance in World
Series history
Moe Drabowsky
• His last appearance in the Major Leagues
was on the day after Yom Kippur in the
Shemitah year, on the 11th of Tishrei, 5633
(September 19, 1972)
• He had 6 or more wins 7 (Seven) seasons
in his career
June 7, 1967 (28 Iyyar 5727, Year
of Jubilee)
• Israeli soldiers at the
Western Wall during the Six Day War
Blow the shofar in Zion!
• Chief Military Rabbi Shlomo Goren at the
Western Wall in 1967 shortly after the
liberation of Jerusalem.
• The importance of the shofar and its connection to the Holy Temple
was exemplified during the 1967 Six Day War. Chief Rabbi of the
IDF Shlomo Goren carried a Torah scroll and shofar to the Western
Wall following the liberation of Jerusalem from Jordanian rule. The
moment, captured in an iconic photo, was the first time a shofar had
been blown and heard in the heart of Jerusalem in hundreds of
years.
• Blowing the shofar in celebration of liberating Jerusalem served two
purposes: a shofar always goes before the Nation of Israel in battle
(Numbers 10:9) and, as Rabbi Goren explained later, unifying
Jerusalem was part of the Messianic process, therefore requiring the
blowing of a shofar.
Mike Epstein
Mike Epstein
• Nicknamed “Superjew” by Minor League
manager Rocky Bridges
• Didn’t hit for a very high average (.244 for his
career), but walked and was hit by a pitch so
often that he had a respectable lifetime on-base
percentage of .359
• He was hit by a pitch exactly 70 times in his
career
• Played on the Oakland Athletics World Series
Champions in 1972 (a Shemitah year)
Mike Epstein
• Epstein wore a black armband during the 1972
playoffs in memory of the 11 Israeli athletes
murdered by terrorists at the Munich Olympics.
• Teammates Ken Holtzman and Reggie Jackson
also wore the armbands. A's owner Charles
Finley, who usually demanded conformity from
his players, gave them the OK to wear the
memorial items until the season ended with the
A's World Series victory.
Mike Epstein
• Played 7 (SEVEN) full seasons (more than
100 games)
• Inducted as a member of the United States
National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in
2004
• Through 2010, he was sixth all-time in
career home runs (behind Mike Lieberthal)
among Jewish major league baseball
players
Ken Holtzman
Ken Holtzman
• Ken Holtzman played 14 seasons with at
least one decision (he pitched just 3
innings his first year, with no decisions).
• His best season was 1973 – a Shemitah
year – when he won 21 games (21/3 = 7).
• On October 14, 1972, on the 6th of
Cheshvan in the Shemitah year of 5733,
he won Game One of the World Series
over Cincinnati.
Ken Holtzman
• He had a career total of 7 (seven) World
Series starts.
• By the way, Jewish broadcaster Al
Michaels called his first World Series game
in 1972, Ken Holtzman’s only win that
Series.
• And… the Miracle on Ice game that Al
Michaels is most famous for… happened
in a Shemitah – on February 22nd, 1980 –
that’s 5 Adar 5740.
Al Michaels calls 1972 Reds win in
NLCS
Al Michaels
• On the 3rd of Cheshvan 5733, Al Michaels, in his first year
as a Reds’ broadcaster, called the final play of the
National League Championship Series.
• Johnny Bench hit a home run to right field to tie it in the
9th (over the head of Roberto Clemente, who,
unbeknownst to anyone at the time, was playing in his
final game).
• Bob Moose of the Pirates infamously uncorked a wild
pitch later in the inning, allowing George Foster to score
the pennant-winning run from third.
• All of this was called brilliantly by the young Michaels,
calling his first post-season.
• Do you know who was a color commentator in Game One
of the NLCS? One Sandy Koufax, who just happens to
be… well…
Ron Blomberg
• On 4 Nisan 5733 (April 6, 1973), a
Shemitah year
• Ron Blomberg
becomes the first
Designated Hitter
in the history of
Major League
Baseball
Steve Stone
Steve Stone
• Steve Stone was a pitcher for the Giants, White Sox, and
Orioles.
• He had his best year in the Shemitah year of 1980
and won the American League Cy Young Award.
• He won 25 games, 10 more than he had ever won
before.
• In his last three seasons, he was 11 – 7, 25 – 7, and 4
– 7.
• He did pitch for the Orioles in the 1979 World Series,
pitching just 2 innings, giving up 4 hits and two
earned runs in Game 4 (which the
Steve Stone
• He did pitch for the Orioles in the 1979
World Series, pitching just 2 innings,
giving up 4 hits and two earned runs in
Game 4 (which the Orioles eventually
won).
• He broke down in 1981, winning only 4
games before retiring.
• He did have an impressive total of 7
(SEVEN) shutouts over his career, though.
John Lowenstein
John Lowenstein
• John Lowenstein was not Jewish, but with a name like
that, he no doubt had Jewish ancestors
• In the ALCS against the Angels, pinch-hitter Lowenstein
hit a three-run walk-off homer to take Game 1 for the
Orioles, 6–3.
• In the World Series, in Game 4, Lowenstein was called
on to pinch hit against Kent Tekulve in the 8th.
• He made the move pay off by slamming a two-run
double.
• If you listen to a clip of the game, you’ll hear Howard
Cosell and Al Michaels (both Jewish) calling the play.
The other announcer is Don Drysdale (who is not
Jewish, but had a famous teammate who is – Sandy
Koufax).
What about… Mike Schmidt?
• He has a German name – and that can mean he
has Jewish ancestry
• For example, Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi
Menachem Schmidt is the president of the
Chabad on Campus International Foundation
and director of the Lubavitch House of
Philadelphia.
• He has been involved in Jewish outreach since
before 1980 (most of which was a Shemitah),
when he founded the Lubavitch House at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Mike Schmidt?
Mike Schmidt ?
• The 1980 season was also probably Mike
Schmidt’s best season. He hit the most
home runs in any season.
• He made his Major League debut (against
the Mets) on September 12, 1972.
• That was 4 Tishrei 5733, a Shemitah year.
• He hit his first home run on September 16,
1972, on the 8th of Tishrei, 5733.
Mike Schmidt?
• On Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah) in the
Shemitah year of 5740, on September 22,
1979, he homered off of Steve Rogers of
the Expos.
• On Yom Teruah, 5741, September 11,
1980, he homered off of Ray Burris of the
Mets.
Mike Schmidt?
• I consider the “162-game averages” to be
significant as one way to fairly compare players.
• Some like “WAR” the best – and it does balance
the problem of different “eras” in baseball – like it
really isn’t fair to compare sluggers in the mid-tolate 1960’s with sluggers who played in the late
‘90’s to early 2000’s.
• Anyway, Michael Jack averaged 37 home runs
and 107 RBI’s for his 162 game average.
Mike Schmidt?
• He has other Jewish characteristics
• He is very intelligent (as was known during
his playing days and is still true in 2015 –
listen to him when he gives color
commentary on Phillies’ broadcasts)
• He has a great sense of humor (like when
he came out, wearing a wig when he knew
he would be booed)
Mike Schmidt?
• He was extremely successful at what he did: he
has frequently been voted the greatest third
baseman to ever play the game.
• According to the JAWS ranking, he is the best
statistically
• Third Base (1st), 106.5 career WAR/58.5 7yrpeak WAR/82.5 JAWS
• Average HOF 3B (out of 13) = 67.4 career
WAR/42.7 7yr-peak WAR/55.0 JAWS
Mike Schmidt?
• And don’t let the red hair when he was
young throw you off… King David was
also a red head.
Mike Schmidt?
• And, not coincidently, he is an evangelical
Christian… and, hopefully, still a man after
God’s own heart.
Pope John Paul II visits a Roman
synagogue
• April 13, 1986
• 3 Nisan 4736 (not a
Pope John Paul II visits synagogue
in Rome
• April 13, 1986 (4 Nisan 5746, not a
Shemitah)
•
President Reagan sounds the call
of freedom to Eastern Europe
• 15 Silvan 5747 (June 12, 1987) during a
Shemitah
• “Mr Gorachev, tear DOWN this wall!”
Mike Lieberthal
Mike Lieberthal
• Lieby played 14 seasons… with SEVEN
seasons of 100 games or more, from
Shemitah year 1994 to Shemitah year
2007…
• He played in the 1999 All Star game, with
Shawn Green and Brad Ausmus, tied for
the most Jewish players with Shemitah
year 2008, when Ryan Braun, Kevin
Youkilis, and Ian Kinsler played
Shawn Green
Shawn Green
• Shawn Green sat out Yom Kippur during the tight
pennant race of 2001.
• His team, the Dodgers, lost, but he was honored by the
Lord the following season.
• On May 23rd, 2002, he had the greatest offensive day in
the history of Major League Baseball, covering
thousands and thousands of games since the late
1800’s. He hit four home runs, a double, and a single –
that’s 19 total bases in one game.
• Shawn Green played a lot more than seven seasons. He
played more than 100 games in 14 seasons. Yeah, that’s
right – 14 is exactly 2 times SEVEN!
Brad Ausmus
Brad Ausmus
• Brad Ausmus played for quite a while – 14
seasons of over 100 games. (14 = 2 X SEVEN!).
• He had over 7000 plate appearances, and
scored 718 runs for his career.
• He is ranked first all-time among all Jewish
major leaguers in career games played (1,971),
fifth in hits (1,579), and eighth in runs batted in
(607; directly behind Mike Lieberthal).
• He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports
Hall of Fame in 2004
Kevin Youkilis
Kevin Youkilis
• Kevin Youklis played SEVEN full seasons, with 100 or more games…
• He first came to fame before he was even in the Majors, when he
became a central character discussed in the book Moneyball.
• He had an outstanding career at the University of Cincinnati and was
known for his ability to get on base.
• The Red Sox drafted him on June 11, 2001 (the 20th of Sivan, 5761,
a Shemitah year.
• On October 3, 2007 (the 21st of Tishrei in the Shemitah year 5768) in
the first inning of Game 1 of the ALDS against the Angels, he hit his
first post-season home run. It was his first homer since returning from
being hit by a pitch in mid-September.
• Announcing the game on TBS was former Orioles pitcher and fellow
Jewish player, Steve Stone. Youkilis said his wrist "felt a lot better as
the days have progressed. I think the best thing about it is that it's
playoff time, and adrenaline helps the most."
• In the 7-game ALCS against Cleveland, he hit three more home
runs, had 14 hits (tying the LCS record)
Kevin Youkilis
• In the 2007 ALCS, he also scored 10 runs
(bettering Matsui's 2004 ALCS record) while
batting .500 (another new ALCS record,
bettering Bob Boone's .455 in 1986) with a .576
OBP and a .929 slugging percentage.
• In the 2007 World Series against Colorado, he
hit two doubles (both in Game 1) and had three
walks in only 12 plate appearances in the 4game win. Because of the lack of the DH rule in
the NL park, he was not in the starting lineup for
the away games.
Kevin Youkilis
•
•
•
•
•
He saved his best, however, for the Shemitah season of 2008. According to
Wikipedia, “on April 2, 2008, on an unassisted game-ending play against the
Oakland A's, Youkilis broke the Major League record for most consecutive
error-less games by a first baseman, previously held by Steve Garvey, at
194 games.
In his 205th game without an error on April 27, Youkilis also established a
new major league record for first basemen, when he fielded his 1,701st
consecutive chance without an error, passing the old mark of 1,700 set by
Stuffy McInnis from 1921 to 1922.
His streak, which started on July 4, 2006, was snapped at 238 games
(2,002 fielding attempts) on June 7, 2008 against the Seattle Mariners.
He was named AL Player of the Week for May 5–11, after batting .375 while
leading the AL with five home runs, and tying for the American League lead
with 10 RBIs.
He was the AL's starter at first base on the 2008 AL All-Star team that
played the 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium,
voted in by the fans in his first year on the ballot. Youkilis became the sixth
Red Sox first baseman to start an All-Star Game at first base.
Kevin Youkilis
•
•
•
•
In 2008, Youkilis led the AL in at bats per RBI (4.7), was 3rd in slugging
percentage (.569) and sacrifice flies (9), 4th in RBIs (115), extra base hits
(76), and OPS (.958); 5th in hit by pitch (12); 6th in batting average (.312)
and on-base percentage (.390); 7th in doubles (43) and in times advanced
from first to third on a single (14); 8th in total bases (306), 10th in at-bats
per home run (18.6), and 12th in home runs (29).
He was also 2nd in extra base hit percentage (12.2% of all plate
appearances) and tied for 7th in times advanced from first to third on a
single (14). Youkilis also batted .356 against relief pitchers, .358 with men
on base, and .374 with runners in scoring position.
He drew seven intentional walks during the 2008 season, the first season
he had garnered any, and also led the AL with a .353 batting average after
the sixth inning.
Youkilis became just the third modern major leaguer (since 1901) ever to
bat over .300 with more than 100 RBIs during a season in which he spent at
least 30 games at both first and third base; St. Louis' Albert Pujols (2001)
and Cleveland's Al Rosen (1954) are the only other players to accomplish
the feat.
Kevin Youkilis
• Youkilis finished third in the balloting for the 2008 AL MVP
Award, receiving two first-place votes (one from Evan
Grant of The Dallas Morning News), while his teammate
Dustin Pedroia won and Justin Morneau came in second.
Only Youkilis and Morneau were named on all ballots.
• In the ALCS Game 5 vs. the Tampa Bay Rays, the Red
Sox were down by seven runs in the bottom of the
seventh inning. Youkilis scored the winning run for the
Red Sox to complete the second-largest comeback in
MLB postseason history.
• Before Game 4 of the 2008 World Series, he was named
the winner of the AL Hank Aaron Award for the best
offensive performance of the 2008 season” (Yes, the 2008
season was a Shemitah).
Kevin Youkilis
• In his last game ever in the Major Leagues
(June 13, 2013 – not a Shemitah year), he
was 0 for 7 in an 18 inning game for the
Yankees against Oakland
• This was a real irony, since Billy Beane of
the A’s had wanted to draft Youkalis in
2001 (as chronicled in Moneyball).
Jason Marquis
• (April) Jason Marquis has played for 14 seasons
– but he’s not done yet. He has 121 wins and
114 losses – but he has made the Reds 2015
roster
• He was released on June 10, 2015, with a
record of 3 and 4 and a horrible ERA of 6.46;
that was 7 decisions (he should have stopped at
14 seasons)
• His best ERA so far was in his second season
for Atlanta – 3.48 – in the shemitah year of 2001.
Craig Breslow
Craig Breslow
• His family went to the Congregation B'nai
Israel in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he
attended Hebrew school and had his bar
mitzvah in 1993.
• He has fasted while pitching on Yom
Kippur, and noted: "Being Jewish is more
difficult in baseball ... but I try to do what I
can in terms of paying attention to
holidays."
Craig Breslow
• In 2002, after a Shemitah season in his senior
year, he was named a Jewish Sports Review
College Baseball First Team All-American, along
with future major leaguers Sam Fuld and Adam
Greenberg
• He graduated in 2002 with a B.A. in molecular
biophysics and biochemistry
• He also led the Ivy League with a 2.56 ERA
• He has been called the "smartest man in
baseball"
Craig Breslow
• A middle-innings relief pitcher, but not a
closer
• Despite that, he does have some career
saves
• As of July 29, 2015, reliever Craig Beslow,
for his career has…
• 7 (SEVEN) saves
Madison Bumgarner
• I suspect Madison Bumgarner has Jewish blood. This is what is
written about him on Wikipedia: Andrew Baggarly, a reporter who
covers the Giants, wrote of Bumgarner, "While I wouldn't describe
him as outgoing, he struck me as being smart, well spoken and
polite. He is deeply Christian and seems to be very grounded."
• And look who he’s being compared to: “His 0.43 ERA in the 2014
World Series was the lowest in a single World Series (minimum 15
innings) since Sandy Koufax posted a 0.38 ERA in the 1965 World
Series.”
• And he was the “First pitcher to throw at least four scoreless innings
in a World Series Game 7 (2014) on two days' rest since Sandy
Koufax's shutout for the Dodgers in 1965.” That’s the World Series
where Sandy Koufax sat out the first game because it was on Yom
Kippur, then had three starts; he was the most overpowering he ever
was.
Madison Bumgarner
• There’s a Grant Bumgarner who had a bar
mitzvah in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2009
• http://www.templetulsa.com/september-122009-anasazi-lessons-for-jews/
Here’s the Wikipedia entry:
•
•
•
In the top of the fourth inning, Pablo Sandoval reached on an infield single and
moved to third after Hunter Pence singled and Brandon Belt flied out to left. Manager
Ned Yost brought in Kelvin Herrera to face Michael Morse, but Morse singled on an
0–2 pitch to score Sandoval, giving the Giants a 3–2 lead.
After Jeremy Affeldt pitched a scoreless bottom of the fourth, the Giants brought in
Madison Bumgarner on two days' rest to protect their one-run lead in the fifth.
Bumgarner held the Royals scoreless over the final five innings, earning the
longest save in World Series history.
After allowing a single to Omar Infante in the fifth inning, Bumgarner retired 14
batters in a row. The game ended in dramatic fashion when Alex Gordon of the
Royals reached third base as the potential tying run, with two out in the ninth
inning, on a base hit and error combination. (After the game, there was much
discussion among fans and statisticians about the decision not to wave Gordon home
in an attempt to tie the game.) Bumgarner induced Salvador Pérez to hit a foul
popup that was caught by Pablo Sandoval to end the game, series, and
baseball season. Bumgarner was initially credited with the win, which would
have given him a 3-0 record in the series, the first since Randy Johnson in the
2001 World Series. However, following deliberation among the official scorers,
it was decided that Affeldt by rule was entitled to the win.
The Greatest World Series Pitchers
by David Leonhardt (October 27,
2014)
• With his shutout Sunday night, Madison Bumgarner has become
one of the greatest pitchers in World Series history. In four starts,
over three World Series, Bumgarner has won all four, allowing a
single run in 31 innings. And that run was all but meaningless: It
came in the seventh inning in Game 1 against the Royals last week,
with Bumgarner’s Giants ahead, 7-0.
• Bumgarner now holds the record for lowest career earned run
average (0.29) in the World Series among pitchers with at least 30
innings pitched. The mark is impressive by any standard. But don’t
make the mistake of thinking that Bumgarner is the best World
Series pitcher ever.
• That distinction belongs to Christy Mathewson, who also did his
pitching for the Giants (when they were in New York). It’s not even
close, either.
• Madison Bumgarner is 7th best (that’s SEVENth best) all time. He’s
after Christy Mathewson, Sandy Koufax, Waite Hoyt, Eddie Plank,
Bob Gibson, and George Earnshaw.
Joc Pederson
Joc Pederson
• Rookie of the Year candidate for 2015
• Jewish on both sides of the family
• 23 Nisan 5775 – first home run (in a
Shemitah)
• On day when Jewish people remember
the Shemini – when Yahweh killed Nadab
and Abihu
• Could it be a sign of coming judgment?
The 2015 Baseball All-Star Game
• Providential signs…
• Joc Pederson, Jewish rookie outfielder for
the Dodgers, not only made a very rare
start in an All Star Game (rookies almost
never start because the fans don’t often
know about them yet), but came in a
surprising second in the Home Run Derby
• Two Jewish players eventually played: Joc
Pederson started for the NL, and Ryan
Braun tripled in a pinch-hitting role for the
NL also… Braun was added to the team
later because Matt Holliday of the Cardinals
was hurt… many questioned the choice of
Braun, since he’s not even the best hitter
on his own team this year, and Milwaukee
already was represented by reliever
Francisco Rodriguez…
• Because Yahweh wanted him there.
• Two other players of Jewish ancestry
played…
• Paul Goldschmidt (who is a Christian)…
• And Jason Kipnis (who is a Roman
Catholic)
• Two more players of possible Jewish
ancestry were selected…
• Madison Bumgarner, and
• Dallas Keuchel, starting pitcher for the AL
from the Houston Astros
2015 All Star Game
• Before the game, the four players voted
the Greatest Living Players by the fans of
baseball were introduced… they are: Hank
Aaron, Johnny Bench, Sandy Koufax, and
Willie Mays…
• And Sandy Koufax, at the age of 79,
despite only a tenuous connection to
Cincinnati, threw out the one and only
ceremonial first pitch…
Cole Hamels no-hits Cubs for the
first time in 50 years since…
• 25 July 2015 (8 Av 5775)
• Cole Hamels of the Phillies no-hits the
Cubs at Wrigley, 5 – 0
• First time Cubs have been no-hit in more
than 7000 games, spanning more than 49
seasons, since…
• Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game
against them on September
Cole Hamels no-hitter over
Cubs
• 25 July 2015 (8 Av 5775)
Ryan Braun
Ryan Braun
• Still active; son of former Major League
outfielder Steve Braun
• Voted NL MVP in 2011
• On August 8, 2015, had exactly 1400 hits for his
career.
• His 162-game average for plate appearances
was, at that moment, exactly 700.
• His average runs scored per 162-game-season
was 107.
2015 Shemitah sign
2015 Shemitah sign
• (AP) Home sweep home.
• When the Seattle Mariners beat Baltimore 6-5 in
10 innings Tuesday night, it marked the first
time in baseball history all 15 home teams
won on the same day.
• Viewing every game as a 50-50 proposition
independent of all others, STATS figured the
odds of a home sweep on a night with a full
major league schedule was 1 in 32,768.
• That was August 11, 2015 (26 Av 5775).
2015 Shemitah sign
• Research by the Elias Sports Bureau, baseball's
official statistician, indicated that previously the
best performance by home teams had been 120 on May 23, 1914 (27 Iyyar 5674).
• That included four games that day in the Federal
League, then considered one of three major
leagues.
• Was that a sign of the massive judgment soon to
come on to the world? Archduke Ferdinand was
assassinated on June 28, 1914 (4 Tamuz 5674),
precipitating World War 1.
The Guns of August?
• August 1, 1914 (Tisha B’Av – the 9th of Av, 5674)
• (from History Channel) “On August 1, 1914, four days
after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, two more
great European powers—Russia and Germany—declare
war on each other; the same day, France orders a
general mobilization. The so-called “Great War” that
ensued would be one of unprecedented destruction and
loss of life, resulting in the deaths of some 20 million
soldiers and civilians and the physical devastation of
much of the European continent.”
• Not a Shemitah… not (yet) a blessing for the Jewish
people (but it would be, later)
Shemitah sign 2015
• The Philadelphia were dead last with a
horrific record of 20 – 62 and in a tail-spin
at the All Star break 2015
• The Phillies emerge from the All Star
Game on fire, going 17 – 7 in the first 24
games.
• As of August 14… could they win THE
WHOLE THING? If Elohim is in it, it will
happen…
Ryan Howard homers, but Phils
lose to Giants just before All Star
Break, 2015
Phillies 2015?
• http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/08/1
4/phillies-horror-movie-trailer/
• Above is what most people think…
• But if Elohim determines that they will
win…
Phillies 2015?
• The Miracle Phils of 2015? Philadelphia
Phillies' Cameron Rupp, middle,
celebrates his three-run home run
against the Arizona Diamondbacks with
Jeff Francoeur, left, and Freddy Galvis
during the sixth inning of a baseball
game Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015, in
Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Phillies 2015?
Jackie Bradley’s Big Day
Jackie Bradley’s Big Day
• On Saturday, August 15, 2015 (during this
Shemitah year, on 30 Av 5775), the Boston Red
Sox Red Sox torched Seattle’s Felix Hernandez,
one of the best pitchers in baseball.
• The final score was 22 – 10.
• Leading the pack was Jackie Bradley Jr., who
homered twice and doubled three times, while
driving in seven and scoring five runs out of the
ninth spot in the batting order.
Jackie Bradley’s Big Day
• Five extra-base hits (Bradley had two home runs and
three doubles) has only been done twice before in Major
League history
• Once was by Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves in
1954
• Later, it was done on May 23, 2002, by a Dodger
outfielder…
• Guy named Shawn Green…
• Who happened to have had the biggest offensive day
ever, with four home runs, a double, and a single for 19
total bases in one game
• Who, by the way, is… well, you know…
August 25, 2015
From Dr. Rivkah Lambert Adler
•
•
•
Taken together, four recent and upcoming events make a compelling case
for imminent and dramatic messianic advancement. The four events are the
end of the Shmittah year on September 13, the shaking of the world
economies last week, numerical hints that abound in Bible Codes and the
final Blood Moon of the current tetrad on September 28.
In the name of Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, the former Chief Rabbi of the Old
City of Jerusalem, author Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf told Breaking Israel News
that, since the end of Biblical prophecy, God speaks to us in headlines.
Apisdorf said the same idea, that God speaks through historical events, is
echoed by Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, an important 20th century rabbi,
Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher.
Where do we find hints of God’s Hand in recent economic news? As
previously reported by Breaking Israel News, there is a well established
pattern of connection between the end of a Shmittah cycle and a downturn
in the US economy. This has happened at or near the end of the last seven
Shmittah cycles.
Repeating…
• “…God speaks to us in headlines… God
speaks through historical events.”
• And He has spoken to us – and DOES
speak to us - in the History of Major
League Baseball!
Dr. Rivkah Lambert Adler, August
25, 2015
•
•
•
“Three weeks ahead of the end of the Shmittah cycle, Wall Street just
experienced a very difficult week, the worst in years. The Dow fell more than
1,000 points. Some say it’s just a normal market correction. End of Days
blogger Tomer Devorah has a different way of understanding the numbers.
In the system of gematria, where every Hebrew letter has a numerical
value, the numerical value of the word Mashiach (Messiah) is 358. On
Thursday, August 20, the US stock market fell 358 points. The next day,
Friday, August 21, the US stock market fell another 530 points. Together,
530 and 358 equals 888.
This is significant because the number 8 represents God, who is above
nature. As Tomer Devorah writes “The number 8 is also connected to the
revelation of Mashiach (messiah)!” She explains that the number 7 is
associated with completeness in nature – the seven days of Creation, the
seven days of the week, the seven colors of the rainbow, etc. The number 8
is above nature. The Messianic era is also represented by the number 8
because, during that time, our souls will transcend nature and will
experience a higher level of understanding God.”
So what does this all mean?
• Elohim, the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, is in control of the universe, and He
is in control over every aspect of our lives.
• Yahweh will keep His promises to His
covenant people, Israel – “I will bless
those who bless you; I will curse those
who curse you.” That promise was never
rescinded, even when His people turned
away from Him.
“Signs of the times”
• Abba Father uses the world we live in to
warn us. He works in the headlines, not on
page B19.
• If you don’t believe that, ask yourself:
“Why do we still care so much about a notreally-so-big city of Jerusalem?”
• And: “Why does the world care so much
about Israel and the Jewish people?”
And…
• How is it that, despite the world’s general
contempt for Jewish people – from Nazis
to Islamists to European intellectuals –
Yahweh has so remarkably blessed His
people (see the beginning of this)?
So, what do we do?
• The best thing to do is get right with Abba
Father.
• “How do we do that?”
• Not by doing good works, whatever they
may be. Jesus said, “Repent, and believe
the gospel”
• “What is that?”
The Gospel is…
• The Good News that Elohim, the allpowerful God of the universe, came down
to this Earth in the God-man, Yeshua ha
Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah).
• He lived a life of sinless perfection, then
allowed Himself to be executed – a bloody
death by the horrifying method of
crucifixion – the just for the unjust, so that
our sins can be forgiven.
“Anybody’s sins?”
• Anybody’s – Everybody’s sins.”
• ‘By doing what?”
• By repenting – admitting to Abba Father that you
are a sinner worthy of nothing but condemnation
– and believing that what Jesus did on the cross
paid for your sins.”
• “That’s it?”
• Yes. As long as you come to Him with a sincere,
humble heart… Oh, and something else.”
“What else?”
• If you are really genuine, you will also believe
that Abba Father raised Jesus from the dead.
Belief in the Resurrection of Jesus is a sign that
you have genuine faith.
• “That’s all it takes?”
• Read John 3:16: For God so loved the world,
that He gave his only-begotten (one and only)
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish, but will have everlasting life.” It’s all right
there. Abba Father loves you.
“What about good works?”
• There are no good works you can do that
can gain you salvation. Just “believe in the
One He has sent.”
• “No good works?”
• They’ll follow. He said “If you love Me. You
will keep My commandments.”