This week, America tuned in for baseball. Not just Cubbies fans or Clevelanders, but more than 40 million people were watching this epic battle. The highest baseball ratings in 25 years. And the game delivered in storybook fashion.
What was the secret to the Cubs' victory? The refusal to allow 108 years of history to hold them back. Instead, they chose to focus on simply playing baseball, the way it says in the book.
We can also experience moments when we feel like the cards are stacked against us. It can feel like we are drowning in the floodwaters of worry. Anxiety about business, family, or even one's own personal growth. It's like you are swimming against the tide, stuck beneath a relentless waterfall. It's an extended slump, where after going 0-4 for ten straight games you can question whether you even deserve to be a major leaguer.
How do we overcome this? How do we recover from this dark situation? Hashem tells Noach during the Great Flood "Bo el haTayva - come into the ark".
In Hebrew, Tayva has another meaning as well - it means "word". The way to recover from a personal flood is to re-enter into the words of prayer and Torah study. Not to focus on the negative that is enveloping us, instead to focus on increasing positive energy around us. To play for the potential of tomorrow, not to wallow in the misery of yesterday.
To do that, let's look into the book our coach gave us (Torah Studies is off to a great start - join us on Wednesday evenings!), reconnect with the basics, and just play good baseball.
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Tonight, we are celebrating Chabad of Petaluma's One Year Anniversary, as we look forward to a continuously brighter Jewish future in Petaluma. Please join us at 5:15pm, or stop in and sayL'chaim - to Life!
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Dovid Bush
Pictured: Daniel Eleff, a fellow Chabad guy and CEO of DansDeals.com, throws out the ceremonial first pitch of Game 7, all while proudly sporting the traditional Tzitzit under his team Jersey. Way to go!
ב"ה