Many in the shul know that I enjoy following sports. I was particularly taken with the storylines behind the games of this year’s NBA playoffs. Here are some of the thoughts I had at their conclusion, with apologies to our resident Miami Heat fan - Scott Hercshmann. Disclaimer: Some may think that I may be biased by the fact that the Miami Heat knocked out my beloved Chicago Bulls. This may be true.

Humility: One of the major reasons the Miami Heat earned so many detractors was the way in which they celebrated themselves long before this team took the court. After Lebron James’ self-serving one-hour special to announce his decision, the party they conducted after “the decision” - at which they took it for granted that they would win multiple championships - demonstrates the extreme lack of humility they possessed. There’s nothing wrong with healthy self-confidence but the party they threw looked like a championship celebration and some of the statements they made were nothing but arrogant. The best example is from Lebron James. He said, “the way we're gonna challenge each other to get better in practice, once the game starts, I mean it's gonna be easy.” As we all know, even with all of their success in the post-season, their regular season and post-season was anything but easy.

There is an oft quoted adage that Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Peshischa taught his students that a person should keep a slip of paper in each of his two pockets. On one it should say “the world was created for me” and on the other it should say “I am but dust and ashes.” A healthy sense of self is knowing when to take out which slip of paper.

Selflessness and Teamwork: One observation I read in a few different articles is that the Miami Heat couldn’t progress as a team to a point where they didn’t have to rely on isolation plays designed for one star to score all on his own. With only one real star on their team, the Dallas Mavericks were able to defeat the Miami Heat, not because they had more individual talent but because they played better as a team. This is how one sports-writer put it. “Their point guard is 38 and on the back end of the back end of his career. Their superstar has taken countless public floggings for a presumed soft game and failure to come up big in the clutch. Their second-best sub is an undrafted free agent who only tops 6 feet with two-inch lifts in his sneakers.” He continues, “They have 15 players willing to mold their games to fit what the team needs. They sacrifice when they need to, step up when others cannot.”

I think we can all agree that these ideas of selflessness and cooperation are some of the most important attributes that we can instill in our children not only when we talk to them about how they relate to their peers, but also as the foundation for doing acts of Chesed.

Hard Work, Perseverance, and Commitment: What an amazing contrast between the paths that Dirk Nowitzki and Lebron James took to this game. This difference is highlighted poignantly in the following quote from Dirk. “If I would have won one early in my career, maybe I would have never put all the work and the time in that I have over the last 13 years.” The one who didn’t cut corners, didn’t jump ship to another team to win a championship as soon as possible, who had the sense of commitment, patience, and perseverance – he won the championship.

In a time and place where we have so much in our lives to make things as easy as possible, this reminder about not taking short-cuts and the value of hard work and perseverance are more important than ever.

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- Rabbi Chaim Poupko