Blitzing for the Lord
By Rabbi Joshua Hess
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
A new craze is capturing the hearts and minds of millions of fans of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow --- "Tebowing."
For the uninitiated, "Tebowing" is defined as, "to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different."
While Tebow has been caught "Tebowing" at different times in his young career, the rage only began last week when he led the Broncos to a thrilling overtime victory against the Miami Dolphins. At the end of that game the cameras panned to Tebow and, as if on cue, he began "Tebowing".
The definition and concept of "Tebowing" as well as its name are the brainchild of Denver native, Jared Kleinstein, who now runs the popular website Tebowing.com. On it you can find hundreds of "up to the minute" uploads of people "Tebowing." Among the many pictures, is one of a young boy "Tebowing" while undergoing chemotherapy, which actually caught Tebow's attention. I find the pictures amusing, cute and mostly done in good taste.
Admittedly, "Tebowing" has its detractors. For some, "Tebowing" is just as silly as planking, which a New York Daily News reporter describes colorfully as a "dopey internet craze from last spring in which people were pictured lying face down in strange places."
Then there are those who believe it's an outright sacrilege. "Tebowing", they assert, is an affront to those who actually pray to the Divine and take their religion seriously.
Tim Tebow, however, is supportive of the concept. Here's what we had to say about it after practice this past Friday: "Yeah, some people don't necessarily take it seriously but they're on their knee praying, so who knows what you're going to think about after that and how that can affect you? Hopefully, it's a good example for people."
Tebow's assessment that the pro's of "Tebowing" outweigh the con's, is found in the Jewish tradition.
The Talmud teaches, "Mitoch Shelo Lishma Ba Lishma." This means that if a person, initially, develops good habits or good behaviors for the "wrong" reasons, eventually he will begin to do those same behaviors for the "right" reasons. Based on this concept, the great philosopher Maimonides asserts that people should be encouraged to fulfill the Lord's will by being offered incentives for religious observance.
It's true that most of the people "Tebowing" are not praying at all; they're just having some clean fun. But is there a downside to "Tebowing?" Instead of planking, which can be highly dangerous, they're practicing something that is not only safe and family friendly, but also deeply connected to prayer and to the Almighty. That, I believe, is a beautiful thing!
As a Rabbi, I find myself extremely envious that Tim Tebow can get so many people around the world thinking about prayer. I, and many other clergy, dream about having the platform to "preach the gospel" like he does. If Tebow's football career doesn't pan out, as the experts have been predicting for the last couple of years, ad nauseam, his contributions to faith, religion and the Lord are 'Hall of Fame' worthy.
I hope and pray that Tebow's quarterbacking skills improve over the rest of the season and that he has a successful and fulfilling football career. More importantly, though, I hope he continues to do the holy work of bringing people closer to God.
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