This past year of COVID has been difficult for many of us. Sure, some of us probably did something productive with all the extra time in-doors. Maybe some of us learned to bake bread, paint, or finally built that home gym and have spent the past ten months or so working out and getting fit. Probably. But for many of us, this has been one long grim year of disappointment. We’ve burned through everything half-way decent on Netflix and developed a first-name relationship with far too many pizza delivery men.  Suffice to say, we haven’t been at our best.

Thankfully, the new year is a time to change that. With a vaccine on the horizon and the promise of a return to normalcy, 2021 should be a year about appreciating what we have and making the world a better place. It should be about tikkun olam.

Tikkun olam is a term that dates back thousands of years to what is called the Mishnaic period in Jewish studies which means to "repair the world.” In its earliest incarnations, this repair referred to legal amendments, updating the laws of the land to make things more fair and just, specifically to try and protect the vulnerable in society. But the term has taken on a variety of meanings in modern times, morphing into an active responsibility to improve the world God has given us. It’s the difference between a duty to not cause harm to the planet or to another person, and the duty to heal harms that have been committed, address them, and improve the world going forward to prevent those harms from happening again.

It can sound a little hippy-ish, and there are definitely those out there who chant "tikkun olam” without truly considering their actions, but the core idea is very affirming for Jews and Christians alike. God has given us this world and we are all brothers and sisters in his eyes. What kind of family let’s their home run to wreck and ruin? What would God think of us if we ignored a brother or sister in need? Repairing the world starts at home and it starts with all of us.

There is a Jewish concept called "mitzvot” which roughly translates into "good deeds.” These good deeds can be religious (such as observing the sabbath) but can also be ethical actions of any sort. Feeding the hungry would be a clear mitzvot, as would holding the door open for someone with their arms full. Great and small, any kind of good deed contributes to a more whole and perfect world.

Obviously, this is a very broad interpretation, which is why tikkun olam can sometimes be the subject of debate. One person’s idea of what is best for the world may differ from another’s. So, it’s difficult to draw a roadmap that says "this is how you practice tikkun olam.” That answer is going to be a little different for everybody.

But while the specifics may be hard to pin down, the overriding principals are not. Do good wherever you can at whatever scale you’re capable of. If everyone does their own small part, we can make the world a better place, a place that treats the gifts God has given us with the respect and reverence they deserve.

Best of all, it’s good for you! Practicing tikkun olam isn’t just about helping others, it’s also about helping yourself. When you approach every day looking for ways to make the world a better place you gain a sense of accomplishment and purpose. There is a drive behind every day that guides and sustains you, replacing apathy and fear with caring and excitement. We don’t have to take the world as it is, every single one of us has the power to make some small change!

Could there be a better answer to the cloud of negativity and uncertainty that has hung over us through all of 2020? Let’s escape the shadow of COVID and strife and fill 2021 with a renewed (and distinctly Israeli) sense of optimism and purpose. Look for mitzvot opportunities in your life and commit to repairing the world in this new and better year.

There is no denying it, 2020 has been a bummer year. For the last ten months we’ve all lived our lives holding our breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sanitizing after every interaction, wearing a mask everywhere you go, home schooling the kids, dealing with workplace disruptions, we’ve been through the wringer! But by and large, we’ve handled it well! By and large, we’ve come together as a community and a society and have done the unpleasant but necessary things to protect ourselves. 

But now it’s Christmas and it’s getting harder.

It’s one thing to adapt to a new normal of masks and disinfectant in April, we dealt with it like champs. Having to avoid the beach and campgrounds during the summer to stay safe was no fun, but we all understood that you must have the right priorities during a pandemic. But now, after almost an entire year of playing it safe and doing what was necessary, we face a Christmas that barely resembles Christmas. A holiday season with no major gatherings, no sharing a meal with old friends, no getting together with the extended family, and a vastly different church experience than we’re used to. Even the most stoic among us beginning to feel the strain.

I heard someone describe COVID as not just a virus of the body, but a virus of loneliness, and I think that is absolutely true. It’s hard to comprehend the full emotional and spiritual damage this year of isolation and fear has done to us and now we face our greatest challenge yet. For so many of us, the Christmas season is a much-needed restart button, a chance to refresh, recover, and focus on the year ahead. But under COVID, Christmas isn’t bringing joy and peace, it’s bringing fear and uncertainty.

Don’t let the virus ruin the season for you. While things are definitely different this year, there are still ways to find comfort and joy at the end of this crazy mixed up year.

I get it, after ten months of this mess, nobody wants to hear "maybe you can connect with the family on a zoom call!” Being able to talk and see family and friends over the net is a blessing, but it’s no substitute for the real thing. God made us as social creatures, and there is no way a conversation with a computer screen is going to fill in for what we’re missing. That said, there are ways to bring the virtual connection a little closer to home!

Instead of just getting together for a chat, try watching a movie together. Services like Netflix Party let you synchronize a Netflix viewing session and chat together in real time. It’s not the same as being in the same room together, but it’s something! There are also a wide variety of party and social games out there that can be played by people of all skill and comfort levels with technology, from the 12-year old mega gamer in the family, to the recently retired Grandma. Try the mystery guessing game Among Us for some laughs or go old-school and play charades over Zoom. There are plenty of ways to make a Zoom call more fun!

Focus on the people close to you. Those of us living with family should take extra care to appreciate each other over the holidays. Take the time to do something extra special for your spouse. Give the kids an extra squeeze in the morning and ask what they want to get up to over the break. Take the dog for an extra long walk in the snowbanks and give your cat some extra ear scritches. In the absence of others, it’s more important than ever to foster close, deep, affectionate relationships with the people closest to you.

There is no replacing some traditions. Many of us will miss the Christmas Eve and day services at church this year depending on what your personal church is doing and comfort level. Across the country, families will be going without their traditional "everyone’s invited” dinners. No getting together with the grandparents and all the aunts, uncles, and relatives this year. No ice skating over the break, no visits to the mall Santa for the little ones, no Christmas plays or presentations, nothing. There are things we are going to miss this year and there is no way to dress that up as a positive. 

But that doesn’t mean we have to mope through the season. Instead of giving in to sadness and disappointment, we can accept the reality of this year and start new traditions in the family.

First, focus on the traditions and yearly treats you can still enjoy. Things like baking Christmas cookies with the kids, putting up the decorations, watching your favorite holiday movies, you can still do these things so go big! Bake that extra batch of cookies, watch some baking videos online and get inspired to try some new ideas! After putting up the tree, deck the halls of your home with all the Christmas cheer you can muster. Make the good popcorn with extra butter and settle in for a double feature of It’s a Wonderful Life and Jingle All the Way (ok, fine, maybe not Jingle All the Way, but some fun Christmas movie).

Then think of what else you can do. If you have kids that need an outlet for extra energy, get them outside to make a snowman family. Use this homebound time to try out some new board games with the family, see what they enjoy. Nobody will be caroling this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have an impromptu living-room karaoke night with your spouse! Make a 2020 Christmas stocking and fill it with "coal” made out of balled up pieces of paper on which you’ve written everything lousy and disappointing about this rotten year. Send it off with better hopes for 2021!

Put some extra love into the season. If you don’t normally send out Christmas cards, or only send out short cards with little more than "Merry Christmas!” and a signature, consider going deeper this year. Take the time to tell the people in your life how important they are, how much you miss them, and what you’re looking forward to in the future. These could be Christmas cards, but they could also be New Years wishes. After all, we could all stand to start 2021 with a little boost.

 

Most of all, the best thing you can do to make Christmas meaningful and invigorating this year is to turn your focus to God and the true meaning of the season. As Christians this is something we should be doing every year, but it’s all the more important in this challenging and unprecedented time. 

In a time when it’s easy to feel discouraged and alone, when you can see chaos just outside your door, and it’s all too easy to question God’s plan.  Christmas is a wonderful reminder that we are never alone. God loves us and cherishes us so much that he sent us his own Son to live among us and ultimately die for us and then rose triumphantly, so we can have eternal life with Him. The birth of Jesus and his sacrifice was the greatest gift ever bestowed on humanity and is proof that God is always with us, even in the darkest times. Reflect on that in this difficult season and hold that thought as we enter into a new year.

Bring your family into it. If you can’t safely attend any services this year, be sure to hold your own. Have the family read the Christmas story together (make it fun by trading off readers every couple of verses), take the time on Christmas Eve to sing some hymns together. Make sure you all have a chance to reflect on the true meaning of the season.

Even when everything seems hopeless and we don’t know what tomorrow is, we know we can depend on the redemptive power of Christ. While things may be very different this year, that fundamental truth hasn’t changed a bit. Make God the focus of your Christmas and you’ll have a wonderful and enriching holiday no matter how weird this year may be.  

The oasis in the desert is an enduring image. The serene beauty of clear running water, green plants, and lush shade in the middle of a harsh, arid climate is something dreams are made of. But in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, it’s no dream - it’s reality.

Translated as "the spring of the kid” Ein Gedi is made up of two parallel canyons near the Dead Sea in the Judean Desert. The surrounding area is every bit as dry and sandy as you would expect with vast stretches of empty desert extending in every direction. It’s a landscape where it’s hard to believe anything could survive - all of which just makes the vibrant plant and animal life in the reserve all the more entrancing! The canyons are fed by two separate springs which create waterfalls and streams running along the canyon floors. The water from these streams allows for one of the most beautiful and captivating micro ecologies in the world! 

The first spring, Wadi David, is considered the main spring and is one of the most popular hiking spots in the country. As soon as you arrive prepare to be struck with the contrast between the spring and the desert around it. Along the length of the stream are lush green plants growing freely along the banks and walls of the canyon. The breeze is cooled by the water and the tall canyon walls and vegetation provide plenty of shade. It’s truly a respite from the desert surrounding it.

Suitable for people of all hiking skill levels and health (the first section of the trail is even wheelchair accessible), Wadi David provides everyone the chance to witness an oasis in real life. Along the main path (a circular hike that can be completed in about an hour) you’ll come across the beautiful David’s Waterfall and crystal-clear natural pools that you can swim in and enjoy.

For those who are more adventurous and don’t mind some climbing, you can explore the upper section. This is a longer more challenging hike, about three or four hours depending on your pace. Hard work in the heat for sure, but well worth it! This path will take you from David’s Waterfall out into the larger reserve area and along some rocky climbing routes. Along the way you’ll have the change to see even more incredible sights, including Dodim’s cave. This spot has a special reputation with hikers, from the alabaster stone that makes up the entry way to the cave, to the aquamarine pools that form in it, to the waterfall inside, the cave a certain magical quality to it. No doubt this is helped by the relative distance and isolation. While the main trail of the Wadi David is always bustling with visitors, few make it out to Dodim’s cave, making it the perfect spot to relax and take THE picture of your trip to Israel.

The second stream, Wadi Arugot, is also beautiful but features a more challenging path for intermediate hikers. There are two separate paths leading to the hidden waterfall and each offer their own sights. The easier option is the path through the riverbed, so be sure to bring waterproof shoes! Reward your long hike with a swim in the pool of the waterfall and cool off!

The wildlife of Ein Gedi is something to behold. As one of the few permanent sources of drinking water in the area, the streams support an entire localized eco-system. Wild Ibex dot the surrounding area, resting in the sun and preserving their strength. Cute little Hyrax or "rock rabbits” make their home in small tunnels and crevasses in the area, careful to hide away from the foxes, wolves and occasional leopard that also live in the area (don’t worry, those animals are nocturnal and the trails are closed before sundown). An untold variety of frogs, crabs, and birds also call the Reserve home, making it an ideal place for bird watchers and photography enthusiasts looking for something unique. 

The Ein Gedi Nature Reserve is an incredible natural wonder. There is no better place to explore to understand the true beauty and splendor of what Israel has to offer.  

There is nothing more important in life than your relationship with God. Everything else follows from how you communicate with God and how that relationship informs your actions.

So why do so many of us only talk to God in quick mealtime prayers and maybe the occasional prayer when we’re worried or stressed? Or we have routine prayer time, but it is unfulfilling and rote? 

Like any relationship, your relationship with God requires work. It’s something that cannot be taken for granted or treated as an afterthought. A big part of that is finding the time to talk to God in prayer on a daily basis. We’re going to go over how to find that time and make the most of it.

One important element to remember when you set aside time to pray is that this should be focused, intentional prayer. What does this mean? It means you are actively engaged and thinking about what you’re praying for, attentive to how your heart feels and seeking His guidance while you pray.

Many of us fall into comfortable "prayer lists.” We have our standard opener, a list of people and things we want to pray about, and (if we’re being truthful) we can sometimes fall into the habit of reciting them like we were reading from a script. There is nothing wrong with bringing the same issues to the Lord or having a number of people that you routinely pray for, what makes a difference is how you think about it and how you express these concerns to the Lord.

Imagine if you received regular calls from a loved one who lived very far away. But every single call, they just mumbled the same general speech to you - they went over the same issues, and gave you the exact same perfunctory hello and goodbye, and didn’t seem particularly interested in what they were saying. Would you feel like you were being valued by that relative? Not likely. 

Prayer should be treated the same way. You don’t want to feel like you’re just performing a routine or praying for the sake of it. You should be intentional and respectful when communicating with the Lord. 

Part of finding more time to talk to God is realizing that a single session of even five or ten minutes of quality communication a day will do your spirit more good than a bunch of longwinded recitations or mumbled graces over every meal. It isn’t about carving an hour out of each day to pray for the sake of praying, but about intention and making the most out of the time you do spend praying.

If you want to get in better shape, you need to set aside time to exercise. If you want to learn a new skill or instrument, you need to practice it regularly. Ideally you want to exercise or practice the same time everyday so you can build a routine around it. It’s the same thing with finding more time to talk to God, you need to focus in on what is important and make it a regular part of your day.

Dedicate a specific time to talk with God each day. Maybe in the morning as soon as you get up. Spend the first 10, 20, or 30 minutes of the day talking with the Lord before you do anything else. Use it as a way to focus on what is important and what you should be concentrating on throughout the day.

Or maybe mornings are always crazy around your house, and you know you’ll never get the undisturbed private time you need with the kids scrambling for breakfast and fighting over the washroom. That’s fine, make your daily communication with God part of your late-night routine before you go to bed. A chance to reflect on the day and seek guidance for tomorrow.

And if late-night is no good for you, find some other time! Use part of your lunch break for prayer. Instead of watching some rerun when you get home from work, take that time for the Lord. What matters isn’t the specific time you use, but that you have a time and keep it consistent.

As you keep up this new schedule, you’re going to be tested. There will be days when you’re super busy and miss your time, unusual appointments or events that throw you off your schedule, or times when you’re just too beat to find the spirit and focus needed to talk with God and you’re going to slip. That’s okay, that is bound to happen. 

Don’t become disheartened. Don’t allow a slip to become a tumble because you feel demoralized. The best thing you can do after missing a day is to get right back to it the next. 

If you stick with it, even with the occasional slip up, you’ll find it becomes easier and easier. Taking the time to talk to God will be more unconscious, more natural, and easier to fit into your day. Even on the days when your schedule is thrown into chaos, you’ll be able to find the time and the desire to talk to God.

It’s all about forming a habit of dedicated and passionate prayer. After enough time, it will no longer be a question of figuring out how to find the time, but a matter of how weird it would feel to miss it. That’s the kind of connection we should be trying to foster with God in our lives.

Finding more time to talk with God doesn’t have to be complicated. Be attentive and engaged when you pray. Find a time that works for your life when you can give prayer your full attention. Stick with it every day until it becomes as natural as making your morning coffee. Keep it up, and you’ll form a stronger, deeper relationship with the Lord.  

Israel is a land of history. From the moment you arrive in the airport there are flyers and advertisements enticing you to come and see some of its most important sites. Museums and temples, heritage sites and natural wonders. You could spend years trying to see them all and probably still miss a few. 

But history in Israel isn’t something that’s only found behind velvet ropes and glass displays, it’s in the soil of the place. It’s in the metallic clink of a gardener’s spade hitting an ancient coin. It’s in the ruins found by highway crews just beneath the surface of a long stretch of desert. Sometimes, it’s even deeper than that. 

Below sea level, beneath the waves on the coastline of Haifa, time stands still. You can wade out into centuries of rising sea levels and swim to where thousands of years ago others once stood. If you have an oxygen tank and wetsuit, dive down deep and look. Even in the murky water Atlit Yam can be seen, the preserved remains of an ancient village. Eerie and awe inspiring, these may just be the oldest existing structures in the world.

The ruins can be found about 300m off the north bay of Atlit approximately 8-11m below sea level depending on the season. An ancient fishing village now submerged, the site was first discovered and studied in the 1980s. Since then it has seen numerous aquatic excavations as historians dive into the waters in search of more knowledge and understanding of the culture which created it.

The most striking thing about Atlit Yam is how incredibly well preserved it is. Large sections of the village are still clearly recognizable. Such as the seawall spanning the perimeter of the village. An impressive piece of ancient engineering that suggests the inhabitants of the village were combating a rising sea level even at the time when they were living there. Clearly it was a battle they did not win.

Other features such as a 5.5-meter-deep stone well hint at a high level of technological sophistication of the inhabitant. As does the bones of several species of domesticated animal including cattle, sheep, and even cats! Flint and stone tools have been pulled from its depths, clay pots and fragments, and most surprisingly, excavators discovered hundreds of olive pits from the production of olive oil. 

These were not foraging nomads, this was a village that housed generations of people in wood and stone homes. A community supplied by well water and a thriving understanding of agriculture. One supported by civic engineering projects. It is an incredible look at how these people lived and helps in our understanding of the whole history of Israel. 

Atlit Yam as it is today is an otherworldly sight to take in. Its most prominent feature is a semicircle of standing rocks, like a series of outstretched fingers reaching up from the water. It’s not entirely clear what purpose these monoliths served. Due to their similarity to the Stonehenge rocks, some suspect that they were used as a calendar or time keeping device of some kind, but we may never know for sure. The stones weigh over 1300 pounds begging questions of how they were arranged and set. For the final mysterious touch, they bear deliberate "cup” markings, an ancient artistic flourish seen across many cultures. Because if a series of upright stones under the water wasn’t halting enough, they also have cryptic designs on them! 

When we think about Israel, it’s always vital to remember just how important the land is to world history. As a nexus of trade, travel, and technological improvement over centuries and millennia and with a uniquely suited climate for preservation, Israel can provide us with a glimpse into the past like nowhere else on the planet. Who knows how many more gifts this ancient land is still waiting to give us? How many more Atlit Yams rest just below the surface of Israel?

 

In early 2017, nobody had a good word to say about Israeli baseball. It was a sport that was unpopular at home. Many of the Israeli professional teams played on sub-standard diamonds lacking proper pitching mounds and dugouts, there was no money for anything else. Game attendance was almost incidental. But as bad as it was at home, it was even worse on the world stage. Israel was a team that was almost beneath notice internationally, and when it was noticed it was usually as the butt of a joke. 

But all of that would soon change thanks to a group of oddballs, has-beens, and all around menschs.

Going into the 2017 season, Israel was ranked 41st in the world, near the bottom of the rankings. When your team is rated that low, even competing in the qualifiers becomes a kind of story. Their entry in the WBC drew comparisons to Jamaican bobsled teams and other famous longshots. Calling them an underdog would be a compliment, they were more or less invisible, expected to politely wash out during the qualifying rounds and leave a nice vacant spot for one of the more "deserving” teams. That didn’t happen. 

In a double-elimination tournament (carefully planned to allow Team Israel to avoid the Shabbat), Israel went up against both Brazil and Great Britain.  Neither team was considered particularly strong, but both were expected to far outgun the Israelis. Such was the lack of interest that the games were barely even broadcast in Israel, with the few interested spectators having to tune into satellite feeds of Korean and Spanish coverage to even see them! 

Despite the expectations though, Israel powered through. A first game 5-2 win against Great Britan saw Marquis throwing just under 50 pitches to keep the Brits contained. Decker batted in teammate Nate Freiman for a solo game winning run against Brazil, 1-0.

These two successes raised some eyebrows. No way Israel could qualify to be in the WBC, could they? Surely Britain would rally after perhaps being overconfident in their first game and dash those dreams, right? The complete opposite happened. With more eyes on them than ever before, Team Israel rose to the occasion and delivered a devastating 9-1 drubbing on the Brits that sent them home.

This is when the world, and Israel started to notice what was happening and when Newberger’s film covering the team, Heading Home, takes off. Going into the tournament proper (as the 200-1 longshot), nobody was sure how long the magic would last. But as the games went on, hope started to spread, and more people began to tune in. 

For the team, it was a very special moment in their lives. Some of these players, like Marquis, were very in touch with their Jewish roots and aware of what it meant to be representing the team at this level. Others found a reconnection with their identity, not having played with so many other people from the same background since they were children. Both the positive and the negative was reveling to the team, with national pride surging for these sudden heroes, so too did anti-Israel sentiment, shocking some of the American players who didn’t realize how virulent those attitudes still are in some areas.

It was an awakening. The team, suddenly a hot topic in Israel, made a point of touring the nation and spending time with their new fans, learning about the history and unique role Israel plays in the world. Shlomo Lipetz, one of the native Israeli players on the team, understood "It’s so special for all the players. They feel this kind of connection being Jewish, this connection of playing for Israel.”

 

 

Documentarian Newberger watched the transformation in the team. "The team that went on the trip to Israel, they bonded in such a way that I don’t think other teams had the ability to do.  No other team had cried on each other’s shoulders at a Holocaust museum.”

The experience lit a fire in the roster. Clinching a miraculous win against the powerhouse South Korean team (ranked 3rd in the world at that time) for their first tournament game, and then delivering a 15-run clinic to Chinese Taipei (ranked 4th) the team defied all expectations. When they beat the Netherlands to sweep their first tournament pool, it seemed like anything was possible.

We wish it was. If this story ended with Israel taking home the WBC trophy that would be an incredible tale. Unfortunately, in the end Team Israel was eventually eliminated by Japan’s powerhouse team. Not all Cinderella stories end the way we’d like them to, but to even get as far as they got in 2017 is a tremendous achievement. 

While Team Israel’s accomplishment stands as nearly unprecedented in the world of international sports, the real story is in how the team and the country affected each other. Israel’s 2017 run ignited a passion for the game unseen in the nation before, inspiring little league sign ups, and diamond renovations as the country saw it’s first glimmer of just how magical baseball could be. For the players who bonded on this journey and fell in love with Israel, their lives were changed forever. Every player on the team finished their run with a stronger sense of personal identity and a connection to the land of Israel.

Several players have even since made Aliyah, becoming permanent citizens. 

With baseball returning to the 2021 Olympic games, no doubt some of these players will have another opportunity to represent Israel. Many wonder, with quiet hope, if lightning can strike twice. There is no way to know for sure, but if Team Israel’s 2017 WBC performance has taught us anything, it’s to never count Israel out!  

 

Stop me if you’re heard this one before. A ragtag team of underdogs defy the odds and beat some of the best players in the game, bonding as a team and learning something special about themselves in the process. That’s a pretty standard story for a feelgood sports movie, right? What if we upped the drama a little and said the team was a 200-1 longshot when they played their first game? Are we stretching your suspension of disbelief now? What if we said the game captured the attention of an entire nation and made them fans of a sport almost nobody played in the country before the team inspired them. Are we getting a little much now, maybe a bit schmaltzy? 

You may think it sounds unbelievable, but this is no Hollywood script. Team Israel lived the miracle in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, shattering all expectations and forever altering the perception of Israeli baseball.

Filmmaker Jeremy Newberger was lucky enough to be there and film it all. Originally, he wanted to make a small, contained mini-doc about Jewish baseball players. Team Israel was going to be playing a few qualifying games for the WBC and were fully expected to end their journey there. Traveling with the team, he’d focus on the players involved, the camaraderie and dynamics of a Jewish team, the cultural value of representing Israel in a sport that the nation, by and large, doesn’t care that much about. It was supposed to be a quick trip, a few days maybe. But those plans were scrapped, and his little trip became more than a month-long journey due to one simple surprise – the team started winning. The result was a very different film, Heading Home, a celebration of Team Israel’s surprising performance and how the experience changed the players on the team.

To understand how unlikely Team Israel’s performance was, you have to know a little more about the WBC. Born after the Olympic committee’s unfortunate decision to no longer support baseball in 2005, the WBC is a tournament of titans collecting the best from around the world. It’s similar to soccer’s World Cup in terms of structure, competition, and national pride. 

Naturally, countries with a cultural passion for baseball field the strongest teams. Much like they had at the Olympics, teams from the United States, Cuba, South Korea, and Japan tend to dominate in the WBC as professional ball players from the most competitive leagues make up the backbones of these teams. 

Israel, by comparison, has a much shallower pool of talent to draw from. The Israeli Baseball League is a respectable program of 6 teams from various parts of the nation, but there is just no comparison to something like the MLB or Japan’s NPB. For example, the 2006 WBC team for the United States included Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodríguez, and Roger Clemens, a murderer’s row of some of the best players to ever step up to the plate. Japan had the legendary Ichiro Suzuki while the Dominican Republic brought Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero to the field, some of the best players to ever play the game, and that’s just for starters. These were the Goliaths of baseball brought together to compete on the world stage for personal and national pride. How could Israel hope to compete in an environment like this?

With whichever players they could find. 

Eligibility to play for a team in the WBC requires a player to either be a citizen of the country they want to play for, or to be eligible to be a citizen. With Israel’s rules allowing for people of Jewish descent to become citizens, this afforded the team the opportunity to supplement their bench with a number of Jewish American pro players. Great news to be sure, but of course all the primary talent would already be absorbed by Team USA. That left a number of skilled, but off-beat players for Team Israel to recruit. 

Players like Cody Decker, who was more known for his outlandish pranks on his teammates than anything else. Jason Marquis, a talented pitcher, but one who was nearing the end of his baseball career. And Craig Breslow, a former Yale graduate known as the smartest man in sports who operates his own charity for pediatric cancer. These were the oddballs of baseball. Clowns and has-beens, brainiacs and never-quite-made-its. They certainly didn’t look like what you picture when you think of an international winning team. 

But each of these players had something to bring to the game and something to prove. Decker brought levity and humor to the locker room, as well as the team’s mascot the ‘Mensch on the Bench’, a 5 foot tall plush Rabbi. Marquis, who lost his grandparents in the Holocaust and attended Hebrew School as a child was chomping at the bit to represent team Israel even before he was signed. Breslow, a sense of history and purpose. The entire roster had a special kind of chemistry, a strange brew that resulted in unexpected performance.

It was the kind of alchemy that is normally reserved for film fantasy. This unlikely crew, the "Oys of summer” would go on a journey that would stun the world of baseball and change how each member of the team saw themselves. 

Watch for part 2 for the rest of the story.

This COVID crisis has impacted us all, but perhaps no single group has been harder hit than our elderly and senior relatives and friends. Our parents and grandparents are at the same time both at the most risk, and also the most isolated by this virus. 

We’ve all had to adjust to changes in the workplace, school closures, and physical distancing guidelines. While life isn’t exactly back to normal, most of us are finding our footing and navigating this new world as best we can. Work from home arrangements have been made, many businesses have returned to operations (if under some new precautions and standards), and the younger generations, who are more electronically connected than ever, are at least enjoying virtual social lives through messenger apps and online games.

For many elderly people though, these past few months have represented a total loss to their access to the outside world. Those who don’t drive and depended on public transportation or rides with family and friends are suddenly without a means to travel. And where would they travel to? They are constantly told (and with good reason) to avoid any unnecessary exposure with others and to stay away from any public place. Our elderly are often not as comfortable with technology as the younger generations and can’t even resort to digital camaraderie to keep their spirits up. 

That’s why it is up to us. We need to take special care to ensure that our elderly loved ones are cared for and protected physically and emotionally during this international crisis.

The sad fact is many leading health experts anticipate several more months of lock down conditions. These past four months have felt like an eternity already and we don’t even know if we’re at the halfway point yet. If you find that demoralizing and sad, imagine how our elderly, who have been even more isolated and bored during this crisis, must feel. 

It’s good that many elderly are heeding warnings and are minimizing their exposure. But isolation can also be an insidious health threat, one that can lead to depression, an early decline in cognitive function, and eventually will result in more virus transmissions as fed up seniors eventually ignore the dangers in favor of a return to normalcy. The best way to keep our seniors healthy is with regular, safe, communication. 

Phone calls are a great start. A daily check-in, even a short one, can do wonders for raising spirits and ensuring that no one feels forgotten or abandoned. If they are technologically inclined, email messages can be a fast, easy way of keeping up a dialog throughout the day, and video calls are even better. A few minutes saying hi to the grandkids face-to-face can make a big difference to a senior who has been stuck inside staring at the same walls all day.

In person visits are also a major help, provided safety steps are taken. Outdoor visits where everyone can maintain a minimum 6-foot distance from each other are ideal. For some seniors who have poor hearing, talking from a distance like that (especially though masks) may be difficult, but that can be worked through with pocket hearing aids and patience. Even if you need to raise your voice a bit to be heard, a noisy visit is better than no visit at all. 

One thing that is not being discussed in the broader coverage of the virus is just how frightening this has been for many seniors. This has been a major upset in their lives and the prevailing message has been "just wait it out.” For how long? For those who just started retirement, this virus has been a nasty joke. Finally, free to enjoy long relaxing days with friends and family, instead they’ve been confined and trapped in their own homes. 

That’s why it’s so important for us to help them stay positive. While during a visit or conversation with an elderly relative or friends its only natural to talk about the virus and what’s going on, don’t let it be the thing you dwell on. Do your best to keep the conversation fun and looking towards a hopeful future.

Wherever possible, find things you can share. Start a mini book club by reading the same book and discussing it together. Share movies and TV shows you like. With plenty of time on their hands, now is a great time to catch up on some shows they never got around to before! Bring a portable speaker to your next outdoor visit and play some old favourite tunes, especially those related to good memories (songs played at family weddings, concerts they once attended, favorite bands), whatever will help them stop thinking about how scary and uncertain things are now and help them smile. 

A great way to keep things positive is to encourage safe long-term projects for the elderly in your life. There has never been a better time to keep a garden, get back into painting, stitch a quilt, or do some woodworking. Having something productive to spend time on every day can be both a great distraction and something positive to look forward to in the future. Rather than just a slog of similar days for the foreseeable future, they can look forward to finishing a project and having something to be proud of. It’s an easy conversation piece too, all you need to do is ask "how is your garden coming along” and it’s off to the races!

One of the most dangerous parts of this pandemic has been the loss of spiritual connection. With churches closed or people deciding not to risk attending, there has been a loss of spiritual connection in the community. If our elderly friends and relatives can’t go to church, it’s up to us to be the church. Take time to pray for your loved ones and take time to pray with them. Don’t be afraid to suggest singing a hymn or two with them, or reading a few Psalms. 

In John 13:35, Jesus says that "everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” That’s the love we need to show right now to get everyone, young and old, through this pandemic. 

Irena Sendler was already wearing a bullseye in occupied Poland. A known Jewish sympathizer and activist with a history of flouting the establishment when it came to doing what is right, she would have been immediately on the Gestapo’s radar as a potential Jewish sympathizer. And indeed, as a member of the Warsaw Welfare Department, Irena was already working under the table to funnel goods and supplies to endangered Jewish families. Most would say she had already done enough; that she had already helped more than the vast majority of people who either did nothing or actively collaborated with the Nazis; that the danger was already too close. 

But Irena felt the complete opposite. She felt the overwhelming need to do more.

It was in 1942 after the creation of the Warsaw Ghetto that Irena began to work hand in hand with the Żegota, the underground Council to Aid Jews, that was dedicated to subverting the Nazi occupation and assisting as many Jews as possible. It has to be stressed how dangerous this was, the Żegota was an illegal organization. Association with them, let along actively providing them aid, would be punishable by imprisonment and execution. And Irena with her background and reputation would be closely watched for such ties. Understanding this is key to understanding just how courageous Irena’s efforts truly were.

Using her position in the welfare department, Irena secured a certificate as a disease inspector, one of the few plausible reasons a Polish civilian could have for entering and leaving the Ghetto. It was an undesirable job for most, one with a high risk of illness and personal danger, but perfect for Irena. It was this access that would give her and the Żegota organization the chance to save many lives.

Irena began visiting the Ghetto daily, using the opportunity to gather information, ferry messages from the people trapped there to their allies in the Żegota, and distribute desperately needed food and medicine. While she knew the situation in the Ghetto was dire, seeing the starvation, sickness, and misery firsthand had a shattering impact on Irena. Now a young mother herself, she could not bear the thought of children suffering under those conditions.

It would have been impossible for Irena to smuggle out a full-grown adult, there was no way she could walk into the Ghetto alone and saunter out with a "friend” tagging along. And then there would be the difficulty of them hiding, securing false documents, identities, work histories and such. But children, those she could smuggle out in a gunny sack, or in a box used to ship goods - if nobody looked too close anyway. And 1942 Poland was full of orphans with unclear histories and shoddy paperwork, families that could take in a child to blend in with their own. The burden of documentation for children was much less severe than for adults. it was possible.

So that’s exactly what she did. She went into the Ghetto in her ambulance and one-by-one she smuggled children out of that pit. She cultivated a small network of sympathizers inside the Social Welfare Department to help forge documents and names for the children, and worked with the Żegota and local Christian churches to secure willing foster families and orphanages to hide the children. 

Again, the danger of this for everyone involved cannot be overstated. Taking in a Jewish child was like taking in a bomb without a visible timer, a hazard that could blow up your entire family with one slip, one loose conversation overheard by the wrong person, one unlucky inspection from the Gestapo. But Irena was a force, so strong were her convictions, her passion for helping these children, that as she said herself later, "No one ever refused to take a child from me." 

Still, this was hard, exhausting work. Imagine the desperation of a Jewish mother sending her small child to be carried out of her home in a rucksack or even in the case of at least one infant, a toolbox, by a stranger. The strain Irena felt day-after-day watching families make the impossible decision to try and save their children, knowing they would likely never see them again. She needed something to keep her faith going. For Irena, that was a jar filled with names.

Written in code on small slips of paper sealed in jars were the names of every child she helped save. Their real Jewish names, their families, and when and where they were taken. This was damning evidence to have on hand if her home was ever searched, but Irene felt it was important to have some kind of documentation to these lives. It was the hope that one day these families could be reunited. 

These jars were buried under an apple tree in her neighbour’s lawn. All in all, they contained the names of 2,500 children that Irene personally had a hand in saving.

It wasn’t to last. The Nazis eventually caught up with Irene in the fall of 1943. She was arrested and tortured in unspeakable ways. Despite her suffering, she never gave up the names and locations of the hidden Jewish children or her collaborators. Frustrated, the Gestapo shipped her off to prison awaiting execution. 

In what can only be considered a miracle, Irene survived. Members of the Żegota were able to bribe the German’s to delay the execution and engineered an escape. Despite being one of the Gestapo’s most important prisoners, she was able to slip through the cracks. She spent the rest of the war on the run, always looking over her shoulder for German officers.

 

 

It is an incredible story, but perhaps what is most impressive about Irena’s efforts is her extreme humility. Irena did not seek any kind of gratitude or accolades for her actions. In fact, despite being recognized by Yad Vashem in 1965, she remained a relatively obscure figure in terms of Holocaust heroes compared to others like Oscar Schindler. It wasn’t until the year 2000 when an American high-school class "rediscovered” her that her exploits would be widely known in North America. The class, tasked with looking into the history of the Holocaust, saw a figure that quoted Irena as saving 2,500 lives which they believed must have been a typo. Surely, they meant 250 lives, right? Looking into the mystery, they discovered that not only was there no typo, but that Irena, now 90 years old was still alive and well, still living in Warsaw among family members! 

The class would go on to create a play called Life in a Jar about Irena and ignite an international outpouring or recognition to her work. Including a call from the Pope, multiple articles and television programs, and several awards and plaques. 

Irena passed at the age of 98, grateful but never entirely comfortable with the accolades. She said, "every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory.” All of these years later, she still never saw what she did as personally heroic, but her duty to her fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. A remarkable perspective from someone who lived her principals to the fullest.

 

When the Nazis invaded Poland, Warsaw became a place of misery and suffering. Nearly half a million Jewish men, women, and children were herded into a 3.5 kilometer square neighbourhood and prevented from leaving. Families lived on top of each other, averaging 9 people to a room. Epidemics ran rampant, and the entire population was purposely starved with rations tightly controlled with intentional shortages of essentials. It was a charnel house, designed to kill off as many Jews as possible "naturally” while weakening the rest of the population for their eventual forced removal to concentration camps.

Knowing this, what kind of person do you think would willingly walk into this horror? Who would face the disease, misery, and brutality afflicting these people? Maybe you’re picturing someone brave, a soldier, or a brilliant doctor, or a shrewd spy. How about a 29-year-old social worker and nurse? A girl so unassuming the Nazis wouldn’t even notice when she helped slip more than 2,500 people out of that hell and into safety. That was Irena Sendler.

Irena’s story began in Otwock, a town nearby Warsaw where she lived a quiet, peaceful childhood. Raised Christian, her father, Stanisław, was a physician who was known for his strong altruistic spirit. He would often treat poor patients (including Jews and other minorities) free of charge, believing in the necessity of generosity and mercy to those who needed it. Soon, the impoverished made up the majority of his patients, but Stanislaw never complained. Even when an outbreak of Typhus ripped through the Jewish community, he kept treating them until he himself contracted the disease and subsequently passed in 1917. Irena was only seven years old at the time, but her father’s teaching and example had a profound impact in shaping her worldview. Rather than be embittered at losing her father at such a young age, she idolized him and his commitment to helping people of any background or heritage.

You’d think this would be an attitude that would be applauded by society, but sadly we live in an imperfect world. In the early 1900’s in Poland, being an open ally of the Jewish people was painting a target on your back, even before the Nazis arrived. Irene got in all kinds of trouble at school for actions like defacing the "Non-Jewish” identifier on her student card (a racist and exclusionary practice meant to target the Jewish population) and for her activity in various activist groups that agitated for Jewish acceptance. She was suspended for more than a year for her troubles. 

After graduation things didn’t get better. She was black balled in the community and despite strong grades, her university gave her a negative recommendation. Irena found her employment opportunities limited as a direct result of work to help and stand by her Jewish neighbours. But she never once expressed doubt or regret. She would later be fond to repeat a lesson her father taught her when she was very young, "You see a man drowning, you must try to save him even if you cannot swim.”

This is a very noble attitude, but also a dangerous one. Especially when living under Nazi occupation.

Irena was working with the Warsaw welfare department when the Nazis invaded and began rounding up Jews, forcing them to wear identifying arm bands, and enforcing blatantly discriminatory laws as a precursor to setting up the ghetto. Almost immediately she went to work subverting the Nazis’ plans for the Jews in the area. 

The Nazis issued strict orders that no aid from the Welfare department was to be given to the Jews. No food, money, or medical care. Instead, Irena’s office focused on aiding Polish soldiers. It was here that her work first began.

It started small. Irena would hear of Jews in the area who needed food or medical care and she would draft some papers for some "Polish soldiers” who coincidentally had the exact same needs. She’d funnel the care to those who needed it. Soon, Irena and a few close confidants began creating fictional neighbourhoods. The way welfare assistance was dispersed at the time was from statistics gathered from communities, so Irena would compose lists of names, entire families, out of thin air. These neighbourhoods of phantom people would be issued aid that would instead be used to help Jews in hiding and help underground resistance members survive. 

But surely a ploy like that could only last so long, right? What was to keep the German occupation staff from inspecting some of these non-existent families to see exactly where the resources were going? What would keep them at bay? Fear. 

Irena, a 4’11” young woman found a way to cow the German bureaucracy. Shrewdly, each family she made up was stricken with the worst of diseases – typhus, cholera, and other contagious, lethal afflictions that were known to spread just like that to nearby people. Somehow, no inspector ever felt like checking in on those families. 

But it wasn’t enough, Irena wasn’t content to just get supplies to suffering people, she needed to save them. And to do that, she’d need an audacious plan, nerves of steel, and the grace of God.

Find out more in part two.