by
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe

Syosset, New York

Perhaps you've heard the story of two old Jewish friends--Sam and Saul-- who meet for the first in many years at a Long Island diner. They exchanged the "geveynlekh" (usual) amenities and Sam's expression grew serious.

"Saul said to Sam, "People are telling me that you don't go to synagogue any more. Can it be true you no longer believe in God?" Sam looked uncomfortable and he said, "Here is a straight answer to a straight question. No, I don't."

Saul asked, "Why didn't you tell me that "nekhtn" (yesterday)? Sam, deeply shocked, exclaimed, "God forbid--on "der shabes"?

And then there's a Matthew Diffee cartoon in The New Yorker (Oct. 10, 2011) showing a man sitting all alone on a subway car.
The caption: ANOTHER WAY TO KEEP AN EMPTY SEAT BESIDE YOU ON THE TRAIN.
(The man is wearing a T-shirt that is imprinted, "ASK ME ABOUT MY RELIGION.")

Members of the clergy are discussing a new "vort" (word), "Tebowing." "Tebowing" is defined as "to get down on a knee and start praying, even if "yeder eyner" (everyone) else around you is doing something completely different."

Yes, Tim Tebow has been photographed quietly praying on a knee during his team's celebration ("simkhe"). His pictures have been put on the internet...and the movement has blown up.

He spoke with reporters saying, "A kid that tweeted me with cancer said, 'I'm Tebowing while I'm chemoing.'" Tebow takes the movement's root--prayer--seriously. (The Yiddish word meaning to pray is "davenen" and the Yiddish word for prayer is "tfile.")

Jared Kleinstein said that there's an important ("vikhtik") point to remember when discussing "Tebowing": "Tebowing is not [actual] praying. There's no necessary affiliation with any religion or movement other than [Tobow] himself."

Are we making a "gantseh megillah"--a big deal--out of it? Tebow simply kneels down ("knien"), puts his right "foyst" (fist) to his forehead and offers up a little prayer to the Almighty.

When I contacted "AsktheRabbi@Aish," about "Tebowing," Rabbi M. Younger, replied:

"God wants to bestow His goodness in this world; we need to recognize Him as the source of all goodness and beseech Him for that goodness. That allows the channels to open up and the goodness to flow from heaven.

If we want His goodness to manifest itself in a good pass, then we have to pray for that and afterwards pray in acknowledgement.

Is it good and/or necessary to make such a public spectacle of it? It depends. Our goal must be to promote the greater glory of God. If making a public display (when we do not have to, as versus praying in public at recognized mandated times), creates a backlash, then it is not profitable. I suspect that here it does, bottom line, raise the public consciousness and is a good thing...."

Marjorie Wolfe hopes that we won't see "Tebowing" in public streets, in Yoga classes, in hospitals, in "Mommy & Me" programs, in "dos byuro" (the office), and at Starbucks while consuming the Frappuccino "Mocha affogato" style.

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___________________________________________
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe is the author of
two books:

"Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers" and
"Are Yentas, Kibitzers, & Tummlers Weapons of Mass Instruction?  Yiddish
Trivia."  To order a copy, go to her
website: MarjorieGottliebWolfe.com

NU, what are you waiting for?  Order the book!

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