Why Sandy Koufax sitting out a World Series game still matters 50 years later

By Hillel Kuttler for JTA

Jesse Agler was pretty talented as a catcher and pitcher in Little League, yet his parents benched him regularly.

That’s because the Aglers had a no-baseball-on-Shabbat rule, one cloaked in sports royalty.

“It was a source of frustration as a kid, but I appreciated later what they tried to do,” said Agler, a 33-year-old radio broadcaster for the San Diego Padres who grew up in South Florida. “It goes back to Koufax making the point about that day, that it’s not for baseball.”

Agler was referring to the decision by Sandy Koufax, the star pitcher of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to sit out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series against the Minnesota Twins because it fell on Yom Kippur. Koufax instead started Game 2 the next afternoon. The Dodgers lost both days, but won the championship in seven games.

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Doctor's Orders Tips to Help Your Teens Through a Healthy Yom Kippur Fast

Here are 11 dos and don'ts your teenagers should follow if they are planning to observe this High Holy Day.

Maya Leventer-Roberts for Haaretz
Will your teenagers be fasting this year on Yom Kippur? While teens tend to be more physically resilient than adults in many ways, there are several major reasons why it could be risky for them to fast.

First, teenagers are less likely to be cautious or to listen to their body. Second, they may have undiagnosed medical problems that only show up during the fast. Third, teenagers are still growing, and you cannot always predict their growth or their mood.

Generally, it is safe for healthy teenagers to complete the Yom Kippur fast. But it's also important for an adult to watch out for unexpected changes and help teenagers be reasonable about their approach to fasting.

So, if you're a parent with girls over 12 or boys over 13 years old who are planning to fast this Yom Kippur, here are a few medical tips they should follow in order to do so as safe and healthy as possible: 

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Parenting Jewish Teens

How to help your teens grow as they prepare to leave home.

By Joanne Doades for MyJewishLearning.com

In the Book of Genesis, we encounter many stories of individuals who leave their parents’ homes under difficult circumstances.  For today’s Jewish teens, the struggle for leave-taking begins long before the actual physical event. This is an emotional and often conflict-filled process of separation generally beginning around the time of bar/bat mitzvah, peaking between the ages of 15 to 19, and usually subsiding by the early to mid-twenties.

Peace in the Home

How well Jewish parents handle this natural but challenging process can have a significant impact on shalom bayit, peace in the home, and set the stage for relationships with the soon-to-be-adult children for many years to come. Since the teenage years are such a time of change, experimentation, and identity redefinition, it can be hard for parents to sort out which issues require their attention and which can be ignored. And given the fact that many teens enact the separation process around matters of Jewish observance,  it is not surprising that parents of Jewish teens may find themselves asking the question: “What happened to the child I thought I had raised?!”

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10 Ways to Welcome Teens at the High Holidays

Elena Dufner for rj.org

Looking for innovative opportunities to engage your teens around the High Holidays? These 10 ideas come directly from the source – youth professionals across North America.

1. Communicate in their medium. Use text messages, Instagram and other teen-friendly channels for communicating directly with your teens about teen-specific opportunities. Follow up with parent-friendly emails.

2. Invite teens to be ushers. Start the welcoming at the door by inviting teens to be ushers, where they’ll be visible, interact with people of all ages, and have an integral role during our holiest day of the year.

3. Set aside space for them. Let’s face it: sitting through services for an extended period of time is challenging, especially for high-energy, growing adolescents! Setting aside space for teens to retreat, reflect and recharge helps sustain their energy and make the days enjoyable.

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