‘Hatikvah,’ schmooze

interview.

Jellinek asked what makes this event such a success for the Jewish community. “There’s a rich history of Jews in baseball,” Gorodzinsky said. “It’s one sport we’re really very good at. And then, second, we have kosher food at the ballpark. That’s the only time where the community can really enjoy eating hot dogs with everybody else, and that makes it a very special night for us.”

Jellinek pointed out that he himself is Jewish and said part of his introduction to baseball was learning Jewish baseball history. “My grandfather got me a card collection of all the Jewish major leaguers,” he said. “And learning the history through all of that was one of my favorite things in the world.” Gorodzinsky brought up the Jewish community’s recent efforts to combat antisemitism. “We are a small but mighty community in the valley, and we really love being here,” he said. “It is a very welcoming place for everybody, but nationally, unfortunately, we’ve seen a rise of antisemitism, and we’re asking everybody to show their support.”

He offered the listeners some basics about the local Jewish community. “We have a community center, a school,” he said. “We have eight synagogues that are very vibrant. And we have a Jewish Family Service that serves the entire community. It has the only food bank in the 18104 area. So we see our responsibility as not only to take care of the Jewish community, but to take care of our Lehigh Valley community.”

The conversation turned toward the Jewish community’s summertime Camp JCC. “The camp is sold out, which is wonderful,” he said. “And they do have sports at camp — I’m looking forward to the Maccabi Games.”

He said to Jellinek, “Maybe we’ll invite you over so you can be a judge.”

Jellinek liked the idea of participating in the multisport event. “I’d be more than happy,” he said. “If you want me to throw on a headset and broadcast a little bit too, I’d have fun: the official IronPigs radio host at the camp being a judge for the Maccabi Games.”

Meanwhile, members of Congregation Sons of Israel held an evening prayer service off to the side of the front gates.

There were still a few innings left in the game after that. The IronPigs eventually lost, but they made it interesting, rallying for three runs in eighth to come within a point of tying the score.