Just as governors and mayors make friendly wagers over sports championships, the Conservative rabbis Erez Sherman and Jarrod Grover, of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles and Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto, respectively, told JNS that they are betting on their hometown teams in the World Series between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays.
The best-of-seven World Series between the Los Angeles and Toronto teams begins on Friday night.
The rabbis, who are friends, told JNS they agree that the one whose team loses the series will wear a jersey of his colleague’s winning team in synagogue during the concluding prayer of Adon Olam (“Master of the world”) on Shabbat services.
Whoever wins, both rabbis plan to donate to a Jewish charity, which the winning rabbi will select.
“It’s something fun that we’re doing, and I feel Dodger-blue,” Sherman, a sports aficionado and host of the “Rabbi on the Sidelines” podcast, told JNS.
On his faith and sports podcast, Sherman has interviewed then-Auburn Tigers coach Bruce Pearl, who has been a strong Israel supporter, and Dan Shulman, a Canadian analyst who works for ESPN and does play-by-play coverage for the Blue Jays.
The rabbi told JNS that Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese star who recovered from a poor performance against the Philadelphia Phillies to have an unprecedented game against the Milwaukee Brewers, is “unbelievable.”
In game four of the National League championship series, the Dodgers’ star hit three home runs and pitched and struck out 10 batters. “We haven’t seen anything like it,” Sherman told JNS.
The rabbi told JNS that he feels bad for Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Orion Kerkering, who lost a game to the Dodgers on a throwing error. “You want your team to win a home run and not on a play like that,” he said.
Sherman wouldn’t guarantee a victory but said that the way the Dodgers are playing, “They’re unstoppable.”
Grover is inclined to agree. “We’re rabbis. We can pray for miracles, can’t we?” he told JNS. “We’ve been waiting a very long time to see the Blue Jays make it to the end. We have Blue Jays fever in the city.”
‘We love errors’
The Toronto rabbi spoke to JNS from near the Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays’ home field with a retractable roof.
He enjoyed seeing George Springer hit a go-ahead, three-run home run to left field to defeat the Seattle Mariners in game seven of the American League championship series.
The last time the Blue Jays won the World Series was in 1993. But though the Dodgers are heavy favorites to repeat after winning last year, Grover hopes that Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the Blue Jays will offset a stacked Dodgers lineup, with Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, and pitcher Blake Snell.
When he watches sports, the rabbi remembers the humanity of the game.
“These are people playing, not robots. Not artificial intelligence,” he said. “Anything can happen. That’s part of the excitement of sports. We love upsets. We love errors. We love players you didn’t expect to hit grand slams hit grand slams.”
The rabbinic friends are ready to humiliate themselves by wearing an opposing jersey during Shabbat services, according to Grover. He wouldn’t tell JNS which Jewish charity he would select if his team wins.
Sherman told JNS he isn’t worried that his congregants and other Los Angelenos will be spoiled if their team repeats this year.
“People like to find moments of joy wherever they can,” he said. “Sports is one way.”
