MELVILLE, New York — The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in their 40-22 victory in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. The list of Jews who have played in the Super Bowl is pretty short (there were no Jewish players in this year’s game). Included on the list are Josh Miller, punter for the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers tight end John Frank, defensive end Lyle Alzado of the Los Angeles Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Randy “The Rabbi” Grossman.
Grossman got his nickname from teammate Dwight White, and he was fine with that, saying, “What choice did I have? What else are you gonna to call a Jewish kid from Philadelphia?” Another Jewish player, Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Alan “Shlomo” Veingrad, later became a follower of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hassidic movement. Reflecting on his football career and later religious path, Veingrad said in an interview: “I don’t think it would be a possible thing for me to say to the coaching staff or the ownership of the team that I am shomer Shabbos and therefore I can’t make the team meetings on Friday because I have to travel Friday and I can’t travel with the team on Saturday and keep Shabbos. I think if I took that approach, I would no longer be in the National Football League.”
Since 2014, radio host Nachum Segal has presented the “Kosher Halftime Show” as an online alternative for religious Jews to watch while the players are in the locker room for the mid-game break. This year’s Kosher Halftime Show broadcast featured singer/songwriter Eli Begun, composer of such songs as In Our Darkest Times and Shabbos Hayom. Why does Nachum Segal provide this halftime program for Jewish football fans?
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Mark D. Zimmerman is the author of Rashu, Rambam and Ramalamadingdong,