Today is Day 16 of the Omer. Gevurah sheb’tif’eret. Power that flows from balance. For the second day in a row, during this week of tif’eret, we are honoring a European big man with an all-around game. There are a few players with more balanced games or more balanced interests than Pau Gasol. Lee Jenkins does an excellent job capturing Pau’s love of art, music, … Continue reading Day 16: Kung Pow
Today is 16 days, which is two weeks and two days of the omer: gevurah she’b’tiferet. For my money there’s really only one #16 who demonstrates true “strength through beauty,” and that is one of the greatest athletes of all time, Kansas City Royals outfielder Bo Jackson, a man who played both professional football and professional baseball simultaneously. Jackson ended up playing in nearly 700 … Continue reading day 16: bo (the player, not the parshah)
Today is Day 15 of the Omer. Hesed sheb’tif’eret. Generousity that flows from balance. Today begins weeks 3 of the Omer, the week of tif’eret, which connotes beauty, harmony, balance, and compassion and the different ways they manifest in the world. There are few players in the NBA with a more balanced offensive game than the 25 year old, center, Nikola Jokić. The 7ft, 250 … Continue reading Day 15: Big Honey
Today is 15 days, which is two weeks and one day of the omer: hesed she’b’tiferet. I swear, “Sandy Koufax didn’t play on Yom Kippur” is the baseball equivalent of “Abraham Joshua Heschel marched with King”: that is, a event that absolutely happened, was extremely significant at the time, and unnecessarily overshadows the commitment of many others. (You can experience my soapbox on the Heschel-King relationship here.) … Continue reading day 15: another jewish ballplayer
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
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 three days of the omer: tiferet she’b’hesed. Today Yankees fans can stop being mad at me (see yesterday’s post) as I honor one of their best: The Bambino, The Sultan of Swat, four-time WS winner, one of the first inaugural five HoFers, perhaps the greatest baseball player of all time, the singular Babe Ruth. (Also perhaps the player with the most nicknames of all … Continue reading day 3: the bambino
Tif’eret, often translated as beauty, compassion, or harmony, is the perfect integration of hesed (love) and gevurah (power). So on Day 3 of the Omer, we are going with the woman that Doris Burke calls the “most versatile women’s basketball player that we have ever laid eyes on.” The 2x WNBA MVP and the 2016 WNBA champion is the perfect blend of power and finesse. … Continue reading Day 3: She Got Game
Omertime 