Hashmarks spy Paul Flannery (sorry, Paul) of Boston Magazine was kind enough to forward this account of some uncomfortable moments during a Rosh Hashanah service today in the temple Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends in Newton, Mass.
For those of you who haven't seen the inside of a synagogue lately, Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, a day when Jews gather to relax, worship and prank call their Protestant co-workers.
Kraft apparently did a fine job of chanting a selection from the prophets, but then things got a little awkward. OK, WAY awkward!
Let's now turn it over to Boston Mag's Jason Schwartz, not to be confused with the guy from "I Heart Huckabees."
I go to the same temple as Kraft, so I'm pleased to report that he did an outstanding job chanting a lengthy haftorah portion before the congregation today, but things got a little bumpy at the end of the service when our rabbi rose to deliver the sermon.
Her main trope was that people should act as as though God is always watching them. Not a bad lesson, except that in making her point she made an endless number of references to acting like you're being videotaped. This was awkward.
Somewhere in the middle of the sermon, she somehow managed to stumble onto a story about Cal Ripken Jr. and what a positive role model he is (why she referenced Cal Ripken of all people, I have no idea -- this sermon was all over the place). Her basic point was that Ripken always knew he was being recorded on the field, so he behaved accordingly. This was especially significant, she said, in this modern age where "sports scandal" is so prevalent.
This was really awkward.
Special thanks to my Jewish pal Jaime Aron of Associated Press fame for proofreading this entry.
