Shabbat Shalom!
Today has been a great day for me. But really, it’s been a great year,
especially for sports.
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First, last March, my JCC
basketball team won the county championship.
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Then, in June, my little
league team won the Stamford American little league championship and I pitched
a complete game for my team.
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Then, in the fall, my house
soccer team won the soccer finals for the fourth time!
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And, oh yes, I’m a big Red
Sox and Patriots fan, and we know what happened there. A World Series and Super
Bowl in the same season.
Yeah, yeah…I see your eyes roll!
I have to say, I am one lucky kid.
But with my teams winning, there are a couple of lessons
that I have learned.
Lesson number one: Winning
takes a lot of hard work, focus and determination. Always try your hardest.
When you are trying to win a championship, you can’t take your foot off the gas,
or be satisfied before it is over, and expect to win. Look at the Patriots. A few years ago, they
were losing 28-3 in the Super Bowl. They kept working hard when the other team
took their foot off the gas and thought it was over. The Patriots came back and
won.
My haftarah continues the story of Amalek that was also the
subject of the maftir Torah reading. Amalek
attacked Israel right after they left Egypt.
They did not fight fair – as they attacked them from behind. Israel defeated
them in the Wilderness; but in my haftarah, King Saul, who was ordered to destroy them completely, let’s their king,
Agag off the hook. Because of that, the
nation of Amalek survived, and their descendant, Haman, nearly destroyed the
Jewish people. The holiday of Purim,
which we celebrate this week, tells that part of the story.
A second lesson that I’ve learned about winning is that you
need teamwork. The winning teams that I have been on had kids that worked
together and didn’t rely on one player to win. Plus, it’s important always to
be humble and support each other.
In soccer and basketball, you can’t score without
passing. And in baseball, you’ve got to work
together in the field to get the out and encourage teammates who are up at bat
to get a hit.
Eventually, the Jewish people came together through teamwork
and support for each other and defeated the evil Haman.
For my mitzvah project, I am working with two organizations.
First, I am working with an organization called Little Wonder. Little Wonder
helps people with cancer enjoy themselves a little bit as they go through
treatment. They get tickets to local sporting events, shows, and other
entertainment to give to people with cancer. Little Wonder is currently working
with 21 hospitals in the state of Connecticut. This Mitzvah project is
dedicated to my grandparents Beverly and Fred, who I never met because they
both passed away from cancer before I was born. Thanks to you, my family and
friends; I was able to achieve my goal of raising 1000 dollars in total (I have
actually raised over 2000 dollars so far!).
The second organization I am supporting is called Leveling
The Playing Field, which provides sports equipment to children who wouldn’t
otherwise have the right equipment to play. Most of you know that I love sports
and I am lucky to have the equipment that I need to play. Others are not as
lucky as I am. So I am collecting sports equipment to donate to them. In this
way, I’m playing a small part in doing what real winners have to do – which is
to help others to become winners too.
Please consider donating if you haven’t already and thank
you to those who have already donated.
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