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 By Rabbi Dennis S. Ross
Nothing against sports; I exercise every day. And, as a rabbi, I have no issue with religion. But you won’t find me Tebowing—a term recently recognized as “the act of ‘taking a knee’ in prayerful reflection in the midst of an athletic activity.”¹
Tebowing is named after the public religious displays of Tim Tebow, the football quarterback of faith. I’d never drop down on a knee like that, for reasons going well beyond the childhood lesson that “Jews don’t kneel.” For me, prayer is something else altogether.
Prayer belongs in my home, house of prayer, and heart. While I’ll run a foot race from time to time, I wouldn’t “take a knee” in the thick of the fray—my prayers are more personal than that. And I wouldn’t pray to win, which is also a prayer for another’s loss; there is a Jewish teaching against praying for bad things to happen to other people. And Judaism long ago discouraged praying to change what already is—such as the direction of an already thrown football or a person’s standing among the slowest runners—half-way through a race.
These are the reasons why I pray: I’ll pray as an expression of membership in the Jewish community and people; I’ll pray to demonstrate thanksgiving, wonder, awe, excitement, and hope; sometimes I’ll pray for something good to happen, such as healing for the sick, or for strength in times of crisis, personal or communal. When it comes to athletics, I pray in appreciation for the ability to walk and run, or as an expression of satisfaction that I can lift weights as many times as I am able. I pray that I will continue to thrive and be active as I age. These are some things that bring me to pray. But I don’t combine sports and public faith displays. So I watch as a baseball player points heavenward after a hit or a quarterback “takes a knee” after a goal, acts that, for me, go beyond religious bounds. I have other reasons to pray.
1 http://www.languagemonitor.com/
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Rabbi Dennis S. Ross is the author of All Politics Is Religious: Speaking Faith to the Media, Policy Makers and Community (SkyLight Paths) and God in Our Relationships: Spirituality between People from the Teachings of Martin Buber (Jewish Lights). He serves as a reproductive rights advocate and director of Concerned Clergy for Choice at the Education Fund of Family Planning Advocates of New York State.
Rabbi Dennis S. Ross consults to Planned Parenthood on clergy organizing, religion in the media and religious lobbying. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of religion and the media at professional conferences, college campuses, houses of worship, health centers and other venues.
Rabbi Dennis S. Ross is available to speak on the following topics:
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Spirituality and Social Justice
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God in Our Relationships
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Sex, Religion and Politics
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Stem Cell Research: A Faith Perspective
Click here to contact the author.
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