opinion
BY SAUL AXELROD
T he High Holidays are here;
invariably, the discussion gets
around to the time when pitching great
Sandy Koufax (1935-) refused to pitch
in the fi rst game of the 1965 World
Series because it coincided with Yom
Kippur. What is less well known is that,
throughout his career, during both
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and
sometimes Passover, Koufax did not
play. Also, Hank Greenberg, the only
other Jewish American in the National
Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum,
did not play in a game during the
1934 World Series because it fell on
Yom Kippur.

What is it about Sandy Koufax that
sucks the air out of the room when
pitching greatness is discussed?
How did Koufax become a metaphor
for pitching perfection? Why do call-
ers to sports talk shows still say,” I
am not claiming that this guy is the
Sandy Koufax, 1960
next Sandy Koufax, but I am saying
he is a great prospect.” Why is it that
my grandchildren, born four decades
after Koufax retired, are familiar with the name in the World Series, a bewildered Mickey Mantle
Sandy Koufax? (Okay, Saba Saul has something asked the umpire, “Am I supposed to hit that?"
to do with that.)
Here are just a few statistics. Phillies’ great Cliff
Here is the argument against regarding Koufax Lee pitched six shutouts during his career. Koufax
as the greatest all-time pitcher: Koufax played 12 hurled 11 shutouts in one year, 1963, and 40 in a
years in the major leagues, drafted out of college. career that ended when he was 30. In 2021, no
Koufax’s fi rst six seasons were mediocre. He isn’t major league pitcher completed more than three
even the winningest Jewish left-handed pitcher! games, and all MLB pitchers combined for 21 com-
(Ken Holtzman is.) Does this sound like pitching plete games. Koufax threw 27 complete games in
greatness? Read on.

both 1965 and 1966 – and 137 in his career.

The argument for his unmatched greatness
How great was Sandy Koufax? In his last season
is that during the next six years Koufax pitched with the Dodgers, he won 27 games as the team
better than any other human has ever pitched. He captured the National League pennant. The year
was so good that major leaguers regarded him after he retired, the Dodgers were in seventh
as a visitor from a higher league unfairly pitching place – more than 20 games out of fi rst place.

against mere major leaguers.

Nicknamed “the left arm of God,” he did all this
When iconic Yankee manager Casey Stengel with a severely arthritic, remarkably painful left
was asked to name the greatest pitcher, he elbow!
replied, “that Jewish kid.” Koufax was so good
Koufax was admired not only as a pitcher
that the Phillies once called off a game ostensi- but also as a person. At the end of the 20th
bly because of a few sprinkles to avoid playing century, Sports Illustrated chose Koufax as the
against him. (I know. I had tickets.) Atlanta Braves greatest left-handed pitcher of the 20th century.

superstar Hank Aaron claimed that the best thing (Greenberg was chosen as the greatest fi rst base-
about Koufax’s retirement was that he no longer man). But Sports Illustrated also chose Koufax as
had to face him. After striking out against Koufax its Favorite Athlete of the 20th Century, an honor
16 SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
achieved for his character and the
personal model he was he was for
other athletes.

At Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles,
there is a statue of Sandy Koufax
fl anking a statue of Jackie Robinson.

Robinson was subjected to humiliat-
ing taunts from opposing players and
fans as the fi rst African-American
person to play in the major leagues.

Greenberg was a constant source
of support for Robinson, whom
Robinson described as the fi nest
human being he had played against.

It is easy to imagine Koufax playing a
similar role had he pitched a genera-
tion earlier.

Koufax’s unmatched greatness
can be compared to Beethoven
and the nine symphonies he com-
posed. Haydn wrote more than 100
symphonies, many of them clas-
sics. Yet, no serious musicologist
would argue that Beethoven was
not the greatest symphonist. Any
Google search of the greatest sym-
phonies will reveal the dominance of
Beethoven. Brahms was intimidated
by Beethoven’s symphonies; it took
him almost two decades to compose
his First Symphony.

When Koufax retired, a local reporter wrote that
you must go back to Babe Ruth to fi nd a sports
star of his magnitude. As for a model for the kids?
Judah the Maccabee?
There was a mystique to Koufax that increased
his appeal. He was blessed with dark handsome
looks but with shyness and humility that increased
his aura. He was mobbed at autograph shows to
the relative exclusion of other superstars. When
Koufax appeared at an event, the fans did not
cheer; they screamed.

Yet he shunned the spotlight and rarely gave
interviews. One minor exception occurred when
a member of the Jewish press asked him why
he did not pitch on Yom Kippur. His one-word
response was, “respect.” He gave it, and he got it.

Can someone who pitched well for only six
years be considered the greatest of all time? I will
leave the answer to that childish question to oth-
ers while I relax and listen to Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony. JE
Saul Axelrod of Elkins Park is a professor emeritus
of education at Temple University.

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 / University of Southern California. Libraries and California Historical Society
Recognize the Greatness of
Sandy Koufax



opinion
BY JEFF RUBIN
For the Sin We Have Sinned by
Making People Feel Unwelcome
at Synagogues
PEXELS.COm / COTTONBRO
I have been shocked lately by the number of my
friends who have left synagogues because of a
pattern of unkind remarks from rabbinic and volunteer
leaders. A Jew-by-choice belittled. A twenty-
something shamed. A professional demeaned.

Jewish Twitter is full of accounts by Jews by
choice or Jews of color who have been challenged,
patronized or “othered” when they show up in
Jewish spaces. Essayists lament that too many
synagogues don’t seem welcoming or sensitive to
single parents or don’t accommodate people with
disabilities. Saying and doing hurtful things is not just ethi-
cally wrong, it’s destructive to organizations and
has no place in the sacred communities that con-
gregations strive to be.

As any marketer will tell you, it is far cheaper to
keep a customer than to acquire a new one — and
synagogues can’t afford to alienate a single con-
gregant. With the ranks of the unaffiliated growing,
according to Pew’s 2020 study, synagogue leaders
need to watch what they say to keep, welcome and
attract members.

The Pew study revealed that 7% of American
Jews do not attend synagogue regularly because
they “don’t feel welcome” while another 4% say
“people treat me like I don’t really belong.” During
my dozen years as a Hillel professional we invested
heavily in training staff to create environments that
welcomed and engaged Jewish students of all
backgrounds, regardless of how they looked, loved
or worshiped. My first encounter with Hillel when I
was just a high school senior ended poorly: Visiting
Boston University’s Hillel, I was so put off by a com-
ment that I didn’t apply to the school.

Of course this is a problem as old as Judaism
itself. On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, we read the
story of Hannah, the distraught woman who came to
the Tabernacle at Shiloh to pray for a cure for infer-
tility. Eli the Priest, seeing her pray silently — here-
tofore an unknown practice — accused her of being
drunk. The priest said to her, “How long will you
make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Sober up!”
Hannah replied, “Oh no, my lord! I am a very
unhappy woman. I have drunk no wine or other
strong drink … I have only been speaking all this
time out of my great anguish and distress.”
“Then go in peace,” said Eli, “and may the God of
Israel grant you what you have asked of Him.”
What if Hannah couldn’t muster the strength
to defend herself and simply walked out of the
Tabernacle — and out of Judaism? What if Eli
did not have the compassion to correct himself?
Would Hannah’s son, Samuel, have been raised
to become a Jewish leader recognized by the
three Biblical faiths as a prophet? How would Eli’s
thoughtless remark have changed history?
The rabbis recognized the toxicity of insults and
cited such remarks as a transgression in one of
the oldest elements of the Yom Kippur service,
the confessional, or Vidui. During the Vidui, wor-
shippers strike their breasts and acknowledge
that they have “smeared” others, “dibarnu dofi.”
Medieval commentator Rashi said the word “dofi”
means “slander” and that it derives from “casting
off” — as if by definition defamation leads to alien-
ation. One prayerbook perceptively renders the
phrase as, “We have destroyed” — a reputation, a
relationship, a communal bond.

Jewish literature is full of guides to proper com-
munication and avoiding evil speech, or “lashon
hara” — from the Psalmist’s admonition, “Guard
your tongue from evil and your lips from speak-
ing deceitfully,” to the Talmudic “Let the honor
of your friend be as dear to you as your own,” to
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan’s masterwork, the “Sefer
Chofetz Chaim,” to Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s excel-
lent book, “Words that Hurt, Words that Heal.”
But how do congregations turn wise words into
action? Linda Rich, a New York-based leadership coach
who counsels synagogues and nonprofits, regards
respectful communication as a core behavior for a
successful congregation, and a congregation that
lives the Jewish values it espouses. Discussion
and disagreement are the signs of a healthy group,
but in the Jewish context they should be civil and
“l’shem shamayin,” for the advancement of sacred
work, not for other motives.

She recommends that volunteers and staff study
the principles that are fundamental to Jewish
life, and sign a covenant to uphold them. When
individuals fail to do so they should be reminded
politely, clearly and directly that they are a valued
member of the congregation, but this behavior
is unacceptable. Try to be positive: Point out that
they can be even more effective leaders if they
watch what they say and adjust their approach.

The congregation should sponsor periodic surveys
or other forms of evaluation to determine how well
the group is fulfilling its duties and covenants.

On Yom Kippur, we reflect on our personal
shortcomings, but we atone as a group. We do not
seek forgiveness “for the sin that I have committed
through my words,” but “for the sin that we have
committed through our words.” Our individual
words have collective impact. The High Holidays
provide a golden opportunity to rethink how those
words affect others and to take steps to change as
individuals and congregations. JE
Jeff Rubin is a writer in the Baltimore-Washington
area. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
17