Shabbat Shavuot Sermon: Control with Rabbi Wes Gardenswartz

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

Rabbi Samuel Chiel, of blessed memory, used to say: the Jewish people are not superstitious…kenahorah.

Recently I was an eyewitness to the birth, the thriving, and the death of a superstition…kenahora.

It happened in our evening minyan in the Gann Chapel, and it concerned the seating arrangement of two of our evening minyan regulars, Grant Finkel and Lisa Hills. Every night Grant sits in the section to the left, facing the bimah, in the second row. Every night Lisa Hills sits in the section to the right, facing the bimah, in the first row. That is how it has been forever. But one night, for whatever reason, only God knows, Grant Finkel sat next to Lisa Hills in the first row of her section. He had never sat there before. And do you know what happened as a result?

I’ll tell you what happened. The Celtics won that night.

They were in the midst of a playoff series. Their play had been inconsistent. The previous game they had not played so well in the fourth quarter and lost. But the night that Grant sat next to Lisa, the Celtics won a tough game on the road. Obviously, they won because Grant sat where he sat.

The next night, as folks walked into Gann at about 7:28, we said to Grant: sit next to Lisa again. He did. And the Celtics won again.

The next night, at 7:28, as folks walked in, Lisa and Grant came in as usual. But on this particular night Lisa’s husband Matt Hills also came in. We said to him: scram! You can’t sit next to your wife. The Celtics are playing! Sit a few seats away from your wife so that Grant’s magical powers continue to lift up the Celtics. Matt himself is a big Celtics fan. As it happens, that very night he was wearing a Celtics t-shirt. He happily complied. Grant sat next to Lisa. The Celtics won.

Then came the Miami series.