COMMENTARY: A Biblical All-Star Team

c. 2004 Religion News Service (Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Saint Leo University.) (UNDATED) The other day I joined millions of fellow baseball fans in choosing the starting lineup for next month’s All-Star game in Houston. While the game itself has no real meaning, it is […]

c. 2004 Religion News Service

(Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Saint Leo University.)

(UNDATED) The other day I joined millions of fellow baseball fans in choosing the starting lineup for next month’s All-Star game in Houston. While the game itself has no real meaning, it is a yearly opportunity to vote for well-established stars, and to recognize outstanding rookies and lesser-known players who deserve the All-Star designation.


It set me thinking: If we could choose a scriptural All-Star team, which personalities of the Hebrew Bible would get my votes?

Here’s my list.

Team Captain: The vote goes to Abraham, the first Patriarch. More than any other biblical figure, he earned the right to lead the All-Star team. Abraham heard the powerful call from an invisible God who commanded him to leave his ancestral home and move to a different country. Once there, Abraham started a new career as an exceptional leader of both faith and family. That faith was severely tested again when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Because of Abraham’s extraordinary leadership record, he began a team dynasty of faith commitment that passed first through Isaac, and then Jacob, Abraham’s grandson. It is a religious tradition that has continued without interruption to this day.

As the captain of the All-Stars, Abraham easily merits the use of number one on his clothing.

Most Valuable Player: No contest here. The clear winner is Moses, a man who excelled in all aspects of spiritual life. He received his minor league training in the wilderness where he tended sheep and honed his leadership skills before he was ready for the big league intrigue of the ancient Egyptian court.

All-Star performers, whether representing the Bible or baseball, always have a unique style or achievement that sets them apart from everyone else. For baseball players it can be a no-hitter, a home run record or superb fielding skill. It is their signature.

The All-Star Moses, the Bible’s MVP, had his own signature achievements. The first was facing down the unyielding Pharaoh, who refused to release the Israelite slaves. But Moses defeated his formidable opponent with a triple threat combination of moral power, raw courage and shrewd diplomacy. It was summed up in the three Hebrew words “Sh’Lach Et Ami” _ “Let My People Go!”


Once Moses and the 600,000 Israelite slaves crossed the Red Sea and began 40 years of life in the wilderness, Moses, like any true All-Star, immediately took charge of his team. The second signature achievement was when Moses climbed Mount Sinai and received the Torah. He then molded his ragtag group of former slaves into a cohesive team and brought them to the moment of victory: entry into the Promised Land of Israel.

Most Popular Player: Not even close. King David runs away with this All-Star category. He made his major league debut as a teen-age rookie with a perfectly controlled slingshot pitch that struck down the Philistine superstar warrior Goliath. That single act of athleticism and bravery electrified the nation of Israel and catapulted David into the top rung of leadership: He became his country’s second king.

David followed up his youthful triumph with a brilliant military career that is still studied in service academies thousands of years later. Sadly, like many other All-Star performers, David’s personal life was filled with controversy, infidelity and lust.

Baseball All-Stars gain immortality when they are elected to the game’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Each player is remembered with a plaque containing the likeness of the individual All-Star.

But David resides alone in his own Hall of Fame, shared with no one else. Michelangelo’s statue in Florence, Italy, of the young Hebrew All-Star is a dazzling tribute to both the biblical hero and the genius sculptor who created it.

Team Manager: My choice is Deborah, whose charismatic leadership qualities are described in the book of Judges. Facing the 900 iron chariots of the hostile Canaanite army, the ancient Israelites were depressed, their morale at a low ebb. But Deborah, succeeding the dead Ehud as national leader, rallied the people and inspired Barak, her top general. Like any All-Star manager, she handled her personnel with skill and provided superb strategy. Deborah’s efforts were not in vain and her team, the Israelites, emerged victorious and gained decades of peace.


Team Owner: If you have to ask, it’s clear you have not been studying the Hebrew Bible. God is, of course, the Ultimate Owner. And unlike some human owners of baseball teams, God does not move a team franchise or trade away All-Star players.

DEA/PH END RUDIN

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