Most students at the University of Pennsylvania weren’t even born the last time the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. That was back in 1980, when they played against the Kansas City Royals. So collegians here felt they had something to celebrate following the Phillies’ victory against the Tampa Bay Rays to win Major League Baseball’s top title.
Adding its own touch to the festivities, the Chabad-Lubavitch House at the University of Pennsylvania planned to throw a baseball-themed Shabbat kiddush Friday night. With a menu of ballpark favorites like hot dogs and caramel corn, the Jewish student center aimed to provide a spiritual backdrop to all the partying.
“The Lubavitch House is going red,” reported Rabbi Levi Haskelevitch. “We’re doing a little redecorating, getting a cake and maybe even making the matzo balls red.”
Moments after Wednesday night’s victory, Philadelphia’s streets were abuzz with excited crowds. On Thursday, fans couldn’t stop talking about baseball.
On Friday, the city will be throwing a parade in the Phillies’ honor, culminating with a rally at sports complex in South Philadelphia. Rabbi Gedaliah Lowenstein, director of the Jewish Center of Northern Liberties, will be there to hand out Shabbat candles and don tefillin with Jewish men.
“There will be more than 100,000 people between two stadiums, and we want to be there to meet them,” said Lowenstein.
Keeping fans’ perspectives in mind, Haskelevitch saw a religious lesson in the Phillies’ victory. He told students in an e-mail that as he drove through the streets last night watching jubilant fans, he had a “flash-forward.”
“I imagined that in some way this will resemble the days of Moshiach,” said the rabbi. “The long-awaited moment will finally arrive and people will flood into the streets dancing. There will be lots of noise and honking horns, and everyone will toast each other.”
(Source: Chabad.org)
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14 Responses
Rabbi H., keep up the good work! But I beg to differ – when Mashiach comes no one will be turning over cars or rioting.
#1 – you have said it eloquently, and correctly. My hat off to you.
This is what it would be like when Moshiach comes? Will we light cars on fire too?
What color matzoh balls will you give out when Moshiach comes? Yellow? To match their silly yellow Moshiach flags?
Nuts!
Everyone will toast each other except for the Lubavitchers who will hide their face in shame from the true Moshiach…..
Wow, such mature comments. The rioting, that is exactly what the Rabbi meant …. yeh right.
How about thanking Chabad for the wonderful work they do with secular Jews, something I am sure the comentators have not done.
I would take Rabbi’s H & L gan eden over yours in a second.
Keep up the great work and al yovishu mipney hamaligim!!
#5: SO U KNOW WHO MOSHIACH IS? WHY DON’T YOU SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH ALL OF US. AFTER ALL YOU SAY YOU KNOW WHO HE IS NOT. WHILE YOUR AT IT GIVE US A DATE & A TIME, RABBI stam-a-daya-KNOW-IT-ALL.
EITHER WAY HAVE A GUT SHABBOS!!!
Yochi, thank you for your comments. While I do have some problems with Chabad and the moshiach issue, as someone who grew up in a small town, I’ve seen all the good that Chabad does. The kiruv is amazing and in our community, they’ve been especially successful with all the Russian immigrants that came post-Cold War.
Why is this on Yeshiva world?
We don’t wear teffilin outside in front of Goyim ‘sheneemar bo Paer” so that is contrary to halachah and hanhagah and to be mevazeh Shabbos the Yom Lahashem to make it a baseball shabbos, anything to make more Lubavitchers. They use the two most precious commodities to further thier agenda!!
Oy Lanu!!
#7 – Yes, I know who it is not. Or in your language, I KNOW WHO IT IS NOT !!! It is definitely not the one who is reponsible for the destruction of tens of thousands of Jews (not hundreds of thousands as you PR would indicate) off the beaten path of their own forefathers. It is not the one who is reponsible for the destruction of his followers torah learning and subsequent lack of yiras shomayim and lack of tzniyous which is prevalent in your community. It is not the one who has fed his chassidim with a stream of kefira with his half statements of who the Moshiach is. It is not the one who almost every Godal Biyisroel held in comtempt. And finally, it is not the one who had a part in bringing the true Moshiach…..as we shall soon see……NOW!
stam,
And still, despite rebelling against the nasi hador, moshe rabbeinu shebdoreinu, I love you with all my heart.
Moshiach Now!
#10: the more you say the less u show u know. i am not a lubavitcher at all, by-the-way.
SEE #11
#10, the rebbe was a great man who caused a tremendous amount of kiruv, and should be spoken about with respect.
#11, seeing as the rebbe is dead and the world is still a mess, wouldn’t it be impossible for him to moshiach?
mw13,
Melech hamoshiach, al pi halacha and bguf gashmi, you are most probably right – the Rebbe no longer qualifies.
But there is a deeper dimension to moshiach as well. That spark of moshiach that is within every yid. That ruach that existed over the earth since adam harishon – only it was never actualized. And the neshama of moshe and dovid which will ultimately redeem us all – bkarov mamosh!
In this sense I feel that yes, absolutely, the Rebbe is nishmas moshiach, our own Moshe Rabbeinu and He along with all our avos and nesiim will redeem us at any moment. As for whose body it will be, this I don’t know and doesn’t really matter much..
after being disturbed by some of the comments here, I contacted Rabbi H. and discovered that…
1. He neither watched the game, nor did he go to the festivities, nor did he watch or read them. He was only reacting to the joy he heard and saw in the streets the way the chofetz chaim would, when he hears joy and celebration, he thinks… Moshiach…
I wonder if any of the nay sayers here have ever really thought and imagined moshiach’s coming, let alone really waited for him…
2. Tzippy, No where here did Rabbi H. mention turning over cars, and he actually did not know it was going to happen (he told me he doesn’t claim to be a navi)… he certainly agrees that it will be much greater when Moshaich comes…
3. To comment 6: Rabbi H. does not plan on spending time with the “nay sayers” in gan eden, if need be, he’ll be ready to go to Gehenom to be mekarev more yidden.
4. To I knowit number 9: If you seem to “knowit” please tell everyone where this halacha is about not wearing Tefilin in front of Goyim. I can also say tefilin are a pe’er, but that only says that an Ovel doesn’t wear tefilin… In fact, halacha speaks of putting on the teffiln in your home and wearing it to shul, the halacha only discusses the ABSOLUTE passing by “mekomos hametunafim” and not goyim… the shulchan aruch and other codes were not written in cities full of yidden. Actually, the gmeara says that the posuk “and the nations of the world will see the name of G-d upon you and they will fear you” applies to TEFFELIN OF THE HEAD….
GO figure, perhaps you DON’T KNOW IT and some of you are just as ignorant as the next and just inherited the hatred of your grandparens who put the Baal Hatanya in Jail and starved the Lubavitcher bochurim to death in Shanghi because of petty politics…
“In the name of making more Lubavitchers”… I beg to differ, I”m mordern orthodox and I can say that Lubavitch has made more Yeshivish and Modern orthodox Jews then they have made Lubavitchers… beacuse they don’t use brainwashing tactics (like some) and are happy to see people take on a mitzah even if they dont join “their camp”… Just go and ask any baal teshuva, where he started out… you will see the hight number…
5. Last but not least, Lubavitch will be there for all of us, to insult them and later come and “take advantage” of their services with a smile, may it be a free kosher meal in the far east or on vacation someplace or a Mikvah or maybe when someone’s child goes “off the derech on a campus” and the only one to give him unconditional love and genuine care is a chabadnik and we all know it. We always call on them when we need them…. and they do it with a smile depite our disgusting inheritance of hatred…
Let’s think about it…