"I have this customer," begins Zeisler. "He calls his Rabbi and says, 'Rabbi? I have a problem. I have tickets to the Phillies/St. Louis game and it's Yom Kippur. What should I do?'"Forgive us, pardon us, grant us a slot in the League Championship Series. HT: #yomkippurbaseball.
"No problem," says the Rabbi. "You can record it!"
"Oh!" the customer cries. "That's great! I didn't know you could record Kol Nidre!"
Related: FanGraphs on Jews playing baseball on Yom Kippur.
Added: My Rabbi speaks:
Rabbi Avi Winokur, of Society Hill Synagogue, says American Jews have a rich history with baseball.
“The relationship of Jews to baseball is a really fascinating one. Baseball was for Jews, and for many immigrant groups in those days, a way that they learned how to become American,” Winokur said.
Winokur says he will not be policing his congregation to make sure they are not checking the baseball score but he hopes they will have their minds in the right place.
“I hope and pray that the members of my synagogue, while they’re in synagogue, will keep their mind on their prayers,” Winokur said.
