04 Feb SUPER BOWL MUSINGS

They told me this morning
at the Daf that Super Bowl
Sunday is the busiest pizza
day of the year. And 1.33
billion chicken wings
will be consumed! As
everyone gets ready for
a gastronomic infusion, I
would also like to weigh-in
with some thoughts. At the
outset, I would like to make a very un-American
confession: I really don’t like football. I just don’t
relish the idea of watching people hitting another
human being down to the ground. However, as
I realize that millions of people do not share my
feelings, but are rather glued to this sport, I would
like to share some thoughts on this very American
pastime.
The Chofetz Chaim, Zt”l, Zy”a, used to say that
we could learn something vital from everything
that goes on around us. He would say that, from
the telegraph, we learn that every word counts.
From the radio, we are taught that something said
on one side of the world can make an impact even
on people on the other side of the world. From
trains we learn that being even one minute late
can make all the difference in the world. I would
like to suggest that from the sport of football we
could also learn many vital fundamentals of life.

One of the basics of the game is that you have
four tries to get to a first down. Many strategies
and machinations are employed to reach that
objective of a first down – and a whole new start.
This is a very important Jewish philosophy for
life. The Torah Jew is always trying to make a
fresh start. In Ashrei, which we say three times a
day, we conclude with the statement, “Va’anachnu
n’vareich Kah, mei’atah v’ad olam, Hallelu-Kah
-And we will bless G-d, from now and forever, we
will praise him.” The word mei’atah, from now, is
extremely puzzling. After all, this is not the first
time we are saying Ashrei. Many of us have been
saying Ashrei three times a day, every day, for
many decades. Yet, each time we say ‘from now!’
The reason we do so is that we are emphasizing
that each time our praise is new, it’s fresh, it’s
a new start – and, from now on, it will be more
meaningful, more heartfelt. We say this every time
because each time we’re going for a first down.
The smart person is always trying to make a new
start in his or her Torah studies. He doesn’t make
the mistake of looking back and crying over all of
the wasted years. He doesn’t sigh about what he
could have known by now -for this is the road to
yiush- hopelessness, despair, and giving up. Rather,
he looks to make a new start. For example, he looks
to start the DafYomi cycle this coming March.
This is why the Jewish People are always

compared to the moon – for it constantly renews
itself. We, too, try not to become stale in our
marriages but rather attempt to always make a
fresh start, a new approach to our relationship
with our life’s mate. Indeed, the laws of Taharas
HaMishpochah are explained in Masechtas
Niddah to achieve the ideal that a wife should
always be to her husband like a kallah, a new bride.
The objective of football is to score a touchdown.
This too is a very important lesson. In life, we need
to focus on goals. Too many people live aimlessly
and routinely without defined ambitions and goals.
In order to succeed in the “game” of life, we need
to establish a set of goals for ourselves. Such
goals might include spending a certain amount of
time per week with each of our children; it might
embrace giving a certain amount of our income
to tzedakah; it might include ambitions of Torah
study such as being ma’aver sedra, reviewing
the weekly parsha each and every week with the
goal of finally finishing Chumash and Rashi from
cover to cover; it might be a halachic ambition to
get an overall knowledge of the Mishnah Bernrah
or the Kitzur Shulchan Orech; it might be the
aim of finally learning the meaning of all of our
daily prayers including the Shir shel Yorn, the
Daily Psalm. Our goals might also include plans
to finally learn Tanach – something many of us
were unable to ‘tackle’ during our yeshiva days.
Of course, there are many other goals such as
giving parents nachas, helping one’s spouse
fulfill a dream, acquiring a good friend, doing
something for your community, visiting Eretz
Yisroel, and many others.
We will find that when we set goals for
ourselves, our life will take on a much more
purposeful and meaningful existence. And with
the fulfillment of our goals, comes the joys and
thrills of scoring touchdowns.
Then, there’s the field goal. Sometimes, when
a team is at the 4th down and the objective
of scoring a touchdown in the conventional
manner is bleak, the coach will opt for a second
best – to kick – with the hope of scoring a field
goal. While it’s only 3 points instead of 6 or
7, it’s far better than nothing at all. This too
is a very great lesson. Sometimes, our goals
are too grandiose and, when we attempt to
do too much, we fall on our faces and end up
accomplishing nothing. This is why so many
of our new year’s resolutions are left behind in
the dust – since, when we made our kabolos,
our commitments, we tried to do too much.
A classic example of this problem is when
someone is motivated to pray with more
kavanah, more concentration. He or she
attempts to go cold turkey from no kavanah
at all, all the way to concentrating on every
single word. This is setting oneself up for
almost certain failure and disappointment. It
behooves us to think about the words of the
Orchos Chaim L’HaRosh who says that we
should aim to have kavanah in the first bracha
of Shemone Esrei and the first chapter of Krias
Shema. Likewise, if we see that we can’t find
time to be with our children every day, let’s at
least go for a field goal and find ample time for
them over the weekend instead of giving up
entirely. This concept can be applied to most
areas of life.

Finally, when the receiver catches the football, he
runs and employs evasive maneuvers with one sole
aim – not to get tackled. He never turns around
and puts up a fight. Our Yeitzer Hara, the evil
inclination, is likewise constantly attempting to
tackle and derail us from our spiritual mission. The
wise person learns to employ evasive maneuvers
in order not to come head-to-head with the Yeitzer
Hara. Indeed, the Gemora teaches us, in Masechtas
Avodah Zarah, that if one has the choice of two
roads to take, and one of those paths passes by
women while they are bathing, if he chooses to
take that path (figuring that he will turn away when
he comes to that area) he is considered a rasha.
Such is the condemnation for one who opts for
open confrontation with the Yeitzer Hara!
Therefore, when we are in Shul, we should not
choose to sit at the table (which is generally
located in the back) where people are talking.
Similarly, if we know that a group of people is
talking Shul politics, neighborhood politics, school
politics, bungalow politics, or office politics, we
should head for the hills rather than pa1ticipate in
such potentially spiritually lethal conversations.
Remember, the name of the “game” is to avoid
being tacked at all costs. Exposing our children to
unfiltered or unsupervised Internet is like standing
in the middle of the football field and proclaiming,
“Come! Hit me!” Similarly, hanging around with
the wrong crowd can be detrimental to married life
and, of course, to yeshiva boys and girls as well.
May it be the will of Hashem that we can follow
these “rules” improving our lives, and earning the
blessings of Hashem for a long life, good health,
and everything wonderful.