Eizehu Gibor: Living Jewish Values

Page 76

Kiddush ha-Shem Hero: Hank Greenberg major leagues, the insults became a major thing. He told his biographer, “Everybody got it. Italians were wops, Germans were krauts, and the Polish players were dumb polacks. Me, I was a kike or a sheeny or a mockey. The only thing that bothered me was there were a lot of Italians, Germans, and Poles, but I was the only Jewish player who was making a name for himself, and so they reserved a little extra for me….”

Jewish Baseball Player If you know some baseball history, you know that Sandy Koufax was a Jewish baseball player who did not play on Yom Kippur. If you’ve got a really good sense of baseball history, you know that Hank Greenberg was the “original” Jewish baseball player who did not play on Yom Kippur. The Greenbergs kept a kosher home and sent Hank to Hebrew school. Like every other Jewish family, they were expecting college and then great success. They had high hopes for their son — he would become a professional man: a doctor, a lawyer or a teacher. When he decided to become a professional ballplayer, it was a disappointment, but in time his parents accepted his love for baseball and his need to play the game.

Yom Kippur In 1934 the Tigers were in a battle for the pennant, Hank was hitting .339, and September 10 was the both a critical game and Rosh ha-Shanah. Hank played and hit two home runs, and the Tigers won. Ten days later, on Yom Kippur, Greenberg did not play, and the Tigers lost. They went on to win the pennant, but they lost the World Series, however Greenberg became the first Jewish Most Valuable Player. In 1938 Hank came within two runs of breaking Babe Ruth’s record, and in May 1940 he became the highest-paid player. He also was the first baseball player to enlist in the army and serve in World War II. Even though he could have been excused because of his age, Hank chose to do his patriotic duty. After the war, at age thirty-four, Hank returned to baseball.

Hank graduated high school and enrolled in New York University, but devoted much more time to semipro ball. The Yankees watched Greenberg for a long time, but it was the Detroit Tigers who offered him a chance to play pro ball. He talked them into delaying for three years so that he could keep his promise and complete his college education. Being a First Jewish Baseball player Hank started out playing triple-A ball in Raleigh, North Carolina. At first he didn’t fit in. He told this story about that experience: “One day I was standing on the field when I became aware of a teammate walking slowly around me, staring. ‘What are you looking at?’ I asked. ‘Nothing,’ he said, ‘I just never seen a Jew before.’ The way it was said, he might have said, ‘I’ve never seen a giraffe before.’ I let him keep looking for a while, and then he said, ‘I just don’t understand it. You look just like everyone else.’”

Class Tells Hank Greenberg is known for his redesign of the modern first baseman’s mitt, making it into a huge trap. When Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player, entered the league, Hank was one of the few players who was friendly. Jackie said, “Class tells. It sticks out all over Mr. Greenberg.” Hank Greenberg had a difficult time in professional baseball. He faced lots of anti-Semitism and faced it with dignity. He lived kiddush ha-Shem, bringing respect to the Jewish people.

In 1933 Hank was brought up from the minors to play for the Detroit Tigers. Now that he was in the 75


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Articles inside

Rebecca Gratz

4min
pages 98-99

Talmud Torah

2min
pages 96-97

Jonas Salk

4min
pages 88-89

Danny Siegel

4min
pages 92-93

Tzedakah

1min
pages 90-91

Pikuah Nefesh

2min
pages 84-85

Debbie Friedman

4min
pages 80-81

Henrietta Szold

4min
pages 86-87

Craig Taubman

2min
pages 82-83

Hank Greenberg

5min
pages 76-77

Hannah Szenes

2min
pages 74-75

Moses

3min
pages 70-71

Kiddush ha-Shem

2min
pages 72-73

Anavah

1min
pages 66-67

Albert Einstein

2min
pages 68-69

Rabbi Mark Borovitz

4min
pages 62-63

John Paul ll

3min
pages 64-65

Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof

2min
pages 54-55

T’shuvah

1min
pages 60-61

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

3min
pages 58-59

Justice Louis Brandeis

4min
pages 56-57

Rabbi Regina Jonas

3min
pages 50-51

Golda Meir

3min
pages 46-47

Rabbi Leo Baeck

3min
pages 52-53

Ometz Lev

1min
pages 48-49

Theodor Herzl

4min
pages 44-45

Robert and Myra Kraft

4min
pages 38-39

Tzionut

2min
pages 42-43

Gershom Sizomu

3min
pages 40-41

Zikaron

2min
pages 30-31

Dov Noy

3min
pages 34-35

Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh ba-Zeh

1min
pages 36-37

Elie Wiesel

4min
pages 32-33

The Four Chaplains

4min
pages 28-29

Yitzhak Rabin

4min
pages 26-27

Lenny Krayzelburg

4min
pages 22-23

Shmirat ha-Teva

1min
pages 12-13

Shmirat ha-Guf

1min
pages 18-19

Rodef Shalom

1min
pages 24-25

David Ben-Gurion

4min
pages 14-15

The Maccabiah Games

3min
pages 20-21

Tikkun Olam

1min
pages 6-7

Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis

2min
page 8
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