Today is 11 days, which is one week and four days of the omer: netzach she’big’vurah. I will always have a soft spot for Ryan Zimmerman because he and the Nationals and I all arrived in D.C. at the same time, in 2005. For many years, I split Nationals season tickets with several friends, and I regularly cheered for the home team — except of course when … Continue reading day 11: mr. national
Today is Day 10. Tif’eret sheb’gevurah. Beauty that emerges from strength. All-American in high school. Two-time national champion in college. Voted the top collegiate point guard in the country three times. College player of the year as a senior. Number one draft pick. Three championships in the pros. Eleven All-Star appearances. The all-time assists leader. Four time Olympic gold medalist. You may be racking … Continue reading Day 10: Name the Player
Is hockey hard? I don’t know, you tell me. We need to have the strength and power of a football player, the stamina of a marathon runner, and the concentration of a brain surgeon. But we need to put all this together while moving at high speeds on a cold and slippery surface while five other guys use clubs to try and kill us, oh … Continue reading Gevurah – גבורה
Today is 10 days, which is one week and three days of the omer: tiferet she’big’vurah. I’m not totally sure why day 10 has given me such fits, but I had a hard time deciding whom I should highlight today. Chipper Jones, Phil Rizzuto, Miguel Tejada, Lefty Grove — but I’m finally happy with Expos and Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson for this day of “splendor within strength.” Dawson … Continue reading day 10: the hawk
Today is Day 9 of the Omer. Gevurah sheb’gevurah. Pure Power. Today is gevurah sheb’gevurah, power manifesting with power. I’ve always known that today would be about highlighting a player who dominated in the paint, but since Day 9 falls on Shabbat, we’ve got a double portion: two all-time greats and double-double machines who dominated the early years in their professional leagues. Bob Petit was … Continue reading Day 9: A Double Double Portion
Today is nine days, which is one week and two days of the omer: gevurah she’big’vurah.* Even if Red Sox right fielder Ted Williams hadn’t worn #9, I would have considered him for the day of gevurah she’big’vurah. There’s no way this outsize figure could be the pick for anything other than a double sefirah day. I will first admit that I find these double sefirot days a bit … Continue reading day 9: teddy ballgame
Today is Day 8 of the Omer. Hesed sheb’gevurah. Love emanating from strength. Kemba Walker is a special person. It’s hard to find someone who has something bad to say about him. For this project, I’ve generally given weight to how long a player has worn a particular jersey number, but even though this is the first year that Kemba has worn #8, he’s … Continue reading Day 8: Kemba
Today is Day 7 of the Omer. Malchut sheb’hesed. Love that manifests as Kingship. It’s the final day of week 1, the week of hesed. According to the kabbalistic way of counting the Omer, each week ends with the attribute of malchut, meaning kingship or sovereignty. So on Day 7, when love manifests itself as royalty, we are going with The King in the North. … Continue reading Day 7: The King in the North
Today is eight days, which is one week and one day of the omer: hesed she’big’vurah. Today Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun was a contender because he’s Jewish (and you know, a pretty good ball player), but using PEDs, denying it, attacking the test collector, and only later admitting his use is not #goodfortheJews. Instead I’m going with Reds second baseman Joe Morgan — and not just because … Continue reading day 8: little joe
Today is still seven days of the omer, but my email reminds me that it’s also “Jackie Robinson Day” around the MLB, a celebration declared in 1997 by retiring his number, 42, league-wide — and then commemorated since 2004 by all players’ wearing his number in the day’s games. On April 15, 1947, Robinson walked out into Ebbets Field to help the Brooklyn Dodgers in … Continue reading day 7 bonus: #42
Omertime 