Friday, February 17, 2012

Rabbis letting their hair down?

The Archbishop of Toronto is now in Rome, where he is going to become a Cardinal. As I heard it on the radio this morning, he entered St. Peter's Square wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, to demonstrate that his new position won't distract him from serving his Canadian constituency. [You can see pictures here.]

All jokes about Cardinals and Maple Leafs/Blue Jays aside, I wonder about this. "Cardinal" is a pretty serious position within their hierarchy; a Cardinal can become Pope. We don't have their system of authority, and I don't mean to make any sort of equation between what they believe and what we believe, but I imagine a rough corrolary, in terms of solemnity, would be a rabbi becoming a Rosh Yeshiva at YU, or a member of the Moetzes Gedolei haTorah, or the Chief Rabbi of a country.

So I'm imagining a rabbi who has been selected for some prestigious position doing something similar on the cusp of his inauguration - donning a sports jersey in the plaza before the Kotel, perhaps. I know some rabbis who would do it; I know others who would never dream of it. Certainly, I know many Jews who would consider it a diminution of respect for the position he is accepting; I get raised eyebrows just for having a blog!

What do you think - is this a playful nod to home, or a disrespectful lack of solemnity?

Note: It isn't clear to me that this photo-opportunity was during any sort of public event; perhaps it was done outside of any formal context. I still find the question interesting.

5 comments:

  1. Is hockey as a religion in synch with his official religion?

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  2. It looks like this was done as you say "outside of any formal context". But as you note, it depends on the individual; and how serious he takes himself. From what I've heard on the radio he is an unpretentious "regular guy", so this is in character. And I don't think doing it outside in the square is disrespectful of his current position; maybe it would be after he gets his official "promotion".

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  3. Perhaps they realize the difference between a mosheil and a melech per the Gra - the former latter rules with the love and consent of the ruled.

    KT
    Joel Rich

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  4. It must have been about 25 years ago or more, The RCA OU's Rabbi group, if I remember the initials correctly, had an Israel convention and a day trip to Shiloh. A few dressed down, bermuda shorts and it just seemed so strange to us locals.

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  5. Anonymous 9:24 AM-
    I have yet to see a Second Coming of Mark Messier.

    Michael-
    Definitely one way to look at it.

    Joel-
    Is this about ruling or worshipping?

    Batya-
    Some people just shouldn't be wearing shorts...

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