No Baskeball on Shabbat
Posted by Henric C. Jensen on March 9, 2008
The Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy boys basketball team in Denver qualified for the regional championship, but won’t be able to play because the game was scheduled to take place on Shabbat. The Colorado High School Activities Association governs the league the boys play in, and has refused to move the game to a time when the team could play without breaking Shabbat, claiming that rearranging the schedule on the regional level would be too complicated.
One of the comments on this story is from a Ali Eteraz, who said:
Wasn’t Lieberman nearly Vice President while observing Shabbos? I don’t particularly see why creating exemptions for those that observe it is necessary. Isn’t there a principle of darura (arabic for necessity) in Orthodox Jurisprudence as there is in Islamic? A rabbi should just say “necessity requires that these boys kick ass on shabbos — one time exception!” Why do we like to pretend that religions aren’t flexible? (My bold)
What is significant about this post and the comment is that it illustrates how Jews and Muslims actually agree on something as intimate as religious practice. It also illustrates how both Muslims and Jews face difficulties in terms of having consideration taken to their religious practice.
SoB
