On behalf the Young Israel of Sharon and the entire Sharon community, we are excited to welcome you to the sixth Ezra Schwartz Memorial Baseball tournament! We can’t wait to ‘play ball’ and enjoy some classic spring time fun on the field.
Our dear Ezra z’tkl loved the game of baseball. Baseball is a thing of beauty, especially here in Boston. When the temperatures begin to climb and the sun hangs in the sky a little longer, almost every kid, little or big, takes out their glove, puts it on, punches it in and tosses up a ball into the air to catch it. This is the classic spring time ritual that transports kids to dream forward about playing in the majors and transports adults to dream backwards about playing ball in little league or in high school.
Baseball slows life down and makes it more enjoyable. We put down our devices and enjoy each other’s company, with some healthy competition in the mix. Friendships are formed sitting on the bench or in the stands. Memories are made through dramatic plays and unexpected come backs.
The culture of baseball, as described above, is one that embraces the goodness that our dear Ezra brought to our lives. Ezra generated wholesome fun, appreciated good competition, and was a great friend.
This year the tournament will take place a few days before the 77th commemoration of Yom HaZikaron and celebration of Yom Ha-Atzmaut. These two days—one gloomy and the other festive—come together as a package because that is the Jewish way of making meaning out of our checkered past. It is a dual mindset, in which we cry over the absence of people we love and then in the very next moment appreciate and even celebrate the good that they brought to our lives. It is therefore befitting that we will be hosting the seventh annual ESMBT during this time of the Jewish calendar, as we will be spending our time together sharing stories about Ezra and how much we miss him, and then moments later having fun, by celebrating and doing the kind of things that he loved to do.
With blessings,
Rabbi Noah Cheses
Young Israel of Sharon
2nd grade Shomer Shabbat team Sharon Little League Ari Schwartz and Marc Blitstein Coaches (Ezra is top row, second from the left)
Ezra Cheses – born July 2017 named for Ezra- visiting Ezra’s Lookout on the Boy’s Promenade in Gush Etzion, Israel