Shabbat Sermon: Distance Travelled with Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz




From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life show

Summary: <p> Every August there is a show called <em>Hard Knocks</em> about the training camp of an NFL football team.  This year the show focused on the New York Jets because of their new quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  If you are not a football fan, Aaron Rodgers was a legendary  quarterback of the Green Bay Packers where he won both a Super Bowl and the Most Valuable Player of the league four times—two times in the last three years.  Rodgers was thought to be the missing piece that would help the New York Jets compete for a Super Bowl this year.  The Jets had a lot of stars on their team, but they were missing a great quarterback. Aaron Rodgers was that great quarterback, their missing piece.  His presence created tremendous excitement and expectations. <em>Hard Knocks</em> devoted five full episodes to the building, mounting, surging, soaring excitement that the Jets, so mediocre for so long, were now about to have their moment.</p> <p>            I watched all five episodes.  I did it for our congregation since I was searching for High Holiday content.  The basic plot line of all five episodes is: yay!! Aaron Rodgers is coming to New York.  The excitement mounts.   </p> <p>             Then came the first game. It did not follow the plan.</p>