Hank Greenberg

Kiddush ha-Shem Hero: Hank Greenberg

Jewish Bas eball Play er

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. 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 Bas eball play er

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

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….”

Yom Kipp ur

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.

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.

Kiddush ha-Shem Text: Rabbi Shimon Ben Shetah

In Talmudic times rabbi was not a job, it was something that people did after work. Rabbis did not take money for teaching Torah, for helping people solve problems using Torah or for helping a person find inner peace. Rabbi Shimon ben Shetah was the best teacher in Jerusalem, and he was old and poor. During the day, to earn his living, he sold cloth door to door, and he taught hundreds of students at night. His students knew that he would not take money for his teaching, so they decided to buy him a gift.

They chipped in and bought him a donkey. They got the donkey from a non-Jew. To make sure that the deal was clear, they repeated to him the Jewish first rule of acquisition: “We give you the money. You give us to the reins to the donkey. When we pull on the reins and the donkey takes a step, the donkey, the saddle, the blanket, the bridle and even the fleas on the donkey are ours.” When they gave the donkey to their rabbi and showed him how to take care of it, a ruby fell out from between the saddle and the blanket. Rabbi Shimon ben Shetah told his students to return the ruby to the donkey seller. They told the rabbi, “Because we were clear about how we made the deal, the law says that the ruby is yours.” The rabbi said, “The law is one thing, but derekh eretz, the right thing to do, says that you have to return it.” When they returned to the donkey salesman he was tearing his business apart, hunting for the ruby. When they returned it he made it clear that he knew the law and that it was theirs. When they still gave it back, he fell down on his knees and said, “God bless the God of Rabbi Shimon ben Shetah.”

Jerusalem Talmud, Bava Metzia , ii. 8c

1. H ow is this a kiddush ha-Shem story? 2. H ow was Hank Greenberg like Rabbi Shimon ben Shetah? (How did he do kiddush ha-Shem?)